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PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 


A  STUDY  IN 
PRE-CHRISTIAN  ANTIQUITY 


APR  29  191. q 


AN  EXAMINATION  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  BELIEFS  OP  THE  OCEANIC, 
CENTRAL  AFRICAN,  AND  AMAZONIAN  PRIMITIVES,  THEIR  DEVEL- 
OPMENT AMONG  THE  LATER  INDO-ASIATIC  AND  TOTEMIG  PEO- 
PLES, THEIR  INTERPRETATION  BY  THE  WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND 
CAUCASIAN  RACES  OP  NEOLITHIC  CULTURE,  AND  THEIR  POSSIBLE 
CONNEXION     WITH     THE     EARLIEST     RELIGION     OP     MANKIND. 


PHILO  LAOS  MILLS,  S.T.  L. 


CAPITAL  PUBLISHERS,  INC. 

WASHINGTON 

1918 


Copyright,  1018, 

BY 

Philo  Laos  Mills 


All  Rights  Reserved. 


LIST  OF  PLATES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS 

1.  The   East-Indian    Primitive Frontispiece 

2.  The  Aborigines  of  the  Far  East XXIII 

3.  The  Oldest  Symbol  of  the  Human  Race,  The  Latin  Cross 1 

4.  Facsimile  of  a  Charm-Tube   (Malakka) 7 

5.  The  "Great  Master"  (Ceylon) 19 

6.  The  "Spirit-Father  in  Heaven"  (Borneo) 25 

7.  The  "Father  of  AH"   (Australia-Melanesia) 37 

8.  The  "Father  above  the  Clouds"   (Africa) 47 

9.  The  "Father  of  Shining  Light"  (South  America) S3 

10.  Specimen  of  a  Buru-Mystery,  the  Sun-Serpent    (India) 61 

11.  The  Secret  of  Life,  or  the  African  Snake-Mystery 67 

12.  The  Giant  Wollunqua,  or  the  Australian  World-Serpent 71 

13.  The  Great  Medicine,  or  the  North- American  Sun-Mystery 75 

14.  "To  Anu  and  Ishtar"   (Babylonian  Votive-Tablet) 83 

15.  Sumerian  Prayers  to  Bel,  "Father  Enlil,  Lord  of  the  Lands" 87 

16.  Royal   Pyramid   Texts    (EgjTitian   Wall-Paintings) 91 

17.  A  Hymn  of  Praise  to  Ashur  (Assyrian  Tablet) 99 

18.  A  Prayer  to  Ishtar,  Queen  of  Heaven   (Assyrian  Tablet) 100 

19.  The  Transcendence  of  the  God  of  Israel,  the  Twenty -third  Psalm 101 

20.  The  Trilingual  Behistun-Inscription  of  Darius  the  Great 106 

21.  The  Yasna  of  the  Avesta  (Persian  Text) 107 

22.  A  Primitive  Planisphere,  The  Six  Cycles  of  Creation '. 133 

23.  A  Developed  Planisphere,  The  Seven  Great  Wakandas 151 

24.  The  Seven  Tablets  of  Creation   (Babylonian  Series),  "The  Chaos" 161 

25.  Do.     "The  Making  of  Heaven  and  Earth,"  "The  Making  of  Man" 162 

26.  The  Bilingual  Tablets  of   Sippar,   "The  Primitive  Ocean" 163 

27.  The  Modelling  of  Mankind  on  the  Potter's  Wheel  (Egyptian) 167 

28.  The  Hebrew  Hexahemeron,  with  Assyrio-Babylonian  Parallels, 172 

29.  revealing  its  Immense  Antiquity,  but  Theological  Independence 173 

30.  The  Persian  Dualism  as  Expressed  in  the  Ancient  Avesta 175 

31.  The  Babylonian  Zodiac,  or  the  Advanced  Planisphere 183 

32.  The  Converted  Zodiac,  or  the  Christian  Heavens 186 

33.  Primitive  Paradise  Picture,  The  Seven  Heavens  and  The  Tree  of  Life 195 

34.  Developed  Paradise  Picture,  The  Seven  Wakandas  and  The  Magic  Cedar 209 

35.  The  Adapa-Legend  of  Babylonia,  "The  Sage  of  Eridu" 212 

36.  The  "Tree  of   Eridu"    (Bilingual   Incantation-Text) 213 

37.  Egyptian  Fragments  on  the  Tree  of  Life  and  the  Serpent 215 

38.  The  Tree  of  Life  in  Assyrio-Babylonian  Art 216 

39.  The  Hebrew  Toledoth,  with  a  few  Assyrian  Parallels 217 

40.  The  Persian  Hom-Yasht  (Zoroaster's  Vision  of  the  Soma) 219 

41.  Advanced   Paradise-Picture,   "The  Music  of  the  Spheres" 222 

42.  Converted   Paradise-Picture,   The  Christian  Apocalyptic   Signs 223 

43.  The  Four  Rivers  of  Paradise  (Prehistoric  Map  of  the  East) 232 

44.  The  Island  of  Borneo  as  a  "Fraction"  of  the  Lost  Continent 233 

45.  Ideal  Paradise-Scene,  "The  Enchanted  Forest  at  Night" 239 

46.  The  Star  of  Bethlehem  as  The  Guiding  Star  of  the  Magi 251 


LIST  OF  PLATES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS 

47.  The  Babylonian  "Tables  of  Destiny"  as  the  Perverted  Channels 273 

48.  of  a   Prehistoric   Hope   ( Planetary  Signs) 274 

49.  Egyptian  Parallels  on  the  Advent  of  a  Better  Age 275 

50.  The  Proti;v.\ngf.i.ii-.\i.  nR  thk  First  Gospel  Given  to  Man 279 

51.  The  Gatha  Ushtavaiti,  or  the  Persian  Cry  for  Deliverance 291 

52.  The  Finding  of  the  Light  of  the  World 295 

53.  Primitive  Sacrifice,  "The  Sadaka,"  or  The  Cain-Abel  S.\crifice 315 

54.  Primitive  Sacrifice  (Malakkan  Rite).  The  "First  Fruit"  offering 320 

55.  Primitive  Sacrifice   (Malakkan  Rite),  The  Blood-Throwing 321 

56.  Primitive  Sacrifice   (Sinhalese  Rite),  The  Coconut-Offering 326 

57.  Primitive  Sacrifice  (Sinhalese  Rite),  The  Deer-Sacrifice 327 

58.  Primitive  Sacrifice   (Bornean  Rite),  The  Betel-Palm  Offering) 334 

59.  Primitive  Sacrifice   (Bornean  Rite),  The  Bird-Sacrifice 335 

60.  Primitive  Sacrifice   (Australian   Rite),  The  Spear-Throwing 341 

61.  Primitive  Sacrifice  (African  Rite),  The  Moduma-Fruit-Offering 342 

62.  Primitive  Sacrifice  (African  Rite),  The  Buffalo  Sacrifice 343 

63.  Primitive  Sacrifice   (Amazonian  Rite),  The  Arrow-Shooting 345 

64.  Totemic  Sacrifice   (Indian  Rite),  The  Consumption  of  the  World-Egg 349 

65.  Totemic  Sacrifice  (African  Rite),  The  Sprinkling  of  the  Meal 351 

66.  Totemic  Sacrifice   (Australian  Rite),  The  Intichiuma  Ceremony 353 

67.  Totemic  Sacrifice  (North-American  Rite),  The  Smoke  Offering 356 

68.  Totemic   Sacrifice    (North-.^merican    Rite),   The    Sun-Dance 357 

69.  Recent  Sacrifice,  The  Pre-Sargonic  Temple  of  Bel  at  Nippur 358 

70.  Recent  Sacrifice,  Babylonian  Incantation  Ritual 359-363 

75.  The  Statue  of  Gudea,  Patesi  of  Lagash 364 

76.  Recent  Sacrifice   (Egy-ptian  Rite),  The  Corn-Offering 365 

77.  Recent  S.\crifice  (Hebrew-Palestinian  Rite),  The  Sacrifice  of  Melchisedech  . .  370 

78.  The  Manna,  The  Tabernacle,  and  The  Holy  of  Holies 371 

79.  The  Temple  of  Jerusalem  in  the  Visions  of  Ezekiel ill 

80.  Plan  of  a  Parsee  Fire-Temple,  Bombay,  India Hi 

81.  Recent  Sacrifice   (Persian  Rite),  The  Mazdaean   Soma-Worship 374 

82.  Hellenistic   Development — The   Mysteries   of   Mithras 375 

83.  Recent  Sacrifice   (Brahministic  Rite),  The  Hindoo  Pagoda  of  Trinchinopoli 377 

84.  Recent  Sacrifice   (Brahministic  Rite),  The  Cave-Temple  of  Vishvakarman 378 

85.  Recent  Sacrifice   (North-American  Rite),  The  "Banquet  of  the  Clouds" 382 

86.  Recent  Sacrifice  (North-American  Rite),  The  Dance  of  the  Corn-Maidens 383 

87.  Recent  Sacrifice   (Aztec  Rite),  The  Great  Fire-Temple  of  Mexico 384 

88.  Recent  Sacrifice  (Aztec  Rite),  The  Burning  of  the  Human  Victim 385 

89.  The  Double  Sacrifice  of  the  Redeemer 414 

90.  The  "Fractio  Panis,"  or  the  Eucharist  in  the  Catacombs 415 

91.  The  Babylonian  Ark  in  Form  and  Imagery 435 

92.  The  Deluge-Tablets   ( Selected  Readings) 437 

93.  The   Deluge-Tablets    ( Selected    Readings) 438 

94.  The  "House  of  the  Se\en  Foundations  of  Heaven  and  Earth" 439 

95.  The  Borsippa  Tower-Inscription  of   Nebuchadnezar   II 438 

96.  The  so-called  "Babel-Tablet"  describing  the  Confusion  of  Tongues 439 

97.  Migrations  of  the  Ark  and  Tower-Motif 440 

98.  A   Savage  Picture  of  the  Future   Life 459 

99.  Ishtar's  Descent  Into  Hell   (Assyrian  Tablet) 479 

100.  The  Isles  of  the  Blessed  or  the  Apex  of  Pre-Christian  Hope 482 

101.  The  Balance  of  Truth  and  the  Egyptian  Hespcrides 483 

102.  The    Supernatural    Consummation 486 

103.  The  Persian  Aftermath,  or  the  Last  Judgment 487 


LIST  OF  ABBREVIATIONS 

AHB Assyrisches  Handworterbuch   (Delitzsch-Leipzig,  1896). 

ASKT Akkadische  und  Sumerische  Keilschrifttexte    (Haupt). 

B  A.  E Reports  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology   (Washington). 

Q  T Cuneiform  Texts  of   the  British   Museum    (London). 

J.  A.  I Journal  of  the  Anthropological  Institute. 

J.  A.  O.  S Journal  of  the  American  Oriental  Society. 

J  I.  A Journal  of  the  Indian  Archipelago  and  Eastern  Asia. 

J.  R.  A.  S Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic   Society. 

J.  R.  G.  S Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society. 

KB Keilinschriftliche  Bibliothek   (Jensen) 

KT Keilinschriftliches  Textbuch  zum  alten  Testament  (Winckler) 

O.B.I Old   Babylonian   Inscriptions    (Hilprecht-Pennsylvania). 

OT "The  Old  Testament,"  etc.    (Works  by  Pinches  or  Jeremias). 

PSBA Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Arch'aeology 

R Rawlinson,  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia. 

RBA Religion    Babyloniens    und    Assyriens    (Jastrow-Giessen,    1914). 

S.  B.  E Sacred  Books  of  the  East   (Clarendon  Press,  Oxford). 

SR Report  of  the   Smithsonian   Institution    (Washington). 

ZE Zeitschrift  fiir  Ethnologic. 

ZKT Zeitschrift  fiir  Katholische  Theologie  (Innsbruck). 

ZNW Zeitschrift    fiir    Neutestamentliche    Wissenschaf t     (Giessen) . 


TO  MY  BELOVED  FATHER 
THIS  BOOK  IS  AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED 


Nihil  obstat 

D.  J.  KENNEDY,  O.P,  S.T.M. 
C.  F.  AIKEN,  S.T.D. 

CEKSORES  DEPUTATI, 
OCTOBER  20,   I918. 


Imprimatur 

it  JAMES  CARDINAL  GIBBONS, 

ARCHBISHOP  OF  BALTIMORE, 
OCTOBER  21,   1 91 8. 


PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 


PROLOG 

This  work  is  the  result  of  ten  years  of  labor  in  the  museums  and 
libraries.  Its  main  purpose  is  to  contribute  something  to  the  defence  of 
the  dignity  of  man  and  the  divinity  of  Christ  from  prehistoric  sources, — 
that  is,  before  any  books  were  written.  It  is  a  defence  of  the  dignity  of 
man, — because  it  brings  before  us  a  picture  which  is  in  sharp  contrast  to 
the  sordid  materialism  of  the  day, — it  is  a  defence  of  the  divinity  of 
Christ, — because  it  reveals  facts  in  the  early  history  of  man  which  must 
be  the  relics  of  a  past  supernatural  revelation  having  an  intimate  relation 
to  His  own  supernatural  Person, — it  goes  back  to  prehistoric  sources, — 
because  this  is  the  field  above  all  others  which  has  been  abused  and  dis- 
torted in  such  a  manner  as  to  call  for  an  immediate  and  searching  investi- 
gation. 

A  few  words  are  necessary  to  explain  the  use  of  our  terms.  By  the 
word  "prehistoric"  is  here  understood  that  long  period  that  preceded  the 
days  of  the  Jewish  Covenant  and  is  generally,  though  not  with  strict 
accuracy,  described  as  that  of  the  "Natural  Law."  I  say  not  with  strict 
accuracy,  because  there  never  was  an  age  when  the  human  race  has  been 
without  some  supernatural  light,  and  there  never  has  been  a  time  when 
the  primitive  supernatural  revelation,  transmitted  from  father  to  son,  has 
not  been  to  some  extent  binding  in  conscience.  But  inasmuch  as  the 
frontiers  of  that  revelation  have  been  badly  battered  by  the  fall  and  the 
wholesale  apostasy  of  man,  inasmuch  as  the  race  as  such  has  lost  the 
fulness  of  that  light  until  the  coming  of  the  great  Restorer,  it  is  per- 
missible to  use  the  tepm  as  implying  that  the  full  supernatural  deposit  of 
faith,  from  Adam  to  Moses,  had  not  yet  been  committed  to  \vriting. 

If,  then,  we  speak  of  our  present  work  as  a  "natural  theology"  of  man, 
it  must  be  understood  in  the  only  legitimate  sense,  as  conveying  that  a 
large  body  of  religious  truth  can  be  demonstrated  by  the  application  of 
natural  reasoning  alone,  not  that  we  ourselves  are  dispensed  from  fidelity 
to  a  higher  supernatural  standard.  This  is  distinctly  forced  upon  us  by 
the  words  of  the  Vatican  Council : — 

"//  any  man  shall  say  that  the  one  true  God,  our  Creator  and 
Master,  cannot  be  certainly  known  by  the  light  of  natural  reason 
from  the  things  created  by  Him,  let  him,  be  anathema."  (Cone.  Vat. 
Sess.  III.  Can.  1.  de  Revelations). 


2  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

But  more  than  tliis.  The  same  Hglit  ot  reason  has  also  a  moral  aspect, 
it  points  to  a  great  Lawgiver,  the  guardian  of  the  moral  conscience,  one 
who  has  written  His  law  in  the  heart  of  man  in  such  manner  that 

The  primary  dictates  of  the  \aUiral  Laic  cannot  be  ignored  with- 
out some  culpability.  (S.  Thorn  1,  2.  q.  94.  Suarez,  de  Legibus,  2, 
ch.  5-17ff.) 

This  means  tliat,  quite  apart  from  any  revealed  decree,  the  love,  honor, 
and  worship  of  God,  together  with  the  love  and  respect  for  his  neighbor, 
are  to  a  large  e.xtent  natural  to  man,  nay.  that  even  the  practice  of  sacrifice, 
with  the  various  rites  or  ceremonies  that  may  yet  accompany  it,  is  so  firmly 
rooted  in  the  very  constitution  of  man  that  it  may  be  called  instinctive. 

To  put  it  briefly,  the  "prehistoric"  religion  of  man  may  be  said  to 
embrace  a  belief  in  God  as  Creator  and  Judge,  the  binding  power  of  the 
ten  commandments,  and  the  offering  up  of  some  kind  of  atonement-rites. 

On  the  other  hand  this  "natural"  religion  has  its  well-defined  limits: — 

"//  any  man  shall  say  that  in  the  divine  revelation  no  true  and 
proper  mysteries  are  contained,  but  that  all  the  doctrines  of  faith 
can  be  understood  and  demonstrated  by  properly  cultivated  reason 
out  of  natural  principles,  let  hiyn  be  anatfiema."     (Vat.  III.  Can.  4,  1.) 

Now  it  is  important  to  undei^stand  that  throughout  this  work  we  are 
treating  of  man  as  under  a  double  aspect,  natural  and  supernatural,  and 
that  no  attempt  is  being  made  to  ground  supernatural  doctrines  upon 
naturalistic  antecedents,  but  rather  to  show  that  the  supposed  parallelisms 
are  typical  and  nothing  more.    This  concerns  more  especially 

(1)  the  relation  of  the  cosmic  triads  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity, 

(2)  the  belief  in  a  saving  demiurge  as  distinct  from  the  divine  Messiah. 

(3)  the  use  of  certain  medicines  as  preceding  the  Seven  Sacraments, 
In  each  case  it  will  be  our  endeavor  to  show  that  no  triad  has  ever 

developed  into  a  Trinity,  no  demiurge  into  a  divine  Redeemer,  no  medicine 
into  a  supernatural  Sacrament.  It  will  be  found  that  the  former  are 
separated  from  the  latter  by  a  gulf  which  no  unaided  power  of  reason  can 
bridge. 

Nevertheless,  as  the  golden  thread  of  the  supernatural  has  never  been 
entirely  lost  in  any  age  of  the  human  race,  whether  historic  or  prehistoric, 
as  we  cannot  say  to  what  extent  the  primitive  revelation  has  not  been 
preserved  in  this  or  that  fragment  of  prehistoric  antiquity  or  by  this  or 
that  section  of  primitive  man,  it  is  clearly  impossible  to  treat  this  subject 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  exclude  the  influx  of  all  supernatural  light  from 
the  rich  body  of  folk-lore  which  we  are  about  to  examine. 


PROLOG  3 

For  if  the  two  orders  of  truth  are  so  inextricably  woven  together  in 
every  period  of  man,  we  must  be  prepared  to  find  occasional  vestiges  of 
an  idea  which  we  know  from  other  sources  to  have  been  a  revealed  dogma. 
Hence  in  the  treatment  of  this  subject  due  allowance  must  be  made  for 
the  necessary  infiltration  of  supernatural  light  upon  a  belief,  a  tradition 
or  a  practice  which  could  never  have  been  derived  from  the  innate  tenden- 
cies of  human  nature.    This  may  apply  to  any  of  the  following  subjects : — 

( 1 )  Under  the  title  "God"  we  intend  to  show  that  the  idea  of  a  supreme 
personal  Being  is  entirely  natural  to  man,  but  that  any  intimations  of  a 
"Trinity"  must  be  traced  to  a  past  revelation,  handed  down  in  corrupt  form. 

(2)  Under  "Creation"  the  idea  of  six  creative  epochs,  culminating  in 
the  creation  of  man,  may  be  looked  upon  as  the  relic  of  a  fuller  light. 

(3)  Under  "Paradise"  it  is  clear  that  the  story  of  the  elevation  and 
fall  of  man  presupposes  a  fact  which  cannot  be  gleaned  by  natural 
reasoning  alone. 

(4)  Under  "Redemption"  it  is  particularly  plain  that,  although  the 
longing  for  salvation  is  inherent  in  the  human  breast,  the  distinct  prophecy 
of  a  divine  Messiah  to  come  is  something  that  cannot  be  read  from  the  stars. 

(5)  Under  "Sacrifice  and  Sacramentals"  we  note  that  the  various  pre- 
historic medicines  are  suggested  by  the  various  religious  needs  in  the  life 
of  man,  but  that  the  idea  of  a  "suffering"  god,  and  pre-eminently  that  of 
the  Mystical  Lamb,  must  be  regarded  as  a  supernatural  symbolism  of  an 
all-sufficient  Sacrifice  to  come,  while  the  purely  natural  medicines  have 
no  connexion  whatever  with  the  seven  supernatural  channels  of  grace. 

(6)  Under  "Retribution"  the  recollection  of  a  great  devastation  by 
fire  or  water  must  be  traced  in  part  at  least  to  a  "visitation  from  heaven." 

(7)  Under  "Life  Eternal"  the  notion  of  a  heaven  of  delights  and  a  hell 
of  punishment  is  natural  enough,  though  the  subject  of  a  "beatific  vision" 
must,  if  genuine,  be  handled  with  similar  reservations. 

Thus  we  see  that  nature  and  sui>er-nature  are  so  intertwined  in  the 
history  of  man  in  all  ages,  that  it  is  quite  impossible  to  treat  the  one  to 
the  exclusion  of  the  other, — we  must  always  allow  for  some  supernatural 
influx.  Nevertheless,  as  the  primary  aim  of  our  present  study  is  simply 
to  bring  out  a  voluminous  collection  of  prehistoric  facts,  and  then  to 
interpret  those  facts  in  the  light  of  our  own  supernatural  standpoint,  it 
is  evident  that  the  question  of  fact  should  be  the  primary  one;  theories  and 
explanations  should  in  every  instance  be  made  to  follow.  In  this  way 
each  of  the  above  subjects  will  be  brought  before  the  reader  just  as  it 
presents  itself  to  us  in  perfectly  nude  and  colorless  form,  and  only  in  the 
subsequent  analysis  will  an  attempt  be  made  to  group  the  phenomena  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  suggest  some  theological  conclusions. 


4  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

The  importance  of  sucli  a  work  seems  to  me  to  be  obvious. 

In  the  first  place  there  are  those  whose  superficial  reading  has  brought 
them  in  contact  with  perverted  views  of  the  nature  and  origin  of  man. 
They  have  been  taught  to  look  to  a  purely  animal  ancestor  as  the  progenitor 
of  the  human  race  and  naturally  feel  disquieted  when  they  hear  of  a  con- 
fessedly simian  type  as  the  only  representative  of  primitive  man.  How 
is  this  consistent  with  the  dignity  and  nobility  of  human  nature?  To 
them  we  offer  our  Introduction,  in  wiiicii  the  existence  of  a  very  primitive 
human  type,  of  normal  mental  and  moral  qualities,  is  sought  to  be  demon- 
strated out  of  the  purely  scientific  and  ethnological  data,  leaving  to  the 
biologist  the  task  of  accounting  for  such  a  type.  In  other  words,  our 
primitive  is  a  7na7i,  not  a  developed  anthropoid. 

Then  there  are  those  who  have  dabbled  with  Tylor's  Primitive  Culture, 
with  Frazer's  pretentious  work  on  Totemism  and  Exogamy,  and  who  are 
firmly  convinced  that  primitive  man  was  either  entirely  atheistic,  or  if  in 
possession  of  any  religion  at  all.  that  the  idea  of  God  was  developed  out 
of  the  ghost  or  the  magical  nature-cult.  To  them  we  shall  oppose  an 
enormous  array  of  religious  facts  which  have  only  recently  been  unearthed, 
but  which  in  their  united  force  point  to  conclusions  of  precisely  the 
opi)osite  character.^it  is  the  .All-Father  belief  which  precedes  the  totemic 
or  animistic  cult  by  indefinite  ages.  Primitive  man  believed  in  God,  and 
only  in  later  times  was  the  belief  corrupted. 

Then  again  there  are  other  subjects  which  have  a  more  intimate  rela- 
tion to  man's  supernatural  destiny.  The  fact  that  the  Redeemer  points 
to  an  age  of  original  innocence  which  was  subsequently  lost  by  an  act 
of  moral  rebojlion,  this  can  hardly  be  squared  with  the  current  notions, 
popular  or  professional,  that  the  human  race  has  on  the  contrary  raised 
itself  by  its  own  impetus  from  the  lowest  fetichism  and  animal-worship 
to  the  most  exalted  monotheism  and  monogamous  practices  of  modern 
times.  If  the  one  is  true,  the  other  is  clearly  false.  Now  whatever  view 
we  may  lake  of  the  Paradise-story  as  having  a  mystical  content,  it  is 
quite  certain  that  the  Messiah  refers  to  it  not  simply  as  speecii-figure,  but 
as  an  actual  condition  of  the  first  couple.  "Have  ye  not  read,  that  He  irho 
made  ma)i  from  the  her/inninfj,  nuide  them  male  and  female?" — "Moses 
by  reason  of  the  hardness  of  your  heart  permitted  you  to  put  an-ay  your* 
wives,  but  from  the  beyinniny  it  was  not  so."  (Matt.  19,  4.  19,  8.)  .\s 
Christ  is  continually  quoting  the  Torah,  it  is  clear  that  He  regards  it  as 
revealed  history,  and  part  of  this  history  includes  the  originally  sacred 
character  of  Ihe  marriage-tie.  Primitive  ynan  was  monogamous,  polygamy 
belongs  to  a  later  age. 


PROLOG  5 

In  like  manner  the  story  of  Eden  cannot  be  dissolved  into  myth,  but  is 
a  definite  prehistoric  event,  upon  which  the  whole  of  Christian  theology- 
is  founded.  "And  as  in  Adam  all  die,  so  also  i7i  Christ  all  shall  be  made 
alive."  (I.  Cor.  15,  22.)  What  becomes  of  this  doctrine  if  man  be 
regarded  as  a  mere  product  of  nature,  of  blind  evolutionary  forces?  The 
first  and  second  Adam  stand  and  fall  together;  and  in  defending  the  one, 
we  are  defending  the  other. 

Similarly  the  idea  and  the  hope  of  Redemption  is  traced  by  the  Messiah 
and  indeed  by  tlie  whole  cycle  of  Christian  thought  to  the  earliest  ages 
of  man, — it  is  part  of  a  revelation  given  to  man  in  paradise.  Is  it  con- 
ceivable that  this  revelation  should  have  been  entirely  lost,  that  it  should 
have  left  no  vestiges  whatever  in  the  folk-lore  of  humanity?  And  in  the 
picture  of  the  Tree  of  Life,  in  the  first-fruit  offerings  of  Cain,  in  the  bread 
and  wine  of  Melchisedech,  have  we  not  a  distinct  intimation  of  the 
originally  unbloody  nature  of  the  primitive  sacrifice?  If  these  are  facts 
and  not  fancies,  it  will  stand  to  reason  that  they  must  have  left  some 
impress  in  the  prehistoric  annals  of  the  race,  and  in  searching  for  these 
traces,  we  shall  be  indirectly  supporting  the  divine  tradition:  "Thou  art 
a  priest  for  ever  according  to  the  order  of  Melchisedech."     (Heb.  5,  6.) 

Finally  we  have  the  revealed  picture  of  the  Father  in  Heaven  as  the 
Dispenser  of  justice,  as  the  Rewarder  of  the  good  and  the  Punisher  of  the 
wicked.  Here  again  the  portrayal  of  the  ten  antediluvian  patriarchs,  of 
the  rising  dualism  of  humanity,  of  the  pious  Enoch,  of  the  corrupting 
Nephilim,  of  the  righteous  Noah,  of  the  salvation  of  the  few  and  the 
destruction  of  the  many  in  the  Great  Flood, — all  these  things,  together 
with  the  broad  doctrines  of  a  future  recompense  in  soul  and  body  alike, 
could  not  have  vanished  from  the  face  of  the  earth  in  their  entirety;  if  a 
record  of  momentous  facts  and  actual  prehistoric  beliefs,  they  must  have 
left  some  mark  of  their  presence  in  their  trail.  But  w^hat  is  more  important, 
the  Great  Deluge  is  quoted  by  Christ  as  actual  history: — "And  as  in  the 
days  of  Noe,  so  shall  also  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  man  be.  For  as  in  the 
days  before  the  flood  they  were  eating  and  dnnking,  marrying  and  giving 
in  marriage,  even  till  that  day  in  which  Noe  entered  into  the  ark  and  they 
knew  not  till  the  flood  came,  and  took  them  all  away,  so  also  shall  the  com- 
ing of  the  Son  of  man  be."  (Mat.  24,  37  Lk.  17,  26ff.)  If  words  mean  any- 
thing at  all,  they  imply  a  period  of  corruption,  destruction,  and  reconsti- 
tution  of  the  human  race  upon  a  more  recent  Asiatic  level,  of  which 
humanity  as  such  could  not  have  lost  the  entire  record.  If  real  and  actual 
events,  they  must  be  to  some  extent  verifiable. 


6  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Now  I  am  aware  liial  I  shall  be  met  with  the  usual  objection  that  I 
am  trying  to  prove  loo  much,  that  I  am  starting  with  dogmas,  that  I  have 
already  made  up  my  miiul  that  such  and  such  must  be  the  case.  \\e  can 
imagine  such  an  objector  appealing  to  the  so-called  "colorless"  methods 
of  modern  science  and  baldly  denouncing  our  entire  thesis  as  an  «  priori 
assumption,  somewhat  as  follows: 

"You  are  looking  for  God,  and  therefore  you  find  Him ;  for  the  idea  of 
creation,  and  therefore  it  is  easily  verified;  for  the  garden  of  pleasure, 
and  therefore  it  can  be  readily  mapped  out ;  for  redemption,  and  therefore 
every  belief  in  a  demiurge  points  to  a  future  Messiah;  for  a  primitive 
unbloody  sacrifice,  and  therefore  every  first-fruit  offering  takes  on  a 
sacrificial  character;  for  a  ubiquitous  deluge,  and  therefore  every  story 
of  a  floating  raft  is  a  direct  reference  to  such  an  event;  for  a  heaven,  hell 
and  purgatory,  because  it  fits  in  beautifully  with  your  own  eschatologj", — 
throughout  you  are  consciously  doctoring  the  facts  to  make  them  square 
with  your  own  preconceived  views  on  the  nature,  origin,  and  'super- 
natural' enlightenment  of  the  human  race;  you  are  reading  the  past  by  the 
light  of  the  present, — plainly  begging  the  question." 

To  this  polite  insinuation  we  make  the  following  polite  reply: — 

"You  are  not  looking  for  God,  and  therefore  you  do  not  find  Him;  you 
have  no  conception  of  the  act  of  creation,  and  therefore  you  deny  the 
concept  to  the  savage;  you  have  no  belief  in  an  age  of  original  innocence, 
and  therefore  you  throw  over  all  the  testimonies  to  that  effect;  you  have 
no  adequate  idea  of  redcrmption.  and  therefore  you  entirely  ignore  the 
gropings  of  the  savage  heart  for  final  deliverance;  you  have  a  horror  of 
sacrifice  and  the  greatest  contempt  for  holy  observances,  and  therefore 
you  interpret  the  entire  ritual  of  mankind  as  nothing  but  mummery  and 
magical  superstition;  you  have  been  taught  to  throw  unending  ridicule 
on  the  story  of  the  ark,  and  therefore  you  studiously  avoid  everything  that 
can  remotely  point  to  such  an  event;  you  have  lost  all  faith  in  a  definite 
hereafter,  and  therefore  you  convert  the  savage  heavens  and  hells  into 
mere  dream-states, — in  short,  you  are  wilfully  perverting  the  plain  mes- 
sage of  humanity  to  suit  your  own  decadent  philosophy,  you  are  evidently 
trying  to  make  out  a  case  for  universal  nihilism  in  religion. — a  petitio 
principii  of  the  worst  kind." 

It  is  a  pity  that  we  should  start  with  a  mutual  misunderstanding,  but 
I  will  endeavor  to  remove  it  by  an  appeal  to  a  more  balanced  judgment,  a 
more  approved  system  of  reasoning. 


PROLOG  7 

Let  us  approach  this  subject  in  a  frankly  impartial  spirit,  putting  out 
of  our  minds  as  far  as  possible  any  personal  leanings  towards  this  or  that 
aspect  of  life  or  existence.  It  will  surely  be  allowed  that  there  is  an  order 
of  reality  which  is  independent  of  a  man's  personal  sympathies,  otherwise 
the  science  of  discovery  would  come  to  an  end,  there  would  be  nothing  to 
"discover."  I  may  not  enjoy  the  sensations  of  an  earthquake,  but  I  can- 
not argue  it  away  by  an  appeal  to  idealistic  philosophy.  The  testimony 
of  the  senses  is  objective  and  absolute.  In  hke  manner  it  ought  to  be 
possible  to  bring  together  a  sufflcient  number  of  data  in  the  pre-history  of 
man  to  point  to  more  or  less  definite  conclusions,  whether  I  accept  those 
conclusions  as  illustrating  my  own  philosophical  opinions  or  not.  In 
other  words,  our  first  duty  should  be  to  eliminate  the  personal  equation 
as  far  as  possible,  to  look  upon  things  as  they  are.  You  appeal  to  the  facts 
of  prehistoric  antiquity, — /  will  do  the  same, — it  is  a  perfectly  fair  chal- 
lenge. 

Then,  as  to  interpretation, — here  of  course  we  are  liable  to  part  com- 
pany. To  you  the  religious  phenomena  may  suggest  nothing  but  a  spon- 
taneous evolutionism  out  of  the  inner  consciousness  of  man, — to  me  they 
are  eloquent  of  a  far  deeper  truth,  of  the  fact  that  man  has  preserved 
many  fractions  of  a  primitive  undiluted  truth,  which  in  the  course  of  ages 
has  become  corrupted  by  a  downward  moral  development.  And  upon 
what  do  I  ground  this  persuasion?  I  ground  it  upon  what  is  nothing  more 
or  less  than  a  principle  of  reason  itself, — that  there  are  certain  truths  that 
are  beyond  the  limits  of  unassisted  reason  to  attain,  tliat  transcend  the 
full  comprehension  of  the  human  intellect,  that  are  frankly  mysteries. 
To  deny  this  would  be  to  deny  the  existence  of  psychic  powers  higher  than 
our  own,  to  measure  the  Infinite  by  the  capacity  of  our  feeble  brain-cells — 
a  slight  disproportion!  If  then  I  find  a  belief  or  a  practice  in  the  pre- 
historic past  which  is  evidently  more  than  a  mere  product  of  natural  phil- 
osophy, my  own  logic  forces  me  to  trace  these  beliefs  to  si/yjer-natural 
causes, — they  cannot  be  spun  out  of  mere  reflexions,  they  demand  a  com- 
munication from  the  Father  of  lights.  What  these  truths  are,  we  have 
just  been  considering,  and  it  is  here  that  we  stand  upon  two  entirely 
different  pedestals.  You  derive  the  entire  folk-lore  of  the  human  race  out 
of  a  merely  natural  reflexion  on  the  facts  of  consciousness.  I  derive  that 
same  folk-lore  out  of  a  primitive  plenitude  of  supernatural  truth,  which 
has  since  been  shattered  into  a  thousand  fragments, — though  I  also  allow 
that  some  of  it  can  be  proved  by  natural  reason.  It  is  simply  a  case  of 
separating  the  lower  from  the  higher  sources  of  intellectual  vision,  and 
this  should  commend  itself  to  any  fair-minded  searcher  after  truth. 


8  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

With  the  supernatural  tluis  well  in  tlie  foreground,  we  have  no  fear  of 
bringing  to  light  certain  aspects  of  belief  and  practice  which  may  at  first 
sight  appear  surprising.  Uut  there  are  two  errors  that  we  must  guard 
against, — the  error  of  traditionalism,  and  the  error  of  immanenlism. 

As  to  the  danger  of  deriving  all  forms  of  belief  from  a  divine  tradi- 
tion, pure  and  simple,  it  is  an  insidious  tendency  which  we  have  long 
since  outgrown,  and  is  already  condemned  by  the  above  propositions  on 
the  'natural"  knowledge  of  God.  Before  I  can  follow  any  tradition,  how- 
ever inspiring,  I  must  be  sure,  on  independent  grounds,  that  the  tradition 
is  true,  worthy  to  be  followed.  Thus  a  belief  in  God  as  Creator  and 
Rewarder  of  the  tiuman  race  precedes  the  act  of  faith  in  a  divine  tradition 
at  least  in  nature  if  not  in  time.  The  two  acts  may  synchronise  in  this  or 
that  particular  circumstance,  but  logically  they  are  two  distinct  opera- 
tions of  the  mind, — I  believe  in  God,  because  He  exists, — then,  I  believe 
in  God,  because  He  has  spoken, — the  one  follows  the  other.  But  apart 
from  this,  it  is  quite  certain  that  a  divine  tradition  may  be  lost,  and  has 
de  facto  been  lost  by  a  large  section  of  the  human  race.  We  must  there- 
fore be  prepared  not  only  for  corruptions  but  for  entire  eclipses  of  truth, 
though  this  is  fortunately  the  great  exception. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  opposite  practice  of  dissolving  the  entire  body 
of  revealed  truth  into  myth  and  allegory,  of  looking  ujjon  the  supernatural 
as  a  mere  evolution  out  of  subjective  states  of  consciousness,  is  far  more 
fatal  in  its  consequences  than  any  over-estimation  of  the  tradition-argu- 
ment. Those  who  would  avoid  all  appeals  to  the  past  records  of  the  race 
on  the  score  of  ■'traditionalism"  are  in  reality  secret  immanentists;  they 
have  no  belief  that  divine  dogmas  have  any  real  or  objective  basis,  and 
therefore  they  scorn  every  attempt  to  find  such  a  basis.  The  elevation 
and  fall  of  man  are  not  physical  but  symbolical  events,  paradise  is  con- 
verted into  a  pious  allegory,  Noah's  ark  consigned  to  the  realm 
of  pedagogic  literature, — throughout  it  is  symbolism,  and  only  symbolism 
that  forms  the  background  of  dogma,  there  is  no  objective  or  absolute 
criterion  of  truth,  everjthing  is  psychological  "tendency."  It  is  needless 
to  state  that  this  Origenistic  allegorism  is  gnawing  at  the  very  entrails  of 
a  sound  theology,  that  it  is  in  direct  opposition  to  the  repeated  declarations 
of  the  Church.  The  separation  of  faith  and  history  is  a  modernistic  error, 
and  those  who  interpret  the  opening  chapters  of  Genesis  as  mere  "poetry" 
incur  tlie  risk  of  a  severe  censure.  (See  the  decree  "Lamentabili"  passim, 
and  the  n-ports  of  the  Biblical  Commission.) 


PROLOG  9 

Another  question,  to  be  sure,  is  tliat  which  concerns  the  degree  in 
which  faith  is  proved  by  history,  to  wliat  extent  the  divine  tradition  can 
be  supported  by  archaeological  facts.  For  it  is  not  per  se  inconceivable 
that  a  divine  revelation,  once  given,  might  have  vanished  from  the  earth 
in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  but  few  vestiges,  and  none  that  are  at  all  unsul- 
lied by  later  corruptions.  This  is  a  point  which  we  must  always  bear  in 
mind.  The  supernatural  certainty  in  a  divine  tradition  may  coexist  with 
a  non-committal  attitude  on  the  subject  of  its  prehistoric  transmission,  of 
its  positive  verification  in  this  or  that  instance.  The  fact  that  some  of 
these  vestiges  may  be  regarded  as  doubtful,  and  that  the  entire  subject  of 
prehistoric  faith  is  a  comparatively  modern  acquisition,  naturally  leads  the 
cautious  believer  to  suspend  his  judgment;  he  assents  to  the  deposit,  not 
because  it  is  provable,  but  because  it  is  revealed,  even  if  not  confirmed  by 
vestiges,  it  is  still  eternally  true.  This  is  a  well-intended  measure  of  safety, 
and  wisely  points  to  divine  authority  as  the  ultimate  norm  of  super- 
natural truth.  But  we  have  already  noted  that,  although  corruptions  and 
perversions  of  truth  are  only  to  be  expected  in  all  the  ages  of  man,  the 
supernatural  has  never  entirely  vanished,  and  it  is  on  the  face  of  it 
incredible  that  in  view  of  the  enlarged  field  of  modern  research  nothing 
whatever  should  be  left  of  tlie  finger  of  God  in  human  history  to  be  dis- 
covered by  scientific  means.  The  enemy  has  been  throwing  this  at  us  for 
many  centuries,  and  it  is  time  that  the  tide  were  turned,  that  the  true 
picture  of  prehistoric  man  were  at  length  presented. 

If,  then,  in  the  treatment  of  certain  aspects  of  this  q'uestion  we  have 
erred  on  the  side  of  excessive  realism,  it  is  a  pardonable  antidote  to  the 
prevalent  looseness  with  which  the  historic  supernatural  is  dismissed, — 
simply  ignored  as  a  power  in  the  life  of  man.  We  may,  as  I  have  said, 
try  to  find  too  much,  we  may  overestimate  the  content  of  the  message  by 
carrying  into  it  too  much  of  our  own  psychology.  But  it  is  better  to  find 
too  much  than  too  little,  and  to  find  nothing  at  all  is  a  wilful  conspiracy 
against  natural  reason  no  less  than  against  supernatural  light, — it  is  simply 
ignoring  the  overwhelming  evidence  of  both  sources  of  truth.  It  is  easy 
enough  to  sneer  at  the  six  "days"  of  creation,  but  what  if  the  savage  has 
a  vague  recollection  of  a  similar  work?  It  seems  hard  to  believe  that  our 
first  parents  ate  of  the  forbidden  fruit  at  the  instigation  of  a  "talking" 
serpent,  but  what  if  this  is  one  of  the  earliest  persuasions  of  man?  It  is 
easy  to  make  cheap  jokes  about  a  universal  deluge,  but  what  if  a  unique 
drowning-calamity  is  one  of  the  most  widespread  traditions  of  the  human 
race? 


10  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Those  who  studiously  avoid  these  subjects  have  a  secret  conviction 
that  they  never  aclitalhj  occurrfd,  and  they  might  as  well  be  candid  enough 
to  say  so.  They  may  smile  at  our  reconstructions,  but  they  having  noth- 
ing better  to  oder  in  tiieir  jtluce. — in  fact,  they  ollVr  us  a  blank,  and  are 
rather  haj)py  to  do  so:  it  helps  to  support  tin'ir  theory  uf  a  progressive 
evolution  of  dogmas.  To  such  as  these,  and  in  fact  to  the  entire  school 
of  negative  thinkers,  the  present  work  cannot  but  be  distasteful;  it  is  a 
direct  repudiation  of  their  favorite  ttiesis  of  a  gradual  rise  of  the  religious 
conscience  out  of  a  mental  and  moral  zero.  We  have  firmly  determined 
to  fight  this  universal  atheism,  and  are  ready  for  the  fight, — let  there  be 
no  misunderstanding  of  our  initial  purpose.  But  to  those  of  the  conserva- 
tive school,  who  belong  to  the  "household  of  faith,"  this  book  may  yet 
convey  a  double  impression : — 

(1)  There  are  those  to  whom  the  religious  data  will  come  as  a  welcome 
surprise.  They  will  be  glad  to  feel  that  the  sign  of  the  Cross  is  so  ancient, 
that  the  All-Father  cult  is  the  earliest  religion  of  man,  that  the  six  days  of 
Genesis  admit  of  such  valuable  illustration,  that  the  Tree  of  Life  and  the 
Garden  of  God  are  once  more  restored  to  them  as  physical  realities.  Even 
if  overdrawn  in  this  or  that  particular  instance,  the  main  body  of  facts 
can  hardly  be  questioned,  and  they  cannot  fail  to  be  reassuring.  Nay 
more, — the  same  group  of  believers  will  be  looking  for  the  Star  of 
Redemption  in  the  later  ages  of  man;  they  will  thrill  with  delight  when 
they  find  that  of  all  the  peoples  of  antiquity  we  alone  of  the  noble  Aryan 
race,  the  Persian  Magi  of  the  gospels,  were  allowed  to  find  the  King  of 
Glory  as  the  reward  of  our  supernatural  faith.  Is  this  not  a  beautiful 
confirmation  of  the  gospel  narrative,  hitherto  regarded  by  some  as  almost 
a  romance,  almost  loo  good  to  be  true?  Then  again  the  early  sacrificial 
rites  of  humanity  will  make  a  similar  impression.  They  will  hail  with 
universal  sympathy  tiie  natural  instinct  by  which  man  uses  the  medicines 
of  nature  as  the  natural  expression  of  his  religious  feelings,  they  will  see 
in  the  First-fruit  Sadaka  a  distant  symbolism  of  the  divine  benevolence, 
and  the  entire  sacrificial  practice  will  tend  to  show  that  man  is  by  nature 
ritualistic,  far  removed  from  a  merely  esoteric  religion.  Finally,  to  hear 
once  more  of  a  real  "ark,"  and  of  a  real  heaven,  hell,  and  purgatory,  can- 
not but  bring  solace  to  a  humanity  distraught  with  doubts  and  with 
religious  dissensions, — in  fact,  all  these  things  sound  traditional  and 
orthodox,  they  seem  to  support  the  revealed  position  in  a  thousand 
dilTerent  ways,  and  they  make  Christ  our  Lord  the  one  unique  Light  of  the 
World,  the  common  hope  of  Jew  and  Gentile  alike. 


PROLOG  11 

(2)  There  are  others,  however,  to  whom  the  same  religious  data 
might  suggest  an  erroneous  inference.  What?  The  sign  of  the  Gross 
before  Christ?  The  hexahemeron  before  Moses?  Tlie  tree  of  life  before 
Eden?  Redemption  before  the  Redeemer?  The  sadaka  before  the 
Eucharist?  Medicines  before  sacraments?  Deluge-heroes  before  Ararat? 
Visions  of  God  before  Calvary?  It  looks  as  if  you  were  deriving  the 
whole  of  the  revealed  basis  of  faith  out  of  a  mere  human  tradition,  making 
the  supernatural  to  "grow"  out  of  the  natural,  supporting  that  very  scheme 
of  religious  evolutionism  which  you  pretend  to  condemn.  It  does  not 
increase,  but  rather  it  lessens  my  faith,  to  be  told  that  some  of  our  most 
cherished  dogmas  have  been  anticipated  by  unregenerate  savages,  that 
prehistoric  man  should  have  shared,  however  remotely,  in  a  volume  of  holy 
lore  and  tradition  which  I  cannot  but  regard  as  all-sacrcd,  unfit  for  any 
"pagan"  hands  to  touch.  So  far  from  being  elevated  by  all  this  prehistoric 
rubbish,  I  am  on  the  contrary  chagrined  and  depressed  at  its  evident 
portent.  It  seems  to  imply  that  there  is  nothing  entirely  unique  in  the 
Christian  religion;  that  the  latter  is  but  the  crown  and  apex  of  many 
previous  attempts  to  solve  the  riddle  of  existence, — simply  the  pleroma  or 
the  natural  fulfilment  of  the  spontaneous  longings  of  the  human  race, — a 
"culmination."  It  leaves  me  with  a  less  powerful  grip  on  the  supernatural 
than  I  had  before,  and  the  last  state  of  my  soul  is  worse  than  the  first. 

After  what  we  have  just  been  expounding  on  the  mutual  relation  of 
the  natural  and  the  supernatural  in  all  ages  of  man,  it  is  needless  to  repeat 
that  the  above  impression  is  indeed  deplorable,  ancl  one  which  we 
are  doing  our  best  to  remove.  In  the  first  place,  we  deny  the  insinuation 
in  toto.  We  are  not  deriving  the  religious  ideas  of  humanity  out  of  a 
primitive  blank,  but  out  of  a  primitive  plenitude.  We  are  starting  with  the 
supernatural,  not  closing  with  it, — even  if  it  is  also  true  that  some  of  these 
ideas  might  have  been  suggested  by  the  natural  constitution  of  man.  We 
have  separated  the  two  sources  with  sufficient  clearness.  It  is  therefore 
untrue  to  say  that  we  are  evolving  dogmas, — on  the  contrary,  we  are  pre- 
supposing a  large  body  of  primitive  dogma,  out  of  which,  as  out  of  a  rich 
mine,  the  sacred  traditions  of  man  have  been  quarried.  If  this  is  not  poles 
apart  from  modern  immanentism,  then  what  is  it?  It  reestablishes  the 
supernatural,  it  does  not  repudiate  it.  If,  then,  we  find  many  striking 
beliefs  in  the  early  history  of  man,  they  are  so  many  confirmations,  not 
repudiations  of  Christian  dogma,  which  latter,  as  we  shall  invariably 
show,  cannot  be  evolved  out  of  naturalistic  speculations.  This  will  always 
remain  the  most  powerful  'critique'  at  our  disposal,  and  we  intend  to  apply 
it  cautiously,  but  unsparingly. 


12  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

In  the  second  place,  it  must  be  candidly  admitted  that  some  of  us 
have  all  too  narrow  a  view  of  the  divine  economy.  Tiiere  was  a  time  when 
we  could  shelve  the  prehistoric  problem  by  a  wholesale  denunciation  of 
every  form  of  pre-Christian  bi-lief  as  a  damnable  superstition,  an  unadul- 
terated falsehood.  Omnes  clii  gentium  daemonia, — "all  the  gods  of  the 
gentiles  are  demons," — such  was  the  cry  with  which  the  early  Christian 
apologists  justly  assailed  the  disgusting  vices  with  which  the  contemporary 
pagan  world  was  rank,  and  it  was  not  very  ditricult  to  prove  that  Christian- 
ity was  immensely  superior  to  any  of  its  "heathen"  competitors.  But  the 
matter  assumes  a  different  aspect  when  we  ascend  into  high  antiquity. 
Not  corruptions,  but  illuminations  are  the  prominent  feature  in  the  earlier 
periods  of  the  race,  and  the  further  we  mount  up,  the  stronger  and  purer 
does  the  light  of  heaven  appear  to  shine,  though  never  with  the  splendor 
of  Christian  truth.  All  this,  however,  is  a  modern  acquisition,  and  in 
keeping  time  with  this  new  world  of  thought  that  is  opening  out  before 
us,  we  are  happy  to  find  that  "God's  in  his  heaven,  all's  right  with  the 
world."  The  discovery  of  these  facts  should  furnish  a  strong  support  to 
the  dogma  of  a  primitive  revelation,  indeed  they  point  so  forcibly  in  this 
direction  that  they  cannot  be  explained  without  the  theory  of  a  partial 
survival  of  revealed  truth  over  large  sections  of  the  human  race.  Thus 
they  expand  our  ideas  of  the  divine  government, — they  do  not  becloud 
them. 

Finally,  it  is  most  important  to  distinguish  between  the  external  form 
and  the  internal  content  of  a  religion.  For,  although  forms  may  be  indefi- 
nitely ancient,  the  content  is  liable  to  change;  in  no  case  more  so  than  in 
the  sudden  and  violent  transition  which  marks  the  use  of  the  pagan  rites 
from  the  entirely  new  use  of  the  Christian  mysteries.  It  is  here  especially 
that  we  must  guard  against  any  misconstructions.  The  discovery  of  ])re- 
Christian  analogies,— whether  in  theological  terminologj",  or  in  the  external 
ritual  by  which  religion  is  expressed, — is  something  that  we  must  be  pre- 
pared for,  and  cannot  be  argued  away  by  a  worn-out  appeal  to  the  unique- 
ness of  Christian  ceremonies  on  the  purely  material  side.  Are  there  not 
many  things  in  our  Christian  ritual  which,  viewed  in  their  broader  and 
more  general  aspects,  exhibit  some  external  points  of  resemblance  to 
Jewish  or  pagan  practice?  Does  not  religion  clothe  herself  in  similar  garb 
the  world  over?  The  fact  is  there  are  certain  natural  forms  by  which 
religion  is  expressed  in  all  ages  of  man,  and  from  this  point  of  view  we 
may  rightfully  admit  some  continuity  witii  the  remote  past.  Nature  is 
perfected  by  grace,  not  destroyed  or  entirely  cancelled  by  its  higher 
operations. 


PROLOG  13 

But  continuity  of  form  has  notliing  to  do  with  continuity  of  content. 
The  use  of  prayer-beads  and  holy  water  is  as  old  as  the  ocean,  but  neither 
can  the  Holy  Rosary  be  derived  from  an  Astarte-cult,  nor  the  rite  of 
Baptism  from  a  Mithraic  douche.  Sacred  candles  have  nothing  to  do  with 
prehistoric  torches,  nor  the  Blessed  Sacrament  with  a  transplanted  Soma- 
worship.  In  each  case  there  are  external  resemblances  and  typical  pre- 
figurations  which  it  would  be  unwise  to  deny,— we  may  even  hail  them  as 
the  forerunners  of  better  things  to  come,  as  providential  or  prehistoric 
"lights,"— but  to  evolve  the  one  out  of  the  other  indicates  the  crassest 
ignorance  of  the  meaning  and  content  of  the  Christian  formulae.  Did 
any  savage  ever  baptise  in  the  name  of  a  triune  God?  any  Persian  paitish 
see  in  the  "bread  of  chastity"  the  body  and  blood  of  a  crucified  Savior? 
Is  there  anything  in  common  between  the  Dominican  Rosary,  with  its 
fifteen  mysteries  of  the  life  of  Christ,  and  the  vain  babblings  of  the  gentiles, 
with  their  knotted  cords  and  their  spinning  prayer- wheels?  If  mere 
externals  be  the  test  of  a  similarity,  we  answer,— yes,— there  is  many  a 
rationalist  tliat  can  learn  from  primitive  man  the  art  of  invoking  God  by 
prostrations  of  body  no  less  than  of  soul,  by  consecrating  every  minute  to 
some  ritual  act,  by  using  beads,  pictures,  water,  and  incense  as  the  vivid 
expressions  of  his  own  interior  faith,  and  to  this  extent  we  are  nearer  to 
Him  than  he,  our  religion  is  symbolic  and  sacramental, — a  "living"  faith. 
But  when  it  comes  to  dogma,  there  is  no  bridge  between  paganism  and 
Christianity,  between  the  Old  and  the  New  Law,  and  those  who  cannot  see 
the  essential  difference  between  bath-house  and  Bap'tism,  prayer-beads 
and  Rosary,  soma  and  Sacred  Host,  are  indeed  in  a  pitiable  state.  Let  them 
read  the  gospel  of  the  New  Birth,  the  formula  of  the  Annunciation,  the 
"eucharistic"  chapter  of  St.  John,  and  they  will  be  convinced  of  the  oppo- 
site ;  the  Messiah  inaugurates  an  entirely  new  dispensation,  as  is  evident 
from  the  misconstruction  put  upon  His  words,— "How  can  a  man  be  born 
ivhen  he  is  old?",  "How  can  this  man  give  us  his  flesh  to  eat?"  (John,  3, 
4.  6,  53.)  If  these  were  current  beliefs,  they  would  not  have  occasioned  the 
wonderment,  nay  even  the  apostasy  of  some  of  his  early  followers,— they 
are  new,  transcendent,  heaven-begotten  mysteries. 

With  this  initial  misunderstanding  removed,  we  do  not  hesitate  to 
reveal  the  beauty  and  the  symmetry  of  pre-Christian  faith  in  all  its  ful- 
ness, without  needlessly  clipping  its  wings  under  the  absurd  pretext  that  it 
will  destroy  the  uniqueness  of  the  gospel.  There  is  a  primitive  light  to 
which  the  Messiah  would  call  us  back,  and  in  finding  its  vestiges,  we  shall 
be  adding  but  one  more  jewel  to  the  crown  of  His  Divinity. 


14  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

It  is  therefore  hoped,  tliat  the  main  impression  of  tliis  book  will  be  a 
favorable  one;  that  it  will  help  to  clear  up  certain  questions  which  until 
recently  have  been  handled  with  indifTerent  success.  There  are  millions 
of  people  who  are  driven  to  despair  by  the  apjjarently  hopeless  verdict  of 
modern  science  on  all  that  concerns  the  nature,  origin,  and  destiny  of  the 
human  sj)ecies,  and  to  whom  the  opening  chapters  of  Genesis  seem  to  be 
in  appalling  contradiction  to  the  unanimous  voice  of  modern  research. 
If  the  revealed  history  of  primitive  man  is  exploded  to  the  four  winds, 
what  becomes  of  the  Bible  as  the  infallible  word  of  God?  And  if  Moses 
be  consigned  to  the  limbo  of  romance,  where  is  the  guarantee  that  the 
New  Testament  will  fare  any  better?  The  w^hole  system  stands  and  falls 
together  as  a  unit,  and  by  cultivating  a  negative  habit  of  mind  we  gradually 
undermine  the  entire  basis  of  supernatural  truth. — the  whole  structure 
gradually  dwindles  from  our  mind, — we  have  lost  the  Faith.  It  is  surely 
worth  while  to  save  what  we  can  out  of  this  universal  wreckage,  and  to 
re-examine  the  data  to  see  whether  the  message  of  science  is  in  reality  such 
as  it  is  commonly  given  out  to  be,  whether  in  fact  it  forces  us  to  assume 
60  radical  a  position.  If  it  can  be  shown  that  this  is  no!  the  case,  that  on 
the  contrary  the  most  recently  discovered  facts  tend  (o  support  the  revealed 
tradition  with  an  almost  epoch-making  force,  it  is  surely  high  time  to 
bring  these  facts  before  the  public,  to  let  them  know  that  real  science  has 
a  very  different  story  to  tell.  If  this  book  accomplishes  nothing  more  than 
to  restore  to  primitive  man  his  birthright  as  a  God-created  being,  it  will, 
not  have  been  wriltevn  in  vain.  But  we  hope  that  it  may  lead  to  more  than 
this.  The  reader  should  feel  at  the  end  of  this  study  that  he  is  nearer  to 
the  supernatural  than  he  was  before,  that  his  own  religion  is  acquiring  a 
new  lease  of  life  by  ils  alliance  with  prehistoric  lore,  that  the  name  of 
Christ  is  nean-r  and  dearer  lo  him  now  that  he  sees  what  the  divine  Being 
has  meant  to  humanity  throughout  the  ages  of  time,  how  vividly  the 
teachings  of  Christ  are  illustrated  by  the  prehistoric  annals  of  mankind, 
how  suggestive  of  heavenly  light  are  many  of  the  beliefs  and  practices 
with  which  he  has  come  in  contact,  yet  how  incomparably  superior  is  the 
Faith  of  Pentecost.  To  what  extent  this  is  actually  borne  out  by  the  facts 
must  of  course  be  our  main  object  of  controversy. — it  is  now  to  be  estab- 
lished by  a  painstaking  analysis  of  all  the  data.  But  that  this  may  be  the 
final  effect  of  the  book,  is  the  sincere  desire  of  the  author. 

If,  then,  the  present  work  is  branded  as  a  "Tendenzschrifl."  we  have 
nothing  to  say  beyond  what  has  already  been  noted  above.  We  all  have 
"tendencies"  of  one  kind  or  another,  and  the  obvious  course  is  lo  measure 
the  value  of  the  tendency  by  an  impartial  appeal  to  the  logic  of  facts. 
The  true  tendency  will  vindicate  its  own  right  to  existence. 


PROLOG  15 

In  the  nature  of  the  case  this  work  must  assume  the  character  of  a  com- 
pilation. The  field  of  comparative  and  prehistoric  religion  being  well- 
nigh  illimitable,  it  is  beyond  the  capacity  of  any  single  individual  to  master 
it  with  his  own  private  resources, — he  must  be  copiously  supported  by  the 
investigations  of  others  if  his  work  is  to  be  in  any  sense  comprehensive 
as  well  as  convincing.  It  is,  therefore,  necessary  for  me  to  preface  once 
and  for  all  that  a  large  portion  of  this  book  is  the  result  of  the  labors  of  spe- 
cialists, whose  willing  cooperation  has  been  secured,  and  to  whom  I  am 
directly  indebted  for  immediate  and  timely  illumination.  For  while  I  can 
say  without  exaggeration  that  a  large  part  of  the  prehistoric  and  Baby- 
lonian cuneiform  matter  is  in  a  more  direct  sense  my  own  work,  while  the 
entire  treatment  of  the  subject,  with  its  analyses,  criticisms  and  conclu- 
sions, as  well  as  the  diagrams,  stands  and  falls  with  my  own  personality, 
it  would  be  grossly  wanting  in  propriety  not  to  acknowledge  the  immense 
debt  that  is  due  to  the  labors  of  the  many  authors  who  have  made  it  pos- 
sible for  me  to  collect  this  material  and  to  ofTer  it  to  the  public  in  a  new 
and  more  easily  accessible  dress.  No  modern  writer  can  face  the  world  of 
criticism  unless  he  is  firmly  supported  by  authorities  of  the  highest  rank, — 
it  would  be  unblushing  audacity  to  attempt  such  a  thing, — he  must  let  the 
voice  of  professional  scholarship  speak  without  reserve,  even  if  that  voice 
be  occasionally  ambiguous  and  wanting  in  firm  and  well-tested  solidity, — 
he  cannot  afTord  to  stand  on  his  own  feet.  It  has,  therefore,  been  my  spe- 
cial endeavor  to  illustrate  this  subject  by  appealing  to  as  many  first-class 
authorities  as  is  conveniently  possible.  I  am,  in  fact,  rS-editing  their  work 
per  longum  et  latum,  though  I  wish  it  to  be  distinctly  understood  that  all 
obligations  have  been  publicly  or  privately  acknowledged. 

Among  these  obligations  those  to  the  British  Museum  and  the  Univer- 
sity of  Pennsylvania  take  the  first  place.  Dr.  Kenyon  has  given  me  full 
authority  to  publish  the  "Cuneiform  Texts"  in  the  United  States  with  inter- 
linear transliterations,  while  rare  and  interesting  material  has  been 
obtained  from  Prof.  Hilprecht's  "Old  Babylonian  Inscriptions"  and  Prof. 
Langdon's  newly-edited  "Sumerian  Psalms."  A  special  and  personal 
tribute  of  thanks  is  due  to  Prof.  George  S.  Duncan,  of  the  department  of 
Assyriology  and  Egyptology  of  Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore,  for 
reviewing  the  Babylonian  matter  and  transcribing  and  translating  the 
Egyptian  Pyramid  Texts, — the  latter  entirely  his  own  composition.  A 
word  of  acknowledgment  is  also  due  to  Drs.  Butin  and  Vaschalde  of  the 
Catholic  University  of  America,  and  especially  to  Dr.  Kennedy,  without 
whom  I  could  hardly  have  undertaken  this  work.  These  and  that  emi- 
nent Jewish  expert.  Dr.  Immanuel  Casanowicz,  are  the  principal  gentle- 
men in  Washington  to  whom  I  owe  a  lasting  debt  of  personal  gratitude. 


16  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

In  the  department  of  Persian  liieratic  literature,  I  iiave  obtained  prac- 
tically all  that  is  here  offered  from  the  pen  of  my  own  fatlior.  the  late 
Professor  Lawrence  Heywortii  Mills,  Doctor  of  Divinity  of  nolumbia  Uni- 
versity. New  York,  and  for  many  years  Professor  of  Iranian  Liti.Tature 
and  Philology  in  the  University  of  Oxford,  England.  While  I  have  the 
highest  regard  for  the  standing  and  ttie  accomplishments  of  this 
eminent  scholar, — in  his  own  day  undoubtedly  the  greatest  living 
authority  on  the  pre-exilic  Persian  or  Acliaemanean  Zoroastrianism, — 
I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  viewing  the  entire  subject  from  a  some- 
what diflerent  standpoint,  and  altliougli  I  may  rightfully  assume  tliat  his 
literary  productions  are  technically  llawless.  I  have  put  my  own  perspec- 
tive into  their  liigher  theological  interpretation. 

As  to  the  prehistoric  archaeological  and  ethnological  data,  it  would 
take  a  small  volume  even  to  mention  the  names  of  those  upon  wliose  works 
I  have  reared  the  greater  part  of  this  edifice.  The  present  abnormal  state 
of  the  world  has  made  it  impossible  to  communicate  with  many  of  these 
European  gentlemen,  whose  timely  word  of  advice  and  assistance  would 
have  been  most  desirable.  I  can  only  presume  their  cooperation  and  gen- 
erous approval  wlien  making  use  of  their  sources.  In  the  meantime  a 
sincere  word  of  appreciation  is  due  to  Mr.  F.  W.  Hodge,  of  the  Bureau 
of  American  Ethnology,  and  to  his  co-workers  at  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, for  supplying  me  with  many  archaeological  curiosities,  and  for 
reviewing  the  material  on  the  North-American  folklore,  and  especially 
on  the  Pueblo  ritual.    Mr.  W.  H.  Holmes  furnished  the  .\ztec  fire-temple. 

Finally,  it  is  impossible  to  bring  out  a  "prehistoric  bible"  of  this  nature 
without  craving  the  indulgence  of  the  public,  and  still  more  that  of 
accredited  scholars,  on  the  subject  of  its  necessary  imperfections.  It  is 
beyond  all  human  capacity  to  produce  an  ideally  perfect  edition  of  any 
ancient  text  by  purely  autographic  methods, — try  as  hard  as  he  may,  the 
copyist  is  bound  to  make  some  slips  and  oversight;  he  is  only  human. 
And  as  in  the  present  case  the  author  is  at  the  same  time  the  copyist  and 
has  had  to  do  the  entire  work  from  cover  to  cover  without  any  assistance, 
it  should  be  understood  that  these  reproductions  are  only  approximations, 
they  cannot  claim  to  be  absolutely  exact.  It  is  therefore  confidently 
expected  that,  with  all  the  care  that  has  been  given  to  make  these  texts, 
tablets  and  transcriptions  as  nearly  perfect  as  possible,  the  few  oversiglits 
will  be  readily  pardoned  in  view  of  the  substantial  accuracy  of  the  great 
bulk  of  the  work. 

Philo  L.  Mills, 

Capital  Publishers.  Washington.  D.  C. 
Sept.  24,  1918. 


PREFACE  17 


A  GENERAL  ORIENTATION  ON  THE  STATUS  QUAESTIONIS 

To  bring  before  the  reader  the  main  points  of  our  present  study  in  more 
clear  and  concise  form,  I  have  thought  it  useful  to  bring  out  the  chief 
objects  of  controversy  with  a  view  to  showing  how  I  intend  to  handle 
these  questions  and  what  provisions  have  been  made  to  meet  the  more 
common  objections  that  will  naturally  arise  and  to  guard  against  all  pos- 
sible misunderstandings.  The  following  should  be  carefully  borne  in 
mind  by  all  who  peruse  these  pages  with  a  view  to  understanding  their 
general  spirit  and  tendency. 

(1)  The  doctrine  of  unlimited  evolution  naturally  finds  no  place  in  the 
present  work.  Natural  reason  and  supernatural  light  are  at  one  in  con- 
demning a  system  which  is  scientifically,  philosophically  and  theologically 
false.  Hence  it  will  be  of  inestimable  value  to  discover  that  in  every 
department  of  religious  belief  and  practice  there  is  evidence  of  an  initial 
fulness  and  integritu  which  cannot  be  explained  on  Darwinian  or  evolu- 
tional lines,  but  presupposes  the  direct  influx  of  a  higher  Power,  something 
transcendent. 

(2)  Applying  this  to  the  human  species  as  such,  it  will  be  found  that 
by  no  possibility  can  the  original  type  of  mankind  be  deduced  from  an 
anthropoidal  precursor,  but  that  on  the  contrary,  the  gap  between  savagp 
and  simian  is  more  glaring  in  the  earlier  than  in  the  later  ages  of  humanity, 
which  suggests  that  there  has  been  a  very  large,  if  not  a  universal  physical 
degeneration.  Primitive  man  was  undoubtedly  an  ideal  and  unique  being. 
What  we  see  is  the  more  or  less  corrupted  though  comparatively  pure  sur- 
vivor, not  the  "ideal"  man. 

(3)  From  this  it  will  follow  that  no  existing  type  of  humanity  can 
be  regarded  as  the  bearer  of  an  undiluted  primitive  faith  except  as  an 
approximation,  as  something  similar  to  what  was  once  upon  the  earth. 
Hence  all  the  existing  savage  beliefs  are  more  or  less  tainted,  but  exhibit 
greater  or  less  approximations  to  absolute  truth  in  proportion  to  their 
antiquity  or  to  the  purity  with  which  the  primitive  revelation  has  been 
handed  down. 

(4)  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  direct  connexion  between  religious 
and  material  culture,  the  earliest  races  of  man  being  culturally  low  but 
religiously  and  morally  highly  developed.  In  fact,  an  advance  in  culture 
is  often  accompanied  by  a  collective  degeneration,  as  can  be  easily  proved. 
Only  in  Christianity  do  we  find  the  highest  material  and  moral  civilisation 
fused  into  one,  but  even  this  by  no  immanent  necessity. 


18  PREFACE 

(5)  The  "Law  of  Progress"  is  iiol  so  simple  tliat  it  can  be  expressed 
in  a  single  sentence.  It  is  a  complicated  c<iuation,  better  expressed  by  the 
zigzag  than  by  the  straight  line.  Tin-  fact  is,  humanity  can  advance  in  one 
sense  and  retard  in  another,  and  tiiroughout  all  history  there  have  been 
uj)\vard  and  downward  dt'velopments  sometimes  going  on  simultaneously. 
It  would  be  better  to  say  that  there  is  no  "law"  of  progress  when  we  are 
dealing  with  free  agents, — it  is  a  pure  fiction  except  when  applied  to  purely 
material  or  cultural  data. 

(6)  Hence  in  surveying  the  succeeding  chapters  it  must  not  be  in- 
ferred that  because  a  belief  is  put  down  as  early,  if  is  either  the  best  or  the 
most  primitive,  but  simply  that  it  is  relutivebj  pure,  comparatiiebj  primi- 
tive. An  idea  may  be  late  in  its  expression  but  absolutely  primitive  in  its 
content  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  ideal  ancestor  is  beyond  our  reach. 

(7)  This  concerns  more  especially  the  relation  of  the  written  super- 
nntural  or  the  inspin-d  biblical  truth  to  the  faded  or  fragmentary  super- 
natural as  we  read  it  in  the  corrupted  folklort^  of  humanity.  On  no  account 
can  a  direct  equation  be  established  between  any  biblical  and  "babylon- 
ian"  subject  in  such  sense  as  to  insinuale  that  the  one  is  simply  a  fuller 
edition  of  the  other,  a  more  perfect  recension.  THE  WRITTEN  BIBLE  IS 
L.\TE  IN  ITS  .\PPE.\R.\NCE  BUT  .\BSOLlTELY  PURE  AND  PRIMITIVE 
IN  ITS  MESSAGE.  WHILE  THE  EXTRA-BIBLICAL  TRADITIONS  HOLD 
A  PRIORITY  OF  COMPOSITION  BUT  NOT  OF  CONTENT:  THEY  ARE 
VALUABLE  ONLY  IN  SO  FAR  AS  THEY  LEND  CONFIRM.VTION  TO 
THE  BIBLICAL  RECORD  WHICH  IS  ITSELF  FOUNDED  ON  PREHIS- 
TORIC RECORDS  WHICH  HAVE  SINCE  BEEN  LOST.  This  of  course 
must  be  our  principal  controversial  thesis  throughout  the  work  and  it  is 
vitally  important  to  its  clear  understanding.  Revelation  is  wider  than 
inspiration,  it  is  true:  but  I  hope  to  show  under  each  chapter  that  in  no 
case  has  tlie  inspired  author  simply  "exploited"  the  contemporary  records, 
but  that  on  the  contrary,  the  internal  and  e.xternal  evidence  shows  very 
clearly  that  while  the  terminology  and  literary  setting  may  often  be  traced 
to  extra-biblical  parallels,  the  dogmatic  ideas  are  absolutely  independent 
and  presuppose  a  direct  illumination  of  the  mind  of  the  inspired  writer, 
by  which  the  true  religious  history  of  man  was  brought  before  his  vision, 
free  from  every  taint  of  error  or  corruption.  In  this  way  the  divine  tradi- 
tion is  seen  to  be  independent  of  any  of  its  falsely  supposed  pagan 
"sources,"  while  the  supernatural  cannot  be  derived  out  of  the  natural,  as 
I  have  explained  in  the  Prolog. 

These  few  words  will  sutTlce  for  the  present  in  order  to  put  into  proper 
perspective  the  general  framework  of  our  collected  material.  Its  applica- 
tion to  individual  subjects  will  be  found  under  each  chapter. 

PiiiLO  L.  Mills,  October  2,  1918. 


PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 


INTRODUCTION 


In  every  investigation  there  is  something  that  is  taken  for  granted,  and 
something  for  vi'hich  vi^e  are  searching,  in  the  hope  of  discovering  a  new 
Une  of  facts.  In  the  present  study  on  the  primitive  religion  of  man  there 
are  two  questions  that  present  themselves  for  immediate  solution  by  way 
of  a  preamble: — 

(1)  Are  there  any  primitive  types  of  man  in  existence? 

(2)  Is  it  possible  to  reconstruct  their  religion  from  the  scattered 
materials  that  have  come  down  to  us? 

As  to  the  first  question,  it  must  be  admitted  that,  as  far  as  the  general 
verdict  of  biologj^  is  concerned,  there  is  no  type  of  man  at  present  in 
existence  that  can  claim  to  be  a  literally  primitive  type.  Such  a  form  has 
passed  out  of  existence  long  ago  and  is  past  recovery.  Incessant  changes, — 
climatic,  physical,  psychological  or  functional, — have  so  modified  the 
organic  structure  of  man,  have  so  influenced  his  constitution,  somatic  and 
psychic,  that  it  would  be  bold  indeed  to  point  to  any  section  of  the  race  as 
representative  of  the  common  ancestor  of  mankind.  On  the  other  hand  it 
is  no  less  evident  that  among  the  existing  races  of  man  there  are  great 
differences.  There  are  some  that  are  culturally  recent,  others  admittedly 
ancient,  while  still  others  seem  to  mirror  the  conditions  of  life  of  an  age 
which  has  long  since  perished, — to  represent  in  fact  a  type  which  is 
relatively  primitive, — an  approach  at  least  to  primitive  man.  It  is  with 
such  a  type  that  our  present  study  is  occupied. 

As  to  the  second  question,  it  is  true  that  much  of  our  material  is  scat- 
tered, fragmentary,  and  at  times  defective.  But  this  is  no  reason  for  reject- 
ing the  combined  weight  of  the  evidence  en  masse.  The  deficiency  of 
single  areas  can  generally  be  corrected  by  the  wealth  and  promise  of  more 
favored  regions.  The  material  must  be  carefully  sifted.  The  combined 
picture  thus  obtained  should  furnish  a  sufficient  basis  for  drawing  con- 
clusions of  a  solid  and  scientific  value.  In  no  case  can  evidence  be  accepted 
that  is  based  upon  loose  or  inaccurate  data.  The  material  must  come  from 
an  unimpeachable  source. 


II  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Let  us  approach  lliis  subject  in  tlic  liglit  of  existing  evidence. 
I.     THE  QUESTION  OF  "REAL  PRIMITIVES" 
(A) The  Evidence  of  Culture, — The  Pre-Ghellean  Age 

In  looking  for  the  earliest  types  of  liumanity  there  are  two  methods  at 
our  disposal.  We  may  dig  into  the  earth  and  search  for  his  early  remains, 
for  the  earliest  vestiges  of  his  bones  and  industry, — or,  we  may  turn  to 
the  living  races  and  argue  backwards. — we  may  say  that  the  lowest  and 
least  developed  section  of  humanity  is  apt  to  represent  the  earlier  type. 
The  one  is  the  method  of  palaeontology,  the  other  of  comparative  ethnol- 
ogy, and  both  are  fruitful  and  productive  of  important  results.  But  in 
comparing  tiie  value  of  each  method  we  shall  find  that  the  evidence 
afforded  by  the  living  survivor  is  in  many  respects  more  certain,  more 
direct,  and  more  complete,  than  tiiat  obtained  from  his  osseous  remains. 
It  is  more  certain. — because  the  number  of  facts  is  greater,  and  tiie  general 
princij)le  of  a  gradation  of  culture  unquestionable, — it  is  more  direct. — 
because  we  see  the  original  actually  before  our  eyes, — it  is  more  com- 
plete,— because  the  existing  type  brings  before  us  the  life  of  primitive 
man  in  all  its  entirety,  without  the  help  of  imaginary  reconstructions, 
based  on  a  few  flints  and  cranial  fragments. 

A  brief  consideration  will  make  this  clear.  It  has  been  possible  in 
recent  times  to  produce  a  fairly  accurate  picture  of  neolitliic  and  even 
palaeolithic  man.  We  see  ourselves  reflected  in  the  Lake-dwellers  of 
Europe,  and  to  some  extent  in  tiie  Mammoth  and  Bear-hunti-rs  of  the  great 
Ice  Age.  But  the  further  we  go  back,  the  more  dim  grows  the  picture, 
the  more  scanty  the  materials  for  the  reconstruction  of  man.  For  if  the 
neolithic  remains  are  generally  complete  and  sufficiently  numerous  to 
afford  a  fairly  satisfactory  picture,  the  glacial  skeletons  are  with  few 
exceptions  faulty  and  fragnn'ntary.  they  consist  for  the  most  part  of  por- 
tions of  a  skull,  a  rib,  or  a  shin-bone,  from  which  with  their  accompanying 
industry  the  living  form  is  conjured  up  from  the  dead. — we  are  told  to 
look  to  the  .Australian  for  his  modern  representative.  Now  it  is  quite  true 
that  these  buried  or  "fossil"  remains  are  very  important,  tliey  furnish  in 
fact  an  indirect  check  to  the  ethnological  data.  But  their  combined  result 
is  otiierwise  disappointing.  They  tell  us  little  of  the  real  appearance  of 
man,  little  of  his  daily  life,  nothing  of  his  social  organisation,  and  next  to 
nothing  of  his  religious  beliefs.  At  most,  they  are  mere  landmarks,  mile- 
stones in  the  early  historj-  of  man.' 


'  Compare  in  this  connection  G.  Scott-Elliot,  Prehistoric  Man  and  His  Stor>',  (London, 
1915),  whose  reconstructions  are  more  ingenuous  than  scientific,  though  as  anthropoidal 
types  they  are  possibly  of  some  value.  The  same  of  H.  F.  Osborn,  Men  of  the  Old  Stone 
Age,  (New  York,  1916),  an  otherwise  admirable  work. 


INTRODUCTION  III 

A  far  more  satisfactory  metliod  is  that  of  turning  to  ttie  existing  races 
of  man  and  asking  ourselves  the  simple  question, — 

Who  are  the  lowest  in  the  scale  of  human  culture? 

For  the  general  principle  will  be  accepted,  that  in  the  upward  ascent 
of  man  the  lower  normally  precedes  the  higher  stage  of  civilisation,  that 
where  we  find  a  comparative  blank  we  have  reasons  to  suspect  a  case  of 
arrested  development, — a  primitive  survival. 

The  Ages  op  Man 

It  is  evident  for  instance  that  we  are  now  living  in  the  age  of  iron  and 
steel,  of  electricity  and  motor-cars,  and  we  feel  quite  certain  that  where 
these  are  entirely  absent  it  is  a  sufficiently  plain  proof  that  the  people 
lived  before  these  powers  or  commodities  were  discovered  or  became  the 
recognised  means  of  construction,  of  transportation.  It  is  possible,  of 
course,  for  a  man  to  bury  himself  in  the  back  woods,  to  return  to  the 
"simple"  life,  to  live  like  a  savage,— but  it  is  quite  impossible  for  an  entire 
race  to  do  so  without  assuming  something  akin  to  a  miracle,  an  extraor- 
dinary catastrophe,  by  which  the  whole  of  the  former  civilisation  was 
wiped  out,  entirely  forgotten.  Now  although  there  is  some  evidence  for 
cultural  breaks,  and  even  catastrophes,  in  the  early  history  of  man,  there 
is  hardly  a  single  case  in  which  a  typical  industry,  once  established,  has 
ever  been  abandoned  without  the  introduction  of  a  higher  industry,  which 
industry  has  been  normally  evolved  out  of  the  lower.  On  this  the  buried 
remains  speak  with  no  uncertain  voice.  In  every  case  the  cruder  tools 
have  given  away  to  the  more  perfected  implements,  and  as  to  the  celebrated 
"golden"  age,  where  is  the  evidence  that  this  age  was  material  rather  than 
moral,  an  age  of  peace  and  of  spiritual  enUghtenment? '^ 

The  Bronze  Age 

But  if  the  use  of  the  black  metals  marks  the  highest  level  of  "civilised" 
man,  the  preceding  Bronze  and  Copper  Period  is  no  less  distinctive.  It 
belongs  essentially  to  those  half-cultured  yellow  races  of  Central  Asia 
who  have  carried  their  yellow  metal  to  the  furthest  ends  of  the  earth,  not 
perhaps  in  person,  but  by  contact  with  neighboring  peoples.  India,  Arabia, 
North  Africa,  the  Malay  Archipelago, — all  have  felt  the  influence  of  the 
bronze  sword,  and  its  presence  is  an  infallible  index  that  these  peoples  are 
living  in  a  period  which  has  definitely  passed  away  for  the  higher  races, 
say,  between  2-  and  4000  B.  G.  These  shining  metals  are  also  found  in 
the  New  World,  the  Indians  being  the  bearers  of  a  high  copper  industry. 


2  Comp.  W.  I.  Thomas,  Source-book  for  Social  Origins,  (Chicago,  1912),  p.  335ff.  for 
inventions  and  technology  J.  Dechelette,  Manuel  d'Archeologie,  (Paris,  1908),  for  palaeo- 
graphic  data. 


IV  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

The  New  Stone  Age 

II  is  possible,  however,  lo  go  considerably  further  down  in  the  scale 
of  human  progress.  We  have  all  heard  of  the  great  Stone  Age,  and  its 
name  marks  it  olT  from  all  the  metallic  cultures.  Though  distributed  over 
vast  sections  of  the  earth's  surface,  it  exists  in  its  purity  only  in  the  wilder 
and  less  accessible  portions  of  the  globe,  more  especially  in  the  Oceanic 
and  Australian  regions  of  the  far  East.  In  all  other  quarters  it  is  partly 
fused  with  the  metal  cultures,  though  it  still  forms  the  background  of  the 
Central  Indian,  the  North-.\frican,  and  the  native  North  and  South-.Vmeri- 
can  cultures.  The  .American  Indian  is  still  living  in  the  Stone  .\ge,  even 
though  he  understands  the  use  of  copper  and  has  borrowed  his  steel  chisel 
from  the  whiles,  for  the  latter  arc  clearly  imported  or  superficially  acquired. 
— otherwise  he  would  not  continue  the  use  of  stone  as  the  chief  instru- 
ment of  his  handicraft.  This  puts  him  back  at  least  5000  years  before  the 
commencement  of  the  present  era,  and  for  similar  reasons  the  above  races 
must  be  dated  back  to  a  period  at  least  equally  early. 

The  Old  Stone  Age 

But  the  shape  and  finish  of  stone  implements  is  by  no  means  uniform. 
There  is  a  sharp  distinction  between  the  perfected  and  polished  flint  of 
the  neolithic  age  and  the  more  crude  productions  of  its  predecessor,  a 
difference  which  is  accompanied  by  a  standard  of  life  and  industry  which 
is  in  every  respect  more  primitive.  Man  is  no  longer  tied  to  the  soil,  he 
has  become  a  wild  hunter,  for  whom  the  animal  creation  possesses  a 
paramount  interest,  it  becomes  the  chief  theme  of  his  art.  of  his  inspira- 
tion. Clothing,  housing,  nutrition,  navigation,  and  so  on, — all  are  adapted 
lo  the  more  simple  requirements  of  the  buffalo-hunt,  they  show  a  continual 
tendency  to  become  less  artificial,  more  and  more  dependent  on  the  needs 
and  circumstances  of  the  hour, — skin-raiment,  round-house,  forest-fauna, 
bark-canoe,  etc. — the  latter  a  specially  commodious  and  portable  means 
of  locomotion.  Among  the  peoples  where  this  phase  of  life  may  still  be 
seen  in  its  more  essential  features  are  the  wild  Dravidians  of  Southern 
India,  the  Bantus  of  Eastern  Africa,  the  Prairie  Indians  of  Nortli 
America,  and  again  the  .Australian  and  Melanesian  peoples  of  Oceanica. 
While  the  sta|)le  foods  and  commodities  vary  considerably  throughout  this 
region,  the  general  similarity  in  habits  and  conditions  of  life,  more  e.^spe- 
cially  in  the  interior,  is  too  striking  not  to  arrest  attention.  They  carry 
us  back  to  the  time  when  our  forefathers  hunted  the  bison  on  the  steppes 
of  Central  Europe, — a  period  between  10  and  20000  years  before  Christ.' 


'W.  J.  Sollas,  Ancient  Hunters  and  their  modem  Representatives,  (London,  1915)  pp. 
160ff.  Obermaicr,  Der  Mensch  der  Vorzeit.  (Vienna.  1914),  pp.  176,  2S3.  316ff!  It  is  not 
pretended  that  the  American  and  European  Palaeolithic  were  strictly  contemporaneous.  The 
glacial  culture  of  Europe  reached  America  at  a  later  age.    See  p.  LVI. 


INTRODUCTION  V 

The  Age  op  Shell,  Bone,  and  Bamboo 

Will  it  be  possible  to  sink  still  lower,  to  arrive  at  a  period  when  human- 
ity had  not  even  acquired  the  art  of  making  the  pointed  flint,  of  cutting 
the  hard  stone  into  the  more  or  less  definite  form  of  a  lozenge?  Such  a 
period  seems  to  be  postulated  by  the  existence  of  "eoliths,"  which  are 
hardly  more  than  scrapers,  rough  flints  of  jagged  outline,  of  irregular 
pattern.  In  view  of  the  fact,  however,  that  acknowledged  experts  are 
unable  to  agree  as  to  the  human  origin  of  these  flints,  and  that  several 
notable  writers  have  boldly  denied  it,  they  are  not  a  safe  means  for 
measuring  the  age  or  industry  of  a  people,  they  are  of  no  value  as  a  time- 
piece, except  in  so  far  as  their  exclusive  use  would  seem  to  show  that  the 
users  had  not  yet  arrived  at  the  stage  known  as  the  Ghellean  industry. 

If,  however,  we  find  a  group  of  peoples  who  cannot  manufacture  any 
kind  of  a  flint,  but  simply  pick  up  the  eoliths  ready  made,  and  whose  cut- 
ting-implements consist  for  the  most  part  of  flakes,  shells,  bones,  bamboo- 
slivers,  and  pointed  pieces  of  wood,  hardened  or  "tempered"  by  fire, — the 
suggestion  arises  that  they  may  belong  to  an  age  before  flint-chisels  were 
manufactured,  especially  when  their  mode  and  manner  of  life  is  even 
more  primitive  than  anything  to  be  found  in  the  Stone  Ages.  Who  are 
these  peoples? 

Geographical  Extent  op  the  Bamboo  Culture 

(1)  Malay  Peninsula: — "Stone  implements  are  very  numerous  in  the 
peninsula,  but  it  is  an  open  question  whether  any  forms  of  stone  imple- 
ment, except  possibly  chips  or  flakes,  were  ever  manufactured  by  any  of 
the  wild  tribes,  the  weight  of  evidence  being  decidedly  against  it.  Tlije 
rudimentary  stage  through  which  these  tribes  have  passed,  and  in  some 
cases  are  still  passing,  may  perhaps  be  more  accurately  described  as  a 
"wood  and  bone"  age  than  as  an  age  of  stone.  The  most  primitive  form 
of  knife,  still  found  among  them,  consists  of  a  sharp  sliver  of  bamboo, 
which  makes  a  very  fair  tool.  None  are  in  the  habit  of  dressing  them- 
selves in  the  skins  of  animals,  or  of  decorating  themselves  with  the  feathers 
of  birds.  "They  use  a  girdle  made  of  leaves  or  fungus-strings,  and  live  in 
the  simplest  of  wind-shelters.  Their  weapons  are  the  wooden  bow  and 
the  bamboo  blowpipe,  they  hunt  the  tiger,  the  elephant  and  the  rhinoceros, 
but  they  do  not  resort  to  the  hunting  of  game  until  their  supply  of  vegetable 
food  begins  to  give  out.  They  live  off  wild  yams  and  jungle  produce,  they 
"plow"  fire,  but  have  no  knowledge  of  navigation.  Their  bamboo  tubes 
furnish  the  only  music."  * 


*  W.  W.  Skeat  and  C.  O.  Blagden,  Pagan  Races  of  the  Malay  Peninsula,  (London,  1906), 
Vol.  I.  pp.  242,  249ff.  (weapons  and  implements),  137-138,  (dress),  168ff.  (habitations), 
200,  (hunting),  109,  (food),  113,  (fire).  Vol.  II.  117ff.  (music), — an  indispensable  work  on 
the  aboriginal  life,  recommended  to  all  beginners  (copious  illustrations.) 


VI  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Geographical  Extent  of  the  Bamboo  Culture 

(2)  Andaman  Islands: — "Stones  are  not  used  by  the  Andamanese  for 
cutting  wood  or  bone,  IJie  latter  being  usually  crushed  by  a  hammer  for 
the  sake  of  the  marrow.  Before  tlie  (quite  recent)  introduction  of  iron, 
small  holes  were  bored  with  bone  or  pieces  of  shell,  but  rarely  if  ever 
with  stone,  and  no  implement  has  been  found  which  might  be  supposed 
to  have  served  as  a  stone  saw  or  scraper,  for  which  purpose  shells 
apparently  have  been  generally  employed.  The  Andamanese  assert  that 
they  never,  even  when  iron  was  scarce,  made  arrow-heads,  axes,  adzes,  or 
chisels  of  stone.  They  also  allirm  that  the  fragments  that  have  been  found 
in  the  kitchen-middens  are  merely  quarlz-dakes  or  broken  pieces  of  cook- 
ing slones  or  hones  which  in  former  times,  as  now,  were  thrown  among 
the  rubbish  when  no  longer  in  use.  The  bamboo,  though  not  employed  in 
such  a  variety  of  ways  as  it  is  by  many  savages,  is  yet  in  constant  use, — 
for  the  making  of  harpoon  and  arrow-shafts,  of  water-holders,  knives, 
tongs,  and  netting-needles."  Their  only  vesture  consists  of  small  bunches 
of  Pandanus-leaves,  skins  of  animals  are  not  made  use  of  in  any  way,  and 
their  huts  are  simple  lean-to's  or  tree-shelters.  With  large  bows  and 
harpoons  they  hunt  for  flesh,  fish,  or  fowl  indiscriminately,  though  here 
also  their  primary  diet  is  a  vegetable  one.  They  cannot  make  fire,  but 
produce  rude  pottery  and  fairly  good  canoes,  made  of  solid  tree-stumps, 
and  formerly  hollowed  out  with  shells." 

(3)  Southern  India,  Ceylon: — Among  the  Forest-Veddas  the  use  of 
stone,  except  in  the  shape  of  quartz-eoliths,  is  apparently  unknown.  Here 
the  bow  and  arrow  seem  to  perform  the  function  of  implements.  "The 
arrow  is  still  the  almost  universal  cutting-tool,  as  we  had  good  opportunity 
of  ascertaining  at  Hennebedda."  Both  are  made  of  hardwood  or  bamboo, 
and  the  bowstring  of  twisted  tree-bast.  Their  leaf-hut  is  equally  primitive, 
and  their  hunting-life  closely  resembles  that  of  the  Andamanese.  Like  them 
they  make  crude  pottery,  but  do  not  manufacture  any  kind  of  canoe.* 

(4)  Philippines: — The  Negritos  of  Zambales  make  practically  every- 
thing out  of  bamboos,  banana-leaves,  and  bark  fibre-slrings.  In  no  single 
case  has  the  use  of  stono  chiseling  instruments  been  reported.  In  the  wild 
state  they  build  rough  wind-screens,  hunt  the  forest  deer  with  bamboo 
bows  and  arrows,  and  use  the  bamboo  firestick.  Baskets,  conibs.  knives, 
fiddles  and  fiules, — all  are  made  of  the  same  material.  Navigation  is 
wanting.' 


»  E.  H.  Man,  On  the  Original  Inhabitants  of  the  Andaman  Islands,  (London.  1885),  p.  160- 
161  (flint  chips  and  shells, — cf.  Stoliczka,  Notes  on  the  Kjokken-Moddings  of  the  .Andaman 
Islands),  p.  157  (bamboos),  p.  110  (attire),  p.  39  (huts),  p.  179  (shell-adze).  •  C.  G.  Selig- 
man,  The  Veddas,  (Cambridge,  1911),  p.  ,?24fT.  (tools,  etc.),  p.  19-20  (quartz  implements), 
p.  36ff.  (huts).  'W.  A.  Reed,  Negritos  of  Zambales  (Manila,  1904),  p.  39-48,  (general 
ethnology). 


INTRODUCTION  VII 

Geographical  Extent  of  the  Bamboo  Culture 

(3)  Borneo:— The  wild  Dayaks,  or  Bakatans,  are  grouped  in  small 
communities  and  inliabit  tlie  dense  jungle  at  the  head-waters  of  the  prin- 
cipal rivers  of  Borneo.  They  are  a  nomad  people  who  build  no  permanent 
houses  of  any  kind,  do  not  cultivate  the  soil,  and  live  by  hunting  and 
gathering  the  wild  fruits  and  jungle  produce.  Their  mode  of  life  is  very 
much  more  primitive  than  that  of  the  Kayans  and  other  inhabitants  of  the 
interior.  Leaf-shelter,  fire-stick,  absence  of  clothing,  use  of  cocoanut- 
shells,  of  palm  and  banana-leaves,  of  bamboo  harps,  flutes,  implements, 
and  blowpipes,  all  connect  them  with  the  Malakkan,  and  still  more  with 
the  Philippine  region,  the  actual  use  of  higher  stone  implements  being 
conspicuous  by  its  absence.* 

(4)  Celebes:— The  Toalas  or  "Back-woodsmen"  of  Celebes  make 
quartz  imitations  of  palaeolithic  celts,  but  their  quality  is  far  inferior  to 
the  Magdalenian  flints,  the  natives  preferring  the  use  of  tooth,  bone,  and 
bamboo." 

(5)  Neiv  Guinea  and  Melanesia:— Though  the  Papuans  are  living  in 
an  age  of  stone,  there  are  many  tribes  in  the  interior  that  reveal  vestiges 
of  a  far  more  primitive  state.  Among  the  Mimika  of  the  North- West  "the 
one  and  only  kind  of  shelter  (except  the  communal  dwelling)  is  the 
primitive  and  temporary  leaf-hut,  pitched  to  the  ground."  Though  in 
possession  of  a  stone  adze,  a  great  deal  of  their  cutting  *s  done  by  means 
of  shells  and  bone-scrapers,  and  among  the  Tapiros  these  and  the  split 
bamboos  are  the  only  cutting  instruments  of  native  use.  The  Mafulus  of 
the  East  know  nothing  but  a  shell,  bone,  and  bamboo  industry,  their  stone 
axe  being  borrowed  from  the  coast  tribes.  This  distinctive  culture  may  in 
fact  be  traced  far  into  Melanesia,  where  it  still  survives  in  the  bamboo- 
knives,  bows  and  arrows,  quivers  and  Jew's  harps,  that  are  so  frequently 
met  with.'" 

(6)  Central  Africa:— Among  the  Akkas  or  Negrillos  of  the  great  Congo 
region,  a  very  similar  stage  of  industrial  life  has  been  revealed.  Most  of 
the  above  elements  are  here  represented  in  equally  crude  form,  and  as  to 
the  use  of  stone  implements,  there  is  nothing  intermediate  between  the 
borrowed  iron  and  the  prehistoric  bone  or  shell-industry,  if  we  except  a 
few  stone  hammers  or  scrapers.  Central  Africa  has  hardly  been  touched 
by  the  palaeolithic  wave,  and  its  isolation  is  still  to  be  accounted  for." 

8H  Ling  Roth,  The  Natives  of  Sarawak  and  British  North  Borneo,  (London,  1896) 
Vol  I  p  16-18  A.  C.  Haddon,  Head-hunters,  black,  white,  and  brown,  (London,  1901),  p. 
320.'  Hose  and  McDougall,  Journ.  Anthr.  Instit.  (1901)  Vol.  XXXI,  p.  125,  AW.  Nieu- 
wenhuis,  Quer  durch  Borneo,  (Levden,  1907)  Vol.  I.  p.  52.  »  P.  and  F.  Sarasin,  Matenalien 
zur  Naturgeschichte  der  Insel  Celebes,  (Wiesbaden,  1905),  Vol.  V.  Pt.  I.p.  9-26ff.  I'C.  G. 
Rawling,  The  Land  of  the  New  Guinea  Pygmies.  (London.  1913)  p  233-259  (shells,  spht 
rattans)  W.  WilHamson,  The  Mafulu  Mountain  People  of  British  New  Guinea,  (London, 
1912)  p.  26flf.  11 B.  Ankermann,  L'Ethnographie  actuelle  de  I'Afrique  mendjonale. 
Anthropos,  I.  (1906)  p.  919.  Mgr.  LeRoy,  Les  Pygmees  d'Afrique  et  de  1  Inde.  (Tours, 
undated)  p.  255. 


Mil  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Geographical  Extknt  or  the  Ijamboo  Culture 
(9)  South  America: — In  llie  forests  of  Central  Brazil  there  are  groups 
of  wild  peoples  who  seem  lo  be  on  liie  same  primitive  level  of  existence. 
"The  Shitifju-tribes  are  liviiKj  in  an  age  of  shell,  wood,  tooth,  and  bone," — 
such  is  the  implied  conclusion  of  the  greatest  expert  on  the  Amazon- 
ian region,  and  it  is  based  on  the  fact  that  so  few  of  the  natives  under- 
stand the  art  of  making  a  celt,  though  Ihey  are  otherwise  intelligent  and 
the  materials  are  not  wanting.  All  their  necessities  are  supplied  by  the 
natural  produce  of  the  jungle, — cane,  rattan,  bamboo,  or  palm-wood, — and 
the  exceedingly  low  state  of  their  culture  is  out  of  harmony  with  what  we 
know  of  the  material  condition  of  the  stone-age  peoples.  If  a  stone- 
industry  is  nevertheless  in  existence,  the  above  author  is  convinced  that 
these  are  not  native  but  imported  features.  A  similar  condition  is  revealed 
by  the  Kaingang  and  Botokudos  in  the  mountainous  regions  of  Eastern 
Brazil.'^ 

A  Par.\llel  Culture  in  the  Antarctic  Region 
But  if  all  the  above  phenomena  be  explained  on  the  principle  of  accli- 
matisation, of  the  loss  of  a  high  stone  culture  through  migration  into  the 
tropics,  where  stone  is  scarce,  and  wood  and  bamboo  abundant,  such  a 
theory  is  gravely  impugned  by  the  parallel  condition  of  very  low  peoples 
at  the  extreme  southern  ends  of  each  of  the  continents,  to  wit — 

The  Tasmanians,  Bushmen,  and  Fuegians 
Here  we  find  an  almost  identical  state  of  affairs  as  in  the  equatorial 
belt,  less  only  the  tropical  material,  out  of  which  weapons  and  implements 
are  manufactured.  The  Tasmanian  is  still  very  near  the  "eolithic"  age 
of  industrj-,  stones  and  sticks  are  his  only  weapons,  flakes  or  scrapers  his 
only  tools,  and  his  manner  of  life  is  almost  equally  primitive."  The  same 
to  some  extent  of  the  Bushmen,"  also  the  Fuegians."  The  ver^'  fact  that 
these  tribes  go  almost  naked  and  sleep  in  miserable  lean-to's  in  spite  of 
the  biting  frosts  of  a  frigid  climate,  this  alone  is  sufficient  evidence  that 
they  have  never  learnt  the  art  of  making  clothes  or  houses,  they  are  a 
"survival." 

A  Pre-palaeolithic  Horizon  (?) 
If  then  a  pre-palaeolithic  age  is  unquestionable,  it  will  seem  highly 
probable  that  the  above  equatorial  peoples  have  not  lost  a  hir/hei'  stone 
induslnj,  but  have  never  possessed  one,  as  it  is  inconceivable  that  such  an 
enormous  section  of  humanity  should  have  sunk  to  the  crude  level  of  life 
in  which  we  find  them, — a  level  far  below  the  wildest  of  North-American 
Indians." 

"  K.  Von  den  Steinen,  Unter  den  Xaturvolkern  Central  Brasiliens  (Berlin,  1894)  p. 
20O-2O-4ff.  P.  Ehrenreich,  Uber  die  Botokudos.  (in  ZE.  1887,  p.  14-33.)  '»  H.  LinR-Roth. 
The  Aborigines  of  Tasmania,  (Halifax,  IPW)  p.  67,  83,  145  (eoliths.)  •«  G.  W.  Stow,  The 
Native  Races  of  South-Africa  (London,  1910)  p.  62ff.  "J-  M.  Cooper  DD.  Bulletin  6,3  of 
the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnolopry  (Washington,  1917)  p.  223.  "Obermaier.  1.  c.  176,  415. 
For  a  full  presentation  of  the  mltiire  argument  see  below,  pp.  XLI,  121ff,  where  the  entire 
material,  mental,  social  and  religious  complexity  is  seen  to  form  a  "convergence"  irresistible 
in  its  power. 


INTRODUCTION  IX 

(B)The  Evidence  of  Government, — the  Patriarchal  Age 

This  is  not  the  place  to  enter  into  a  discussion  of  all  the  theories  that 
have  been  propounded  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  primitive  social  organi- 
sation of  man.  Such  a  solution  seems  as  far  oiT  as  ever  as  long  as  we 
confine  ourselves  to  one  line  of  argument  to  the  exclusion  of  every  other. 
Nay  more,  the  supposed  priority  of  this  or  that  social  system  cannot  be 
judged  on  its  own  merits,  (intrinsic  probability),  but  must  be  determined 
in  every  case  by  the  concomitant  evidence  of  the  cultural  and  ethnological 
sciences,  which  in  this  respect  should  claim  our  principal  attention.  In 
other  words,  the  priority  of  a  system  should  be  judged  by  the  priority  of 
its  culture,  and  not  otherwise.  This  means  that  a  sociological  argument 
tends  to  become  more  and  more  a  cultural  one,  and  is  treated  as  such  by 
the  more  advanced  experts.  Nevertheless,  there  is  something  to  be  said 
for  the  psychological  method,  to  this  extent  at  least,  that,  given  a  complex 
system,  a  more  simple  state  of  society  is  thereby  postulated. 

Now  in  comparing  the  social  condition  of  the  above  peoples  even  with 
their  nearest  neighbors,  a  perceptible  difference  is  at  once  noticeable. 
Kingship  and  aristocracies  are  for  the  most  part  unknown,  hereditary 
chieftainship  as  a  rule  the  exception,  natural  '"headmanship"  by  far  the 
more  common,  and  simple  patriarchal  rule  on  family  units  the  most  com- 
mon of  all, — evidently  the  basis  of  the  entire  system.  But  what  is  still 
more  important,  the  complicated  institution  of  totemism,  by  which  the 
whole  of  the  community  is  divided  into  innumerable  clans  or  septs,  and 
these  again  combined  into  higher  groups,  known  as  the  two-,  four-,  or 
eight-class  "phratries," — such  a  state  of  society  is  largely  unknown  to 
these  peoples,  and  it  is  a  point  upon  which  I  desire  to  lay  particular  stress. 
While  a  primitive  tribal  division  is  here  and  there  to  be  found,  and  may 
no  doubt  have  taken  place  in  very  early  times,  it  seems  quite  certain  that 
the  family  must  have  preceded  the  higher  unit,  whether  as  class  or  clan, 
that  the  individual  must  have  existed  before  the  social  group,  unless  we 
admit  a  system  of  group-evolution  from  lower  forms,  a  theorj-  which  is 
entirely  arbitrary  and  has  no  foundation  in  fact.  What  we  see  in  this 
lowest  stratum  of  human  culture  is  the  prominence  of  the  individual  as 
against  the  state,  a  method  of  government  in  which  the  father  of  a  family 
obtains  a  "natural"  leadership,  which  is  largely  independent  of  the  col- 
lective group." 

•°  See  the  above  authors  passim,  under  social  organisation,  government,  totemism,  relation- 
ship, etc.  Thus  Skeat,  I.  494.  Man,  40,  58.  Seligman,  59-121.  Reed,  70.  Ling-Roth  (Borneo), 
CXCVII.  Hose  and  McDougall,  202-212,  Sarasin,  V  (II).  125.  Rawling,  275.  Williamson,  90, 
114.  LtRoy,  210,  221.  Von  den  Steinen,  330.  Ehrenreich,  30.  Ling-Roth  (Tasm),  57,63.  Stow, 
33.  Cooper,  149,  177.  But  Bushmen  are  more  advanced  and  most  Melanesians  have  arrived 
at  totemic  organisation.  Comp.  also  W.  I.  Thomas,  Source-Book  for  Social  Origins  (1912), 
p.  753f f.  on  the  Patriarchate.  Contra :  E.  S.  Hartland,  "Matrilineal  Kinship  and  the  Question 
of  its  Priority,"  Memoirs  of  the  American  Anthropological  Association,  Vol.  IV,  No.  1 
(Jan.-March,  1917),  whose  analysis  is  excellent  but  incomplete.  The  author  seems  to  be 
entirely  oblivious  of  the  above  peoples,  where  father-right  is  the  preponderating,  if  not  the 
only  form. 


X  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

This  has  been  well  expressed  by  Ratzel  and  Weslermarck : — 

"Among  most  'natural'  races  the  family  and  society  form  unions  so 
large,  so  frequently  coinciding,  so  exclusive,  that  little  remains  to  spare 
for  the  state.  The  rapid  break-up  of  (the  later)  empires  is  counterbalanced 
by  the  sturdy  tribal  life,  \\lien  the  empires  fall  to  pieces,  new  ones  form 
themselves  from  the  old  tribes.  The  family  of  blood-relations,  in  their 
common  barrack  or  village,  represents  at  the  same  time  a  political  unit, 
which  can  from  lime  to  time  entiT  into  combination  with  others  of  the 
same  kind,  to  which  perhaps  it  is  bound  by  more  distant  relationship.  But 
it  is  quite  content  to  remain  by  itself  so  long  as  no  external  power  operates 
to  shake  its  narrow  contentment.  Negro  Africa,  with  all  its  wealth  of 
population,  contains  no  single  really  large  state.  In  that  country,  the 
greater  an  empire,  the  less  its  duration  and  the  looser  its  cohesion.  It 
requires  greater  organising  and  consolidating  power,  such  as  we  meet 
with  among  tlie  Fulbes  or  Wahuma,  not  merely  to  found,  but  also,  even 
if  with  dilTiculty,  to  maintain  kingdoms  like  Sokoto  or  Uganda.  Even  the 
Zulus,  high  as  they  stand  in  warlike  organisation,  have  never  been  able  to 
spread  permanently  beyond  (heir  natural  boundaries,  and  at  the  same  time 
maintain  cohesion  with  their  own  country.  Even  in  the  Mussulman  states 
of  the  Sudan  we  meet  with  this  want  of  firm  internal  cohesion,  which  is 
equally  at  the  bottom  of  the  weakness  which  brought  down  the  native 
states  of  Central  and  South  .America.  .  .  In  the  Malay  .\rchipelago  it  seems 
not  to  have  been  until  the  arrival  of  Islam  that  the  formation  of  states 
rose  above  disjointed  village  communities.  Even  in  our  own  day  the 
great  powers  of  South  and  East  Asia  lacked  the  clearness  and  definition 
in  the  matter  of  political  allegiance,  which  are  a  privilege  of  the  higher 
civilisations."  '* 

"The  suggestion  that,  in  olden  times,  the  natural  guardian  of  the  chil- 
dren was  not  the  father,  but  the  maternal  uncle,  has  no  foundation  in  fact. 
Neither  has  the  hypothesis  that  all  the  males  of  the  tribe  indiscriminately 
were  the  guardians.  All  the  evidence  we  possess  lends  to  show  that  among 
our  earliest  human  ancestors  the  family,  not  the  tribe,  foi^ncd  the  nucleus 
of  every  social  r/roiip.  Even  now  there  are  savage  peoples  of  the  lowest 
type  who  live  rather  in  separate  families  than  in  tribes,  and  facts  indicate 
that  the  chief  reason  for  this  is  want  of  sutTicient  food(?).  The  sociability 
of  man  sprang  in  the  main  from  progressive  intellectual  and  material 
civilisation,  whilst  the  tie  that  kei)t  together  husband  and  wife,  parents 
and  children,  was,  if  not  the  only,  at  least  the  princijial  factor  in  the  earliest 
forms  of  man's  social  life."  " 


'•  F.   Ratzel,  A  History  of   Mankind,  Vol.   I.  p.   138.     '•  Westermarck,   The  History  of 
Human  Marriage  (N.  Y.  1003).  p.  538. 


INTRODUCTION  XI 

(C)The  Evidence  of  LiXGUAOE,— the  Pre-Inflexional  Age 

On  the  same  principle  it  is  impossible  to  argue  with  absolute  certainty 
that  the  structure  and  vocabulary  of  a  language  is  an  infallible  index  of 
its  relative  age,  that  because  we  find  words  that  are  short  and  simple,  they 
are  ipso  facto  the  earlier  forms.  Phonetic  decay  has  affected  nearly  every 
living  tongue,  and  is  demonstrable  for  the  modern  Chinese,  and  to  some 
extent  also  for  modern  English.  The  history  of  language  is  not  so  simple 
a  matter  that  it  can  be  expressed  by  a  rigid  formula,  according  to  which 
the  monosyllabic  invariably  precedes  the  agglutinative,  this  again  the 
inflexional  or  polysynthetic  stage.  A  reverse  process  is  conceivable,  at 
least  in  the  matter  of  syllables.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  equally  one-sided 
to  deny  the  existence  of  primitive  "roots"  on  the  ground  that  no  root-sound 
was  ever  uttered  by  man,  and  that  primitive  languages  already  show  an 
advanced,  a  complex  organisation. 

Now  such  a  statement  is  at  variance  with  facts.  Nearly  all  the  tongues 
spoken  by  the  above  peoples  are  simple  and  crude  in  the  extreme,  monosyl- 
labic roots  are  common,  not  only  as  interjections,  but  as  fully  constituted 
words,  descriptive  of  persons,  actions,  or  things.  But  what  is  more  strik- 
ing, there  is  practically  no  syntax,— no  delicate  arrangement  of  words  or 
particles  by  which  the  meaning  of  the  sentence  is  more  or  less  modified,  if 
we  except  a  few  inversions  or  prepositional  uses.  The  meaning  is  more 
often  determined  by  the  context  or  by  the  tone  of  voice,  and  as  to  inflexions, 
they  simply  do  not  exist.  There  is  often  no  article,  no  gender,  number  or 
case,  no  declensions,  no  conjugations,  no  voices,  moods,  or  tenses,  other 
than  occasional  inversions,  reduplications,  appositions,  or  postpositions. 
The  same  word  may  stand  for  noun,  verb,  or  adjective,  and  even  when  of 
two  or  more  syllables,  the  use  of  prefixes,  affixes,  or  infixes  as  an  integral 
part  of  a  word  is  quite  frequently  wanting.  This  means  that  many  of 
these  tongues  have  not  even  arrived  at  the  agglutinative  stage  of  develop- 
ment, and  apart  from  any  theories,  it  seems  incredible  that  these  races 
should  have  entirely  lost  a  developed  grammar,  together  with  a  higher 
numeral  system,  if  they  had  ever  possessed  one.  Again,  the  existing  dis- 
tribution of  archaic  Melanesian  forms  is  phenomenal, — extending  from 
Hawai  to  New  Zealand,  and  from  Madagascar  to  Easter  Island,  almost  to 
within  reach  of  the  South-American  continent, — further  evidence  for  the 
priority  and  remote  antiquity  of  the  Oceanic  tongues.'* 


^o,rr  *^  aboriginal  dialects  of  Malakka,  consult  C.  O.  Blagden,  apud  Skeat  op.  cit.  II. 

u  t.  Tauern,  Versuch  einer  Sakai-Grammatik  (Anthropos,  Vol.  IX  1914)  p.  529.  For 
the  other  regions  see  the  above  authors  under  "language,"  and  comp.  H.  Codrington,  The 
Melanesian  Languages  (Oxford,  1885)  p.  lOlff.  There  is  considerable  evidence  to  show 
that  human  language  was  originally  one,  and  continued  to  be  one  in  root-sounds  long  after 
agglutination  had  begun  to  operate. 


XII  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

To  lake  an  illustration  from  the  Senoi-Sakai  dialects  of  Central 
Malakka.  we  shall  see  at  a  glance  how  simple,  or  rather  "imitative,"  they 
appear  to  be.  Thus, — Lng  cha  cha-na,  "I  eat  rice",  Heh  te-las  kuh  ka  jih, 
"He  has  killed  fish  this-one",  Derk  eng  be  ma^chut,  "House  mine  very 
small",  Ok  xodz  eng  ma  he,  "Give  axe  mine  to  him".  He  chip  ma'lor?,  "You 
go  to  where?  (whither?)",  Ja-lok  ine-nang  eng  hot  chip  ma  se-rak  bort 
chep,  "Tomorrow  brother  mine  will  go  to  forest,  catch  birds",  {ma,  general 
particle  for  motion,  direction)  Abu  eng  ta  peng  ta  adja,  "My  father  (is)  a 
great  chief,  great  master",  etc. 

The  Andamanese,  though  essentially  monosyllabic,  has  advanced  to 
agglutination: — Ar-tam  do-ra  ab-ja-bag  Veda-re,  dona  a-chilik  a-be-ri 
nga-ke,  "Dora  was  formerly  a  bad  man,  but  now  he  is  a  good  one,"  lit- 
erally: artam,  formerly,  dora  (proper  name),  ab-ja-bag,  man-bad,  Veda-re, 
exist-did,  (/'euphonic,  eda,  exist,  re,  did.-past  time),  dona,  but,  a-chitik, 
now,  a-be-ri-nga-ke,  man-good  is  {ke,  present  time)  {Abu,  abe,  apai,  gen- 
erically  for  man,-father  or  mother.) 

The  Sinhalese,  though  considerably  influenced  by  Sanskrit,  shows 
many  archaic  forms  as  spoken  by  the  wilder  Veddas: — Bus-ki  Bas-Ki! 
adina  atak  gena  at  baruivak  gena  pimbiiui  atak  gcna,  thopa  ommat  appat 
enda  kixjapa, — "Bush-ki,  Bash-ki!  (imitating  cry  of  deer),  bring  the  bow, 
axe,  and  firestick,  and  tell  your  mother  and  father  to  come",  {atak  gena, 
lit.  pulling-stick.) 

The  Philippine  Negrito  and  Bornean  Dayak  exhibit  the  Austronesian 
tongues  in  their  greatest  purity,  as  witness: — A-ma  na-na  ma-ham-pa, 
"Father-mother  are  good",  Iko  sam  a-nak  mang-an-ka-nin,  "I  and  my  chil- 
dren eat  boiled  rice",  Al-lo  bii-in  bi-tit-in  alet  la-lang-it,  "Sun,  moon,  and 
stars,  shine  in  (he  sky",  (Zambal-Aeta.)  A-ba-lin-go  a^ma-ka  ta-bru-wu 
ta^peng  ta  adja  bali  pen-ya-long,  "Our  Father  (in)  heaven  (is  a)  great 
father,  great  spirit,  great  master,  great  man,  a  heavenly  spirit"  (Central 
Borncse  and  Forest-Dayak). 

The  Melanesian  languages  will  be  found  to  re-echo  many  of  the  above 
word  forms,  and  to  show  in  fact  traces  of  an  original  linguistic  unity. 
This  is  less  the  case  with  the  Tasmanian-.Vuslralian  group,  though  expres- 
sions like  {a)-baia,  at-natu,  dara,  papang,  mung-an,  mara-wa,  point  in 
the  same  direction. 

For  the  Congo  region  of  Central  Africa  we  have  abundant  illustra- 
tions:— A-ba-ta  a-dija  ani-dmba  wa-lungu  wa^nkiila  ua-aka  tca^ba-twa, 
etc.  The  father  hunter,  the  great  one,  who  has  made  the  heavens,  the 
fruit-frees,  the  black  man,  the  persecuted  race",  {wa  sign  of  plural,  twa 
passive  of  ta,  to  hunt.) 

For  the  .Amazonian  belt  we  have  such  forms  as  Aba-angui  pa-pa  ka- 
mu-shi-ni,  "Father  (of)  heaven,  father  (of)  shining  light",  in  which  the 
same  fundamental  roots  may  be  traced,  though  the  structure  is  otherwise 
polysynfhetic." 

"  These  examples  arc  taken  partly  from  quoted  authorities,  partly  from  material  collected 
by  the  author  independently.  Further  illustrations  will  be  found  throughout  the  text  of 
this  book. 


INTRODUCTION  XIII 

(D)The  Evidence  of  Mathematics  and  Music 
the  quinary  system  and  the  pentatonic  scale 

It  will  stand  to  reason  that  when  life  is  simple  and  the  needs  of  a  peo- 
ple are  few,  the  science  of  counting  will  be  correspondingly  weakly  devel- 
oped, that  there  will  be  little  or  nothing  to  count.  At  the  same  time,  some 
method  of  measuring  things,  of  determining,  for  instance,  the  number  of 
foodstuffs  collected, — plants,  animals,  or  birds, — will  be  clearly  of  primary 
importance,  and  must  have  taken  place  at  a  very  early  age  of  human  devel- 
opment. There  can  now  be  little  doubt  that  the  first  measuring-rod  of 
humanity  was  supplied  by  the  human  body,  it  was  the  legs  and  arms,  and 
more  especially  the  fingers,  that  were  first  used  to  express  number.  This 
means  that  the  first  mathematical  system  was  a  quinary  one,  based  on  the 
five  fingers  of  one  hand,  the  decimal  system  being  by  comparison  com- 
plicated and  presupposing  at  least  a  greater  number  of  things  to  count, 
while  the  astronomical  method  of  dividing  the  year  into  months,  weeks, 
days,  hours,  and  minutes,  according  to  the  relative  position  of  sun,  moon, 
and  stars  in  the  zodiac  etc.  requires  an  elaborate  study  of  the  motions  of 
the  heavenly  bodies,  which  (except  for  day  and  night-divisions,  seasons 
and  so  on),  can  hardly  be  credited  to  the  unsophisticated  consciousness 
of  early  man. 

Now  this  is  in  harmony  with  what  we  actually  find  among  the  lowest 
peoples  of  whom  we  know.  Among  the  aborigines  of  Malakka  native 
numerals  do  not  extend  beyond  three,  four,  or  five,  all  higher  digits  being 
demonstrably  of  Malay  origin.  In  the  Andaman  Islands  the  only  arith- 
metic consists  of  one,  two,  and  many,  expressed  by  the  forefinger,  this 
and  the  middle-finger,  and  finally  by  all  the  fingers  united.  The  Veddas 
count  everything  by  one's,  holding  up  sticks  or  fingers,  and  they  become 
confused  when  attempting  to  count  above  five  or  six,  the  Sinhalese 
twenty  being  incomprehensible.  The  Philippine  Negritos  and  the  Bornean 
Dayaks  are  in  a  very  similar  stage.  They  count  things  by  their  fingers 
and  toes,  the  one-to-five  series  being  again  fundamental.  The  five-system 
is  equally  prominent  among  the  Melanesians,  and  more  especially  in  the 
Banks  Islands,  where  we  have  reasons  to  suspect  a  primitive  survival. 
Australians  rarely  get  beyond  four  or  five,  or  at  most  ten,  while  the 
Tasinanians  close  their  counting  with  five.  The  same  or  very  similar  con- 
ditions are  presented  in  Central  Africa  and  South-America,  which  shows 
that  this  is  not  a  mere  local  but  a  universal  trait  of  very  primitive  peoples. 
Can  this  and  the  absence  of  exact  time-divisions  be  explained  on  any  other 
principle  but  that  of  a  primitive  finger-counting ?=" 


20  Evidence  on  this  subject  will  be  found  in  each  of  the  above  authors  ynder  Numera- 
tion", "Arithmetic",  sometimes  under  "Language",  or  "Mental  culture  Compare  U. 
Kewitsch,  Zur  Entstehung  des  60— Systems  (Zeitschr.  f.  Assynologie,  June,  1915),  p.  ,i6Mt. 
For  a  possibly  still  earlier  3-system,— father,  mother,  child,— see  the  same,  and  compare  the 
East  Indian  one,  two,  three,— ya,  dua,  <c/o,— certified  for  Borneo  and  the  adjacent  territory, 
(Hose-McDougall,  Pagan  Tribes,  II.  193). 


XIV  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

But  if  Ihe  finger-melliod  represents  the  earliest  because  the  most 
"natural"  means  for  the  expression  of  number,  the  same  five  fingers  will 
also  suggest  a  series  of  five  musical  sounds  which  is  the  leading  idea  of 
the  "scale,"  though  there  is  of  course  no  necessary  intrinsic  connexion 
between  the  two.    What  has  the  evidence  to  say  on  this  subject? 

By  the  "Pentalonic  Scale"  is  to  be  understood  a  succession  of  sounds 
which  do  not  cover  the  whole  of  our  modern  octave,  but  stop  at  the  fifth 
note  of  the  series,  all  other  tones  being  either  disregarded  or  looked  upon 
as  the  members  of  a  new  scale.  Such  a  system  is  evidently  more  primitive 
or  at  least  more  undeveloped  than  the  octave,  double-octave,  or  the  modern 
eight-octave  system,  the  lalti-r  of  which  olTors  no  less  than  57  tones  or  semi- 
tones witli  all  the  accidentals.  This  scale  has  the  advantage  of  great  sim- 
plicity as  well  as  beauty.  It  consists  of  three  fundamental  elements,  the 
tonic,  the  mediant,  and  the  domiiiunt,  which,  when  sounded  together  give 
the  beautiful  triad  of  harmony  that  was  destined  to  play  such  a  prominent 
role  in  modern  music.  Suffice  it  to  say.  that  among  the  great  majority  of 
our  "primitives",  this  series  of  five  tones — do,  re,  mi,  fa,  sol, — furnishes 
the  normal  range  of  their  voices  as  well  as  their  instruments,  that  is,  to 
judge  from  the  records  that  have  so  far  been  obtained.  It  exists  both 
in  major  and  minor  modes,  the  minor  triad  being  particularly  dulcet,  and 
reminding  in  its  plaintive  wail  of  the  sorrowful  tones  of  the  Gregorian. 
It  is  not  loo  much  to  say,  that  this  "plain  chant"  dates  back  to  the  very 
beginnings  of  the  race,  and  is  in  striking  contrast  to  the  polyphonic,  fugal, 
and  sometimes  decidedly  sensual  music  of  later  times.  Even  the  Hindoo, 
Australian,  and  North-American  folk-song  can  show  nothing  so  primitive 
as  this  in  the  East  Indies. 

As  to  the  expression  of  sound  by  natural  or  artificial  contrivances, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  first  instrument  used  by  man  was  his  own 
voice,  and  this  is  found  as  a  fact  to  be  the  most  universal  tone-producer. 
Side  by  side,  however,  we  find  the  bow  and  the  bamboo  tube  at  an  extremely 
early  period  of  human  development,  and  these  were  destined  to  furnish 
the  basis  for  all  the  string, — wind, — or  percussion-instruments  of  later 
ages.  As  a  curiosity  the  bamboo-viol  of  Indonesia  is  at  least  worth  men- 
tioning. It  is  known  as  Ihe  Aha  Bnluh  (lit.  Bow-bamboo),  the  biduh 
consisting  of  nothing  but  a  bamboo  lube  strung  with  one.  two.  or  three 
pieces  of  plant-fibre!  There  is  some  dilTerence  between  this  and  the 
rrti"fl?jo.?/ro»z-fiddles  of  India,  the  rebab  of  Arabia,  and  the  modern  .Amati 
Violin!  =' 


''For  details  on  this  interesting  subject  see  the  above  authors  under  "Music"  "Instru- 
ments", etc.  esp.  Ling-Roth  (Borneo),  II.  257-266.  Compare  Erich  von  Hornlxjstel.  Uber 
ein  akustisches  Krilcrium  fur  Kulturzusamniciili;in«e,  (7.V..  1911),  p.  601-615.  The  prehistoric 
five-tone  scale  has  no  connection  with  the  Scotch- Irish  I'entatonic,  though  this  also  is  found. 
HornbosicI  >;peaks  of  "Quintcnparallelcn,"  five-tone  singing. 


INTRODUCTION  XV 

(E)The  Evidence  of  Physique, — the  Pre-Neanderthal  Age 

It  has  been  seen  that  the  reconstruction  of  the  primitive  type  ofTers  no 
ordinary  difficulties.  And  indeed,  apart  from  our  laiowledge  from  revealed 
sources,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  primitive  nature  of  man,  whether 
physical  or  mental,  eludes  our  grasp.  In  the  words  of  Dwight  and  Kohl- 
briigge,  "we  know  nothing  of  the  great  problem  of  evolution,  we  have  not 
even  seen  its  face."  ^  At  the  same  time  there  are  a  certain  number  of 
facts,  descriptive  and  scientific,  which  seem  to  suggest  that  we  must  look 
to  the  above  equatorial  races  as  the  nearest  approach  to  the  primitive  type. 
Let  us  see  upon  what  grounds  this  assertion  is  made. 

(1)  A  Tropical  Form 

It  is  true  that  we  have  no  means  for  fixing  the  first  appearance  of  man 
with  anything  like  certainty.  If  he  arose  during  the  last  glaciation  or  in 
high  altitudes,  a  more  or  less  familiar  "white"  type  is  not  unpicturable. 
But  the  fact  is,  we  have  grave  reasons  for  believing  that  man  as  a  species 
is  pre-glacial.  His  Chellean  industry  was  certainly  interglacial,  and  the 
existing  Java  skull  and  other  remains, — even  if  parallel,  anthropoidal 
forms,  as  they  probably  are, — point  suspiciously  in  the  same  direction. 
We  are  thus  inclined  to  look  to  the  melanic  races  as  satisfying  more  closely 
the  demands  of  a  monogenetic  original.  With  the  growing  consciousness 
of  the  enormous  antiquity  of  man,  and  his  possible  existence  under 
pliocene  suns,  there  has  come  the  conviction  that  the 'earlier  types  must 
be  sought  among  those  branches  of  humanity  that  exhibit  the  conditions 
of  life  that  are  decidedly  tropical,  if  not  equatorial.  The  fact  that  man  is 
a  non-furry  animal  would  seem  to  indicate  that  he  saw  the  light  in  a  warm 
climate,  that  he  belongs  in  fact  to  the  tropical  fauna.  In  other  words  we 
may  have  to  go  back  to  the  time  when  the  whole  earth  was  covered  with 
giant  grasses  and  bamboos,  when  the  conditions  of  climate,  of  heat,  vegeta- 
tion and  moisture,  were  more  or  less  uniform,  when  the  combined  action 
of  environment,  of  food,  occupations,  and  habits  of  life,  was  such  as 
naturally  to  suggest  the  type  of  humanity  that  is  now  confined  to  the  two 
tropics.  To  this  opinion  the  great  majority  of  writers  are  now  converging, 
even  if  considerations  of  climate  are  not  always  the  primary  ones.  The 
question  of  temperature  as  a  morphological  factor  is  one  which  we  cannot 
ignore.^ 


IT.  Dwight,  Thoughts  of  a  Catholic  Anatomist,  (N.  Y.  1911),  p.  199.  L.  H.  Kohlbriigge, 
Die  morphologische  Abstammung  des  Menschen,  (Stuttgart,  1908),  p.  88.  =  Consult  among 
others  A.  H.  Keane,  Ethnology,  (Cambridge,  1909)  pp.  221-240.  A.  C.  Haddon,  The  Wander- 
ings of  Peoples,  (Cambridge,  1912)  p.  15ff.  A.  R.  Wallace,  Natural  Selection  and  Tropical 
Nature,  (London  &  New  York,  1895),  pp.  178-181.  K.  Weule,  Kulturelemente  der  Menscheit, 
(Stuttgart,  1912)  p.  8-9.  Stratz.  Naturgeschichte  des  Menschen,  (Stuttgart,  1904)  p.  45. 
Dr.  Hugo  Obermaier,  Der  Mensch  der  Vorzeit,  (Munich,  1912),  p.  325ff. 


XVI  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

(2)  An  Indo-Oceanic  Form 

But  there  are  other  and  more  weighty  reasons  why  we  should  turn  to 
the  tropics,  and  more  especially  to  South-Easlern  Asia  in  our  quest  for  the 
earlier  forms.  Given  a  more  or  less  uniform  climate  in  the  earlier  days  of 
the  earth's  history,  this  would  locate  man  at  the  poles  with  as  much 
propriety  as  on  the  equator.  Palm-trees  and  magnolias  then  flourished  as 
far  north  as  Spilzbergen.  This  might  be  a  plausible  argument,  but  is  con- 
tradicted by  the  palaeontological  and  zoological  evidence,  which  confines 
the  continuous  evolution  of  higher  life  to  the  eastern  tropics.  Contrary 
to  the  Darwinian  theory,  which  is  purely  hypothetical,  the  existing 
primitives  as  we  actually  find  them  are  distributed  over  an  area  which 
shows  that  they  followed  the  higher  anthropoids  but  are  in  no  wise 
descended  from  them.  Now  the  Southern-Asiatic  and  Australasian 
area  is  precisely  that  region  in  which  these  forms  predominate,  and  for 
this  reason  nearly  all  modern  authors  turn  to  this  area  as  to  (he  cradle  of 
the  race.^  It  is  true  that  the  "higher  life"-zone  extends  into  Central  Africa, 
and  in  fossil  form  as  far  north  as  Switzerland,  where  we  have  the 
Pleiopithecus  of  the  miocene.  But  it  has  always  been  felt  that  these  groups 
are  too  sporadic  and  isolated  to  form  anything  like  a  continuous  bridge. 
Africa  is  poor  in  fossils,  and  European  anthropoids  can  hardly  be  said 
to  furnish  us  with  a  complete  cycle  of  higher  forms.  Thus  it  is  precisely 
the  zoological  and  biological  data  that  make  the  Southern-Asiatic  theory 
so  powerful.  In  no  other  portion  of  the  earth  is  there  such  cumulative 
evidence  for  the  continuity  of  floral  and  faunal  development.* 

If  then  the  verdict  of  biologists  is  now  almost  unanimous  on  the  Old- 
World  origin  of  man, — the  pan-American  theorists  finding  but  little  favor 
among  our  best  specialists — ,the  question  arises,  what  type  of  humanity 
the  term  "melanic"  is  intended  to  imply.  Though  it  is  commonly  asso- 
ciated with  a  negroid  physiognomy,  it  is  important  to  note  that  we  do  not 
take  it  in  this  restricted,  but  in  the  wider  sense  of  "constitutionally  dark- 
skinned."  As  such  it  includes  not  only  the  negroid,  but,  as  we  shall 
presently  see,  the  proto-mongoloid  and  proto-caucasioid  peoples,  which  are 
perhaps  equally  ancient,  or  approximately  so.  All  that  is  here  intended  is 
that  the  tawny  to  dark-faced  aborigines  of  the  far  East  are.  as  far  as  we 
can  conjecture,  the  nearest  approach  in  a  lineal  descent  to  the  supposed 
"primitive"  man. 


■■'  Keane,  Haddon,  Wallace,  Stratz,  Obermaier,  etc.  loc.  cit.  supra.  *  See  especially  Ober- 
maier,  1.  c.  p.  380,  the  leading  Catholic  authority  on  the  matter.  The  term  "Indo-Austral" 
is  meant  to  include  any  land  (possibly  submerged)  extending  from  Peninsular  Asia  south- 
wards, vaguely  "Australasia"  "Lemuria"  "Miocene  Continent",  etc.  Compare  Osbom,  Men 
of  the  Old  Stone  Age,  (1916),  p.  49,  511  ff. 


INTRODUCTION  XVN 

(3) A  Melanic  Sub-Form 

Another  and  more  subtle  question  is  that  of  the  relative  priority  of  the 
melanic  races  among  one  another.  Here  there  is  room  for  considerable 
controversy.  There  are  two  types  that  present  themselves, — the  normal 
melanic,  and  the  pygmoidal  sub-form.  The  latter  exist  in  three  varieties, — 
known  as  Negritos,  Veddas,  and  Jakuns — ,  the  latter  being  the  famous 
Malayan  sea-gypsies  who  form  the  undercurrent  of  the  present  Malayan 
civilisation. 

(1)  It  is  argued  in  favor  of  the  pygmoidal  races  that  they  are  real  "first- 
forms",  that  the  biogenetic  law  requires  a  juvenile  as  a  prelude  to  the  fully 
developed  type,  that  we  must  go  beyond  diluvial  man  to  a  still  more 
primitive,  ante-diluvian,  pre-Neanderthal  form  of  high-brow  features,  that 
some  of  the  tertiary  anthropoids  are  more  strikingly  human,  and  exhibit 
these  qualities  in  a  manner  which  they  share  with  the  above  races  alone, 
that  these  are  in  any  case  the  most  tropical  peoples  and  exhibit  the  most 
rudimentary  form  of  life  and  industry, — all  this,  moreover,  on  the  embry- 
ological  theory,  that  the  development  of  the  race  follows  the  development 
of  the  individual  and  postulates  therefore  a  more  juvenile  form.  (The 
general  position  of  Keane,  Kollmann,  Ranke,  Schmidt,  Hubrecht,  Kohl- 
briigge,  based  on  previous  speculations  of  Huxley,  Haeckel,  Mueller,  etc.) 

(2)  For  the  priority  of  the  normal  type  it  is  asserted  that  there  is  no 
palaeontological  evidence  for  the  existence  of  any  pygmoidal  primitives, 
that  nearly  all  the  diluvial  skeletons  are  of  normal  height,  dolichocephalic 
and  low-brow  types,  that  the  negritos  are  pygmies,  degenerates,  or  bio- 
logical freaks,  (on  the  starvation-theory),  that  the  true  homo  primigenius 
must  be  sought  among  the  Indo-Australians  as  the  nearest  approach  to 
diluvial  man,  (Neanderthal,  Piltdown,  Heidelberg,  Java.)  (Followed  by 
Schwalbe,  Klaatsch,  Virchow,  Obermaier,  though  with  considerable 
hesitancy) .' 

It  is  evident  that  this  question  cannot  be  settled  in  the  present  state  of 
our  knowledge.  Nevertheless  it  is  worth  while  to  bring  forward  the  chief 
arguments  which,  apart  from  mere  plausibilities,  tend  to  make  the  priority 
of  a  human  sub-type  a  fairly  strong  proposition.  It  is  necessary  in  the 
first  place  to  be  impartial,  and  not  to  be  swayed  either  by  sentiment  or 
by  the  sound  of  great  names.  As  to  sentiment,  it  makes  no  difference  to 
"Man",  psychology  being  equal,  whether  he  be  five  or  sixi  feet  in  height. 


*  For  a  full  discussion  of  the  biological  question,  see  J.  Kollmann,  Die  Pygmaen  und 
ihre  systematische  Stellung  innerhalb  des  Menschengeschlechts  (Verhandlungen  der  Natur- 
forscher-Gesellschaft,  Basel,  1902)  Vol.  XVI.  Idem,  Die  Abstammung  des  Menschen, 
Globus,  87,  1905)  p.  144ff.  Also  Rev.  W.  Schmidt,  Die  Stellung  der  Pygmaenvolker  in  der 
Entwickelungsgeschichte  der  Menscheit,  (Stuttgart,  1910)  pp.  1-43  (Opinions  of  Huxley, 
Hackel,  Kollman,  Ranke,  Miiller,  Klaatsch,  etc.)  Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  LeRoy,  Les  Pygmees 
d'Afrique  et  de  I'Inde  (Tours,  undated)  pp.  283-308.  (The  two  latter  from  the  Catholic 
Standpoint).    Also  Keane,  Ethnology,  pp.  242-263. 


XVIII  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Normal  and  Sub-normal  Forms 
And  as  to  authorities,  the  balance  is  if  anything  in  favor  of  the  sub-type 
theory,  the  names  of  Schmidt.  Huxley,  Kollmann.  being  more  professional 
in  this  line  of  research  than  those  of  the  rival  school,  who  are  moreover 
divided. 

(1)  There  is  a  gradual  decrease  of  stature  as  we  descend  into  the 
remote  past.  (Comp.  modern  European  with  neolithic  and  glacial  man, — 
5ft.G  to  5  ft.  2  (Neanderthal).  The  Veddas  (av.  5fl.  1)  taper  into  the 
negrito  (av.  4  ft.  10)." 

(2)  The  embryonic  phenomena  are  particularly  strong  among  the 
negrito  races.  This  does  not  imply  any  genetic  relation  with  existing 
anthropoids,  but  rather  tlie  opposite,  the  appearance  of  a  very  primitive, 
more  or  less  embryonic  or  foetal  form.  This  form  is  characterised  by  the 
high  brow,  normal  profile,  straight  features,  and  brachycephalism, — 
somethiug  very  different  from  the  long-headed,  sloping-faced  negro,  as  we 
know  him.  It  is  generally  surmounted  by  an  abundance  of  frizzly,  in  the 
case  of  the  Veddas  of  curly  black  hair,  which  makes  the  combined  impres- 
sion a  passable  one.  There  is  nothing  pathological  about  this  type.  It  is 
normal,  vigorous,  healthy,  human. — but  exhibits  certain  very  primitive, 
almost  embryonic  symptoms  which  are  altogether  unique.  Foremost 
among  these  is  the  lanugo,  or  pall-like  hair,  which  occurs  sporadically 
among  these  types,  and  regularly  with  the  human  foetus,  but  whicli  is  not 
found  among  any  other  section  of  humanity  of  which  w^e  know.  Then 
again,  tlie  large  eye-balls,  the  broad  nose,  the  receding  chin,  the  smallness 
of  the  legs  and  iiands  in  proportion  to  the  trunk. — all  these  are  not  so  much 
anthropoidal  as  infantile,  if  not  foetal  traits,  and  stamp  their  possessors 
as  being  possibly  a  very  primitive  people.' 

(3)  The  uniformity  and  distribution  of  those  peoples  is  another  proof 
of  their  antiquity.  The  fact  that  we  fiiul  three  nf-arly  identical  types  on 
both  sides  of  the  Indian  Ocean. — Negrito-Negrillo,  Toala-Vedda,  Tas- 
manian-Bushmen — ,  that  all  are  sub-types  to  the  higher  races,  that  all  have 
been  isolated  by  the  stronger  races  that  surround  them, — tliis  fact  can 
hardly  be  explained  except  on  the  theory  of  priority.  Moreover  a  large 
portion  of  the  Indo-.\sian,  Australian,  and  Polynesian  sub-area  is  strongly 
negroid,  and  presuj)iioses  a  melanic  and  probably  a  negrito  ba.sis  in 
extremely  remote  limes." 

"  For  gradations  of  stature  among  liviriK  races,  see  F.  Birkner,  Die  Rassen  iind  \'61ker  der 
Menscheit.  (Munich,  1914)  p.  184-192.  Kollmann,  1.  c.  supra.  'Comp.  Birkner.  1.  c.  p. 
191-192,  for  Nubian  and  Akka-tjTie,  (side-face,  limbs),  p.  194-203  (for  infantile  traits), 
LeRoy,  1.  c.  p.  82.  Schmidt.  1.  c.  p.  27.  Kcane,  1.  c.  p.  175  (for  lanugo).  'Recently  called 
Papuasia.  Comp.  Keanc,  1.  c.  p.  242-294.  Also  A.  B.  Meyer,  The  Distribution  of  Negritos 
(Dresden,  1899)  p.  79.  Gcrland,  The  physical  uniformity  of  the  Oceanic  Race  (London, 
1895).  Flower  and  Lydekkcr,  The  Study  of  Mammals,  p.  748.  Quatreiages  extended  this 
area  even  to  the  New  World,  an  opinion  which  has  been  recently  revived  bv  Kollmann,  in 
Globus,  81,  (1902)  p.  325.  Comp.  Schmidt,  1.  c.  LeRoy,  1  c.  p.  321ff.  Haddon,  'l.  c.  p.  33-37.— 
The  reader  is  cautioned  against  many  of  Kcanc's  statements,  which,  though  true  in  the  main, 
are  entirely  unreliable  on  the  negrito  physique,  as  are  his  appended  sketches,  which  are 
mere  caricatures. 


INTRODUCTION  XIX 

Normal  and  Sub-normal  Forms 

(4)  The  alleged  absence  of  palaeonlological  evidence  is  at  most  a  nega- 
tive argument,  and  is  partly  at  variance  with  facts,  partly  not  to  the  point. 
Most  of  the  glacial  skeletons  are  rather  below  the  normal,  and  the  existing 
Piltdown  skull  is  a  high-brow  type,  now  proved  to  be  fully  human."  We 
are  dealing  with  a  pre-Australian,  pre-Neanderthal  form,  and  the  existing 
fragments  are  too  problematical  to  furnish  any  certain  conclusions,  the 
Java  remains  being  very  possibly  those  of  a  female  gibbon(!) 

Such  in  brief  are  the  reasons  which  make  the  theory  of  a  subtype  more 
or  less  plausible.  In  fact  the  evidence  is  sulTiciently  positive  and  suffi- 
ciently variegated  to  establish  a  certain  presumption  in  favor  of  its  truth. 
In  any  case,  as  this  is  one  of  the  types  of  humanity  that  is  to  be  the  main 
object  of  the  present  study,  it  is  well  to  know  what  can  be  said  in  favor 
of  its  antiquity.  It  is  a  type  of  mankind  which  is  quite  interesting. 
Though  small  of  stature,  the  Vedda-varieties  exhibit  an  attractive  exterior. 
Their  splendid  physique,  unmarred  by  scarification,  their  noble  locks  of 
curly  or  wavy  hair,  their  almost  biblical  countenances, — all  combine  to 
make  this  in  many  respects  a  worthy  approximation  to  primitive  man. 

The  negritos  are  divided  into  two  sections,  Indo-Oceanic  and  African. 
Besides  the  pure  negritos,  properly  so  called,  there  are  the  allied  pygmoidal 
races  mentioned  above,  who  are  slightly  below  the  normal  height.  Of 
these  the  Veddas,  Dayaks,  and  Tasmanians  are  of  principal  interest  to  us 
as  belonging  to  one  of  the  oldest  groups  of  humanity  in  existence. 

(A)   PURE  NEGRITOS 

(1)  Indo-Oceanic :  The  Semang  of  Malakka,  the  Mincopi  of  the 
Andaman  Islands  the  Aeta  of  the  Philippines,  the  Tapiro  and  Mafulu  of 
New  Guinea. 

(2)  African:  The  Akka,  Batwa,  Watwa,  Wambutti,  etc.  of  the  Great 
Congo  Forest,  with  scattered  East-  and  West-African  Negrillos,  (as  far  as 
known  to  us).    The  Ainos  of  Japan  are  at  present  irreducible. 

(B) PYGMOIDAL   RACES 

(1)  Indo-Oceanic:  The  Sakai  and  Jakun  of  Malakka,  tiie  Veddas  of 
Ceylon,  the  Forest-Dayaks  of  Borneo  (?),  the  Toalas  of  Celebes,  and  the 
axtinct  Tasmanians. 

(2)  African:  The  Bushmen  only  are  so  far  known  to  belong  to  this 
group. 

(3)  American :  The  Tapuya  races  of  Central  Brazil, — Botokudos,  etc. — 
together  with  the  Fuegian  primitives  at  the  far  southern  end  of  the  conti- 
nent, though  it  is  far  from  certain  that  these  can  be  classed  with  them. 

If  tropical  man  and  woolly  hair  be  made  the  chief  test  of  priority,  it 
will  be  seen  that  (A)  takes  precedence  of  (B),  though  we  cannot  afford 
to  ignore  (B)  as  a  very  primitive  offshoot  of  early  man. 

»  The  earliest  certainly  human  remains  so  far  discovered,  belonging  to  the  third  inter- 
glacial  (Riss-Wiirm),  See  Osborn,  Men  of  the  Old  Stone  Age,  (1916),  p.  512  (Appendix). 


XX  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Three  Types  of  Melanic  Primitives 

This,  however,  involves  no  small  assumption.  If  there  are  good  rea- 
sons for  believing  lliat  jjrimitivi?  man  belongs  to  the  torrid  belt,  and  more 
especially  to  the  Oceanic  regions  of  the  Old  \\orld,  if  moreover  we  admit, 
that  the  case  for  the  negrilos  is  a  plausible  one,  especially  when  coupled 
with  the  cultural  and  ethnological  data,  as  we  have  seen. — it  is  still  far 
from  certain  tiiat  the  woolly-haired  types  are  necessarily  the  earlier  ones. 
On  the  basis  of  flat  or  round  hair-sections  we  find  the  following  grada- 
tions among  e.\isting  races: — 

(1)  Nigritic  Form — Frizzly  Hair — Flat  Section — (Negroid). 

It  may  be  argued  that  as  the  weak  hair-section  predominates  in  the 
eastern  tropics,  the  Malayan  invasion  being  quite  recent,  it  is  quite  probable 
that  this  accompanies  the  earliest  form  of  bodily  evolution  as  yet  known 
to  us,  the  downy  or  flufl'y  nature  of  the  lanugo  tending  to  confirm  it, — 
(Infant  hair).  It  is  here  that  the  juvenile  traits  are  most  pronounced, 
whether  in  stature,  physiognomy,  or  bodily  proportions. 

(2)  Veddaic  Form — Smooth  Hair — Elliptic  Section — (Caucasioid). 

Nevertheless, — the  existence  of  a  very  similar  type  with  wavy  or 
Caucasian  hair,  and  with  features  of  almost  European  regularity,  and  this 
also  within  the  tropics  and  suspiciously  near  the  negrito  areas,  among  a 
people  that  are  almost  equally  low  down  in  the  scale  of  culture, — this 
should  make  us  hesitate  in  assigning  point  blank  the  priority  to  the  woolly- 
haired  varieties.  The  Veddas  are  perhaps  equally  ancient,  the  'hairy  .\ino' 
being  very  probably  the  survival  of  a  pre-Mongolian  race,  with  long  curly 
'ocks,  in  the  near  Pacific. 

(3)  Malayic  Form — Lank  Hair — Round  Section — (Mongoloid). 

Finally,  there  is  the  proto-Malayic  or  Jakun  form  of  humanity,  which 
Is  characterised  by  the  lank  or  sleek  hair-section,  and  has  also  shown  a 
fair  degree  of  persistency  in  both  eastern  and  western  tropics,  if  we  are  to 
consider  the  Brazilian  aborigines  as  their  nearest  relatives.  (proto-Indian 
form).    These  also  are  wild  races  on  extremely  low  levels  of  existence. 

The  Re.\l  Primitive  a  Composite 

Thus  on  the  embryological  theory  of  sub-forms  we  find  three  more  or 
less  close  approaches  to  what  is  believed  to  be  the  aboriginal  form,  the 
three  types  furnishing  the  germs  as  it  were  for  the  three  main  divisions 
of  humanity, — black,  white,  and  yellow.  Such  a  convergence  would  seem 
to  indicate  that  the  real  primitive  was  a  composite,  that  he  embodied  the 
characteristics  of  many  races.  M  the  same  time  the  shapely  Vedda,  as 
being  a  medium-type  and  satisfying  all  the  essential  requirements  of  a 
primitive,  may  not  impossibly  represent  the  nearest  approach  to  the 
underived  original. 


INTRODUCTION  XXI 

Recent  Evidence  on  the  Physique  of  These  Peoples 

(1)  Malakkan  Type: — "Both  Semang  and  Sakai  are  generally  well- 
formed,  and  are  not  unfrequently  described  as  showing  a  magnificent 
physique.  Deformed  people  and  dwarfs  are  extremely  rare".  "The 
Semang  as  a  race  were  far  from  being  unpleasant-looking  people,  the 
most  striking  peculiarity  in  their  appearance  being  a  certain  wild  look 
about  the  region  of  the  eyes,  as  well  as  a  natural  restlessness  of  the  eyes 
themselves,  which  these  tribes  possess  in  common  with  wild  animals." 
"Their  skin-color  is  a  dark  chocolate  brown,  their  hair  woolly  and  brown- 
ish-black, their  face  round,  their  forehead  narrow  and  projecting,  their 
nose  short,  and  their  nostrils  much  distended."  "The  face  of  the  Sakai  is 
fairly  long  and  broad,  but  pointed  towards  the  chin,  their  color  is  distinctly 
lighter  than  that  of  the  Semang."  The  hair  is  black,  long,  and  wavy,  and 
they  have  large  brown  eyes,  very  much  as  the  Veddas.^ 

(2)  Andamanese  Type: — "The  remark  that  is  commonly  made  by 
strangers  who  see  them  for  the  first  time  is,  'How  well  these  savages  are 
developed!'  In  confirmation  of  this  I  would  refer  you  to  the  photographs. 
The  ammoniacal,  rancid,  goat-like  exhalations  of  the  negro  are  not  found 
among  them.  When  in  health  and  under  ordinary  circumstances,  their 
breath  is  sweet".= 

(3)  Sinhalese  Type: — "The  Veddas  are  a  medium  brown-black — the 
eyes  are  always  dark-brown — the  chin  is  rarely  prominent — the  lips, 
though  well  developed,  are  not  tumid — the  jaw  is  not  prognathous — a 
short,  wavy-haired,  dolichocephalic  race,  with  moderately  long  faces,  and 
moderately  broad  noses".^ 

(4)  Philippine  Type: — "So  far  from  being  ape-like  in  appearance, 
some  of  the  Aetas  are  very  well-built  little  men,  with  broad  chests,  symmet- 
rical limbs,  and  well-developed  muscles,  hardened  by  incessant  use.  The 
lips  are  medium-thick,  far  less  than  the  lips  of  the  African  negro,  and  are 
not  protruding.    The  Aeta  have  practically  no  prognathism".* 

(5)  Bomean  Type: — "The  Forest  Dayaks,  or  Bakatans,  are  a  slender 
race,  of  moderate  height,  and  paler  in  color  than  most  tribes.  They  are 
among  the  finest  of  aboriginals,  with  long  wavy  hair,  imposing  brows, 
and  fairly  regular  features".  "The  physique  of  the  inland  tribes  is  supe- 
rior to  that  of  the  Malays.  The  Kayans  and  Muruts  are  specially  lithe  and 
active, — bronzy,  straight-limbed,  and  statuesque".  "It  seems  very  probable 
that  the  pure  Dayaks,  like  the  Battaks  (of  Sumatra),  belong  to  a  proto- 
morphic,  almost  mediterranean  aboriginal  race  and  are  closely  related,  if 
not  identical,  with  the  American  and  Oceanic  primitives".' 

1  Skeat,  1.  c.  I.  p.  100.  Also  34-42,  43-48,  S6-S7f f.  «  Man,  1.  c.  p.  5-7.  ^  Seligman,  1.  c. 
p.  17-18,  <Reed,  1.  c.  p.  34-36.  ^  Ling-Roth  (Borneo)  Vol.  I.  pp.  16-19,  57.  Haddon,  1.  c. 
p.  81.  (combined  statement).  F.  W.  Burbidge,  The  Gardens  of  the  Sun,  (London,  1880),  p. 
156.    Stratz,  Rassenschonheit,  (Stuttgart,  1904),  p.  192-193. 


XXII  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Recent  Evidence  on  the  PiivsiguE  of  these  Peoples 

(6)  Celebesian  Type: — The  Toalas  or  "Backwoodsmen"  of  Celebes  are 
of  medium  lieiglit,  medium  brown  complexion,  dei'p  brown  eyes,  lofty 
brow,  and  black  wavy  hair.    They  are  in  all  essentials  a  Vedda-race.' 

(7)  Papuan  Type: — "They  were  of  good  proportions,  strong  and  wiry, 
without  any  signs  of  deformity  or  dwarfisiinoss,  and  in  color  a  dark  choc- 
olate. The  nose  was  straight  and  broad,  the  eyes  black,  the  lips  thick,  the 
general  contour  of  the  face  oval."  "Physically  tlie  Papuan  of  the  Mimika 
Coast  is  an  extraordinarily  fine  creature,  which  is  all  tiie  more  surprising 
when  the  slotiiful  life  he  leads,  the  meagre  food  upon  which  he  subsists, 
and  the  amount  of  disease  prevalent  in  tliis  swampy  district  are  taken  into 
consideration".' 

(8)  Tasmanian  Type: — Tlie  Tasmanians  were  a  negroid  race  of  low- 
to  medium  stature,  but  the  existing  reports  reveal  in  some  cases  a  noble 
picture,  though  the  evidence  on  this  subject  is  scanty  and  at  times  con- 
flicting. To  judge  from  the  earlier  prints,  it  would  seem  that  they  were 
closely  allied  to  fiie  Papuan  race,  though  their  Papuan  alTinities  are  still 
uncertain,  and  perhaps  they  form  an  ethnic  group  of  their  own.  (Com- 
pare them  with  the  Bushmen?)  * 

(9)  African  Type: — "The  Negrillo  is  far  from  being  deformed  or  badly 
proportioned.  On  the  contrary  he  is  a  very  gay,  agile,  well-built  little  man. 
I  have  seen  no  ugly  wounds,  skin-diseases,  or  nervous  troubles  among 
them."" 

(10)  South  American  Type: — The  Botokudos  are  of  medium  stature, 
go  absolutely  nude,  and  exhibit  at  times  a  splendid  physique.  Like  the 
Kaingang  they  have  oval  faces,  black  horizontal  eyes,  and  brown  rather 
than  copper  complexions.  The  mongolic  traits  are  very  generally  absent 
among  them.'" 

These  reports  might  be  multiplied  indefinilely,  and  extended  into  fur- 
ther details  on  the  physical  anthropology  of  lliese  peoples,  their  exact 
stature,  cranial  mcasuremeMts,  and  so  on.  But  on  tiie  one  hand,  such 
exact  statistics  are  not  always  to  be  obtained, — they  are  at  times  even  con- 
tradictory— ,  on  the  other,  I  am  firmly  convinced  that  craniology  alone  is 
a  very  poor  index  of  the  physical  and  even  mental  character  of  a  race. 
However  defective  tlie  above  summary  as  a  complete  scientific  statement, 
it  shows  that  the  common  opinion  of  the  low,  degraded,  quasi-simian 
character  of  early  man  is  one  that  needs  to  be  severely  corrected.  The 
above  races  are  the  physical  equals  of  any  others,  and  some  hygienic 
respects  perhaps  their  superiors." 

"Sarasin,  1.  c.  Pt.  II.  p.  41ff.  '  Rawling,  1.  c.  p.  54,  110,  251  »  Ling-Roth  (Tasm)  p. 
7-lOff.  »LcRoy,  1.  c.  p.  71,  91.  '"  E:hrcnreich.  1.  c.  p.  14ff.  P.  Tcschauer,  S.  J.  Die  Cain- 
gang  Oder  Coroados-lndianer,  (Anthropos,  IX.  1914),  p.  21.  "  For  medical  statistics, 
consult  the  same  authors  under  "Medicine",  "Disease",  from  which  it  appears  that  native 
diseases  are  few  and  non-syphilitic. 


THE  ABORIGINES  OF  THE  FAR  EAST 


PRIMITIVE  GROUP-PICTURES 


Nl'l  (  IMKN^    III      I  UK 

\  KI>I>\->\lv  \l -lOXIA-HVK  A  IAN     IM'K   Ol     IHMA^I|■^. 

(INK  Ol      INK    KAItl  ll>l    I^KOI  I'S  <II     M  AMvlMI   IN    K\1>IKN<  t. 

I  AKKN    IKOM   C.  (i.   M-:l. K.MAN    ( M-:i>l>  A-(  KM.OM .    I>l..   V,    \  I.    It.   MAKTIN    >l:N<>  \-»  \  K  \  I 

MAI.AKKA).   I'l..   II.   II.    MNti-KOril    (BAKATAN-HOKNKO) .    I».    IB.   .\XI)   (OMI'MiK    I. 

SVKASIN.    V    (II).    ri,.    VIII    (lOK    TOAI.A-<EI.KBK.S). 

••Ilii.  I  kits  <l.i  Mill   liillUI   li".lH,-..  iiihI   1   111.!.-  I.wii  tolil  111    II   ll.iiil,  <  hli'f   «lin  ..II.-.-  IIm-.I   uilli   lli.-iii  t.T  ■■ 

»lill<'    llilll    tliev    liulkr    (.■iii|...nir.%     sIi.Ii.t..    1..-Imi-.-ii    l.ullr."....-N    „r    liirk-.-    fiTi-t     Ir Tli.-.i     lln-    l>.> 

hiintliiK     iinil    Iff   till-  M itliin   "r   1.l<>« -|il|i.-.      I    liiit.-   ..iiIa    ■..-.-n   .,ii..    I  UK    iinil    lit-    \mi>   ii    <  hi.-r.   ii    Hi-ll- 

liiiilt    niilll  iilit.iil   .-.  fi-et   K  Inilii-s   IiIk'i,   kHiii.   iiiiiI   iiIIIi   ii   nillwr   r.-llii.-.l   fn.-e,   uiiil   ii    nilh.-r   iii..r.-   |.r..liil- 

ni.nl    n..M-    lliiin    Ilii-    IXilk,    ^MlllllJ,   iir    Ka.<lllll:    Imt    llili   rlinnl.-tcrisllr    lllB.v    liiii.-    n    p.-.-iilliir    to    tin- 

man."      (Mntivpll.   Apiiil   l.lnK-K.itli.   Il.irnmi.  Vnl.   I.   I>.    lOi. 


INTRODUCTION  XXIII 

The  Physical  Picture  of  Primitive  Man 

We  are  now  in  possession  of  sufficient  materials  for  forming  a  more 
or  less  proximate  estimate  of  tlie  physical  appearance  of  primitive  man,— 
an  estimate  which  is  based  not  upon  hypothetical  fragments,  but  upon 
the  actual  appearance  of  living  groups  of  humanity  which  antedate  any- 
thing that  can  be  certainly  known  from  the  buried  remains.  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  groups  which  we  have  established  as  the  "child-races"  of 
man  are  practically  the  same  as  those  which  we  have  found  to  bo  primitive 
on  entirely  independent  grounds, — culture,  industry,  social  and  linguistic 
phenomena.  Such  a  united  testimony  can  hardly  be  accidental,  but  makes 
the  antiquity  and  priority  of  these  peoples  an  increasingly  certain  prop- 
osition. But  on  closer  inspection  it  will  be  noticed  that  cultural  and  phys- 
ical evolution  do  not  always  proceed  pari  passu,  that  there  are  some  very 
low  races  of  man  that  are  physically  well-developed,  practically  normal. 
Such  for  instance  are  the  wild  Dayaks  of  Borneo,  the  Fuegians  and 
Botokudos  of  South-America,  and  perhaps  also  the  Tasmanians.  From 
this  it  will  appear  that 

Stature  is  not  the  final  test, 
that  it  is  possible  to  have  very  primitive  peoples  who,  however  juvenile 
in  other  respects,  show  no  signs  of  being  stunted  or  underdeveloped. 

The  Borne:an  Type  as  a  Normal  Primitive 

If  we  take  the  East-Indian  types  as  the  nearest  appr'oach  to  the  real 
primitive  on  biological  grounds,  we  shall  find  that  the  Central  Indonesian 
group  contains  specimens  of  humanity  that  are  as  low  as  any  to  be  found 
on  earth,  while  their  stature  approaches  the  normal,  if  it  does  not  some- 
times exceed  it.  Here  in  the  supposed  cradle  of  mankind,  at  the  meeting- 
point  of  Malaysia  and  Papuasia,  of  black,  brown,  and  yellow  races,  are 
we  brought  face  to  face  with  a  type  of  humanity  which  forcibly  recalls 
the  traditional  picture  of  the  father  of  humanity.  Whether  as  Toalas  or 
Toradjas,  Bukits  or  Bakatans,  Kayans  or  Kanowits,  a  confused  but  noble 
type  may  be  dimly  discerned  in  the  background.  It  is  of  medium  height, 
with  well-proportioned  limbs,  and  of  statuesque  bearing.  The  color  is  a 
genial  dark-brown,  which  in  the  depths  of  the  forest  verges  into  a  lighter 
tint.  The  face  is  oval,  the  forehead  erect,  the  eyes  large  and  piercing,  the 
long  black  hair  falls  in  graceful  curls  over  the  shoulders.  These  are 
largely  "ideal"  traits,  rarely  to  be  found  in  combination,  but  the  juvenile 
symptoms  are  nevertheless  strongly  marked, — slender  hands  and  feet,  fresh 
complexions,  generally  youthful  features — ,  which  tends  to  show  that  they 
belong  to  the  same  child-group  of  humanity  that  we  have  already 
described  above.    (See  the  frontispiece  and  the  appended  group-pictures). 


XXIV  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Summary, — CoNVEnoENCE  of  Evidence 

II  will  thus  be  seen  thai  from  whatever  point  of  view  the  subject  be 
approached,  the  antiquity  of  the  proto-melanic  area, — understanding  by 
lliis  the  more  or  less  nigritian  sub-types  of  Oceania,  Central  Africa,  and 
possibly  South  America — ,  is  one  that  makes  a  growing  impression  on  the 
mind  of  the  student.  This  does  not  imply  of  course  that  any  one  type  can 
be  taken  as  literally  primitive,  for  such  a  type  is  no  longer  in  existence. 
Doubtless  there  has  been  a  process  of  degeneration  as  well  as  evolution, 
which  makes  the  fixity  of  any  single  type  largely  problematical.  But 
in  spite  of  this  it  will  hardly  be  denied,  that  the  races  in  question  do 
approximate  more  closely  to  the  primitive  conditions  of  life, — climatic, 
somatic,  social  and  industrial — ,  than  any  other  section  of  humanity  that 
has  so  far  come  within  our  knowledge.  Moreover  the  general  similarity 
of  type,  of  physical,  mental  and  social  culture,  over  such  vast  and  widely 
separated  areas,  has  long  been  a  puzzle  to  ethnologists,  and  can  only  be 
explained  on  the  supposition  of  a  fundamental  unity  of  stock,  from  which 
by  successive  climatic  modifications  the  present  races  of  mankind  have 
been  developed. 

Such  being  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge,  it  is  useless  to  indulge 
in  further  speculations  as  to  which  of  these  varieties  should  claim  pre- 
cedence over  the  other.  There  has  been  a  tendency  in  recent  times  to  look 
upon  these  so-called  pygmoidal  races  as  the  common  progenitors  of 
humanity.  It  must  never  be  forgotten,  however,  that  the  real  primitive 
eludes  our  grasp,  that  he  was  probably  a  composite,  that  he  may  have  been 
anything  from  a  simple  Negrito  up  to  a  handsome  Vedda.  but  that  the 
youth  of  humanity  would  seem  to  be  in  harmony  with  a  youthful  type, — 
such  a  type  being  commonly  called  pygmoidal,  but  in  Us  one  line  perfect, 
fresh  from  the  hand  of  the  Creator.  On  the  supposition  then,  that  this 
idea  shoiild  be  rendered  increasingly  plausible. — and  the  cultural  and 
biological  data  seem  to  suggest  it — ,  the  term  itself,  implying  as  it  does 
a  tone  of  contempt,  is  an  unfortunate  one.  Did  not  the  giant  Germans 
ridicule  the  puny  Romans  as  a  band  of  pygmies?  .\nd  yet  the  "pygmies" 
ronquored  the  world.  The  designation  is  therefore  best  avoided,  and  in 
dealing  with  these  types  they  will  be  referred  to  as  "negrilos",  "veddas", 
"dayaks",  "toalas",  or  simple  "primitives",  as  the  case  may  be.  In  this  way 
their  dignity  will  be  safeguarded  as  in  the  best  sense  human,  while  ample 
room  will  be  left  for  the  priority  of  an  "ideal"  form  in  the  remote  past.  But 
such  an  "ideal"  is  beyond  the  powers  of  any  known  science  to  reconstruct. 
The  existing  types  are  shadows  of  the  original,  the  original  itself  has  been 
lost. 


INTRODUCTION  XXV 

II.    THE  SOURCE-QUESTION 

In  estimating  the  value  of  a  preliisforic  tradition,  it  is  important  to 
separate  the  clear  from  the  doubtful,  the  certain  from  the  problematic,  the 
indigenous  element  from  that  which  has  been  borrowed  from  an  outside 
source.  This  concerns  the  authenticity  of  two  factors, —  (1)  the  authen- 
ticity of  report,  and — (2)  the  authenticity  of  tradition. 

(1)  As  to  the  truth  of  that  which  is  reported,  much  will  depend  on  the 
character  and  equipment  of  the  reporter.  The  field  of  comparative  religion 
is  a  new  one,  that  of  prehistoric  religion  quite  recent.  The  latter  depart- 
ment is  being  pioneered  by  men  who,  whatever  their  powers  of  observa- 
tion, are  certainly  beyond  the  average  of  trustworthiness.  Names  that 
include  those  of  Catholic  bishops,  like  Schneider^  and  LeRoy,*  Prefects 
apostolic,  like  Mgr.  Dunn,*  missionaries  of  the  Divine  Word,  like  Schmidt^ 
and  Hestermann,*  apostles  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  like  Meyer*  and  Egedi,*  are 
apt  to  solicit  our  attention  on  the  score  of  seriousness,  if  on  no  other  But 
apart  from  this,  they  have  lived,  or  are  living,  on  intimate  personal  terms 
with  the  natives,  they  have  penetrated  into  regions  that  are  rarely  if  ever 
visited  by  the  white  man,  and  they  have  studied  their  customs,  their  folk- 
lore and  their  mythology  in  a  manner  that  is  epoch-making  and  that 
reflects  undying  credit  on  the  great  Institution  that  brought  them  forth. 
If  to  this  be  added  the  names  of  Breuil  and  Cartaillac,^  of  Piette  and  Ober- 
maier,^ — experts  in  the  allied  field  of  palaeontology  and  rock-paintings — , 
the  honor-list  of  the  Catholic  Church  swells  to  a  noble  figure.  If  however 
their  writings  be  suspected  of  "tendency",  these  tendencies  can  easily  be 
corrected  by  more  secular  writers,  whose  "tendencies",  though  in  an 
opposite  direction,  have  involuntarily  brought  out  the  same  results. 
Graebner,  Thomas,  Foy,  and  Ankermann,'  are  admittedly  colorless,  while 
Mrs.  Parker*  and  Andrew  Lang'  are  frankly  "converts",  who  have  been 
brought  to  change  their  opinions  solely  by  an  impartial  examination  of 
the  overwhelming  evidence  of  facts. 

Though  this  subject  has  all  the  attractions  as  well  as  the  dangers  of 
novelty,  it  is  beginning  to  occupy  the  serious  attention  of  men  of  science, 
of  religious  students  of  all  persuasions.'" 


'Mgr.  W.  Schneider,  Die  Naturvolker,  (Mitnster,  1885).  Idem,  Die  Religion  der 
afrikanischen  Naturvolker,  (Miinster,  1891).  ^ligr.  A.  LeRoy,  La  Religion  des  Primitifs, 
(Paris,  1911).  '  Rev.  W.  Schmidt,  Ursprung  der  Gottesidee,  (Miinster,  1912).  Idem, 
Pygmaenvolker,  (Stuttgart,  1910).  Idem,  Mythologie  der  austronesischen  Volker,  (Vienna, 
1910.  *  Articles  in  Anthropos  passim,  (Vienna,  1907-1914).  '  Cartaillac-Breuil,  La  Caverne 
d'Altamira  a  Santillane,  (Paris,  1910).  °  Dr.  Hugo  Obermaier,  Der  Mensch  der  Vorzeit 
(Munich,  1912).  'The  Culture-cycle  school,  see  below  under  Kulturkreis,  p.  XLIff.  'Mrs. 
Langloh-Parker,  The  Euahlayi  tribe,  (London,  190S).  'Andrew  Lang,  The  Making  of 
Religion,  Magic  and  Religion,  Secret  of  the  Totem  (London,  1901-9).  ^o  Comp.  Intern. 
Congr.  of  Religions  (Basle,  1904,  Oxford,  1908,  Louvain,  1912). 


XXVI  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

So  much  for  a  general  survey.  As  to  special  sources  for  particular 
areas,  we  have,  in  addition  to  the  above,  a  large  number  of  independent 
authors,  whose  divided  voices  might  be  open  to  question,  but  whose  united 
testimony  is  surely  powerful.  Only  the  most  important  can  be  given  here. 
Thus  we  have  Skeal,"  Vaughan-Stevcns,'^  and  Martin,"  for  the  Malakkan 
races,  Man  •*  and  Portman  ">  for  the  Andaman  Islands,  Meyer,'«  Reed,"  and 
Montano,'*  for  the  Philippines,  Rawling  ■»  and  Williamson  =»  for  New 
Guinea,  Howitt "  and  Ling-Roth  "  for  the  Tasmanian-.\ustralian  region. 
For  the  Central  African  Negrillos  we  have  only  one  standard  work,  that  of 
Mgr.  LeRoy,  Bishop  of  Alinda."  The  same  for  the  South-African  Bush- 
men, where  the  name  of  Stow^^  stands  easily  first.  This  completes  the 
negrito  cycle  strictly  so-called,  but  includes  the  somewhat  taller  Tas- 
manians  and  Bushmen  as  cognate  races  with  hair  of  woolly  texture.  With 
regard  to  the  wavy-and  sleek-haired  pygtmoidal  races,  so  little  is  j'et  known 
of  their  higher  culture  that  they  are  not  alwaj^s  a  safe  investment  in  the 
present  state  of  our  knowledge.  We  have  Skeat "  again  for  the  Sakai. 
Seligman^"  for  the  Veddas,  and  Sarasin"  for  the  Toalas.  and  in  the  New 
World,  Von  den  Steinen='  and  Ehrenreich,='»  for  the  lank-haired  primitives 
of  the  Amazonian  belt.  If  we  touch  upon  these  races  at  all,  it  is  chiefly 
for  the  reason  that  something  should  be  said  to  complete  the  picture,  if  it 
is  only  to  show  how  the  primitive  ideals  may  still  be  kept  up  by  a  group 
of  races  which  on  the  above  ethnological  schedule  are  possibly  equally 
ancient.  As  to  the  much  later,  glacial  and  neolithic,  peoples,  (Indo-Asiatic 
and  Eurasian),  authorities  are  quoted  only  for  the  sake  of  comparison, 
chiefly  religious,  with  early  man.  Names  and  titles  are  too  numerous  to 
be  mentioned  in  this  place, — they  will  be  found  in  the  footnotes,  under 
each  section.^" 


"  VV.  W.  Skeat  and  C.  O.  Blagden,  Pagan  Races  of  the  Malay  Peninsula.  2  vols.  (Lon- 
don, 1906).  '==  H.  Vaughan-Steveiis,  Materialien  zur  Kenntniss  der  wilden  Stamme  auf  der 
Halbinsel  Malakka,  3  vols.  (Berlin,  1892-4).  "^  R.  Martin,  Die  Inlandstamme  der  Malaischen 
Halbinsel,  (Jena,  1905).  '*  E.  H.  Man,  The  aboriginal  Inhabitants  of  the  Andaman  Islands, 
(London,  1883).  '*  M.  V.  Portman,  A  History  of  our  Relations  with  the  Andamanese,  2 
vols.  (Calcutta,  1899,  rare).  '"A.  B.  Meyer,  Die  Philippinen,  3  vols.  (Leipzig,  1902).  "  W. 
A.  Reed,  The  Negritos  of  Zanibales,  (Manila,  1904).  '"Joseph  Montano,  Voyage  aux 
Philippines,  (Paris,  1886).  Idem,  Missions  aux  Philippines,  (Paris.  1887).  >»  C.  G.  Rawling, 
The  Land  of  the  New  Guinea  Pygmies,  (London,  1913).  -"  R.  W.  Williamson,  The  Mafulu 
Mountain  People  of  British  New  Guinea,  (London,  1912).  -'  A.  W.  Howitt,  The  Native 
Tribes  of  South-East  Australia,  (London,  1904).  ==  H.  Ling-Roth,  The  Aborigines  of 
Tasmania,  (Halifax,  1899,  rare).  '^  LeRoy,  op.  cit.  supra.  Also,  Les  Pygmees  d'Afrique 
et  de  ITnde,  (Tours,  undated).  '*  G.  W.  Stow,  The  Native  Races  of  South  Africa,  (Lon- 
don, 1910).  28  skeat-Blagden,  op.  cit.  sup.  '"  C.  G.  Seligman  and  Brenda  Z.  Seligjman,  The 
Veddas,  (Cambridge,  Engl.  19ll).  '' Dr.  Paul  and  t)r.  Fritz  Sarasin,  Materialien  zur 
Naturgeschichte  der  Insel  Celebes,  (with  valuable  plates),  (Wiesbaden.  1905).  •' K.  Von 
den  Steincn  Unter  den  Naturvolkern  Central  Brasilicns,  (Berlin,  1894).  2*  Paul  Ehrenreich. 
Die  Mythen  und  Legenden  der  Siid-Amerikanischen  Urvolker,  (Berlin,  1905).  '"A  good 
reference-work  on  primitive  man  in  general  will  be  found  in  \V.  I.  Thomas,  Source-Book 
for  Social  Origins.  (Chicago,  1912),  with  excellent  bibliography.  Tylor's  Primitive  Culture 
should  be  read  with  caution  as  many  of  his  data  are  entirely  unreliable. 


INTRODUCTION  XXVII 

Supplementary  Sources 

For  those,  however,  who  wish  to  pursue  this  subject  at  further  length 
and  do  some  original  work  on  areas  that  are  still  largely  unexplored,  I 
would  recommend  as  a  preliminary  study  the  inspection  of  certain  works 
which  have  recently  attracted  considerable  attention  by  reason  of  the 
important  facts  which  they  promise  to  bring  to  light.  Among  these  are 
the  collections  or  discoveries  of  Ling  Roth,"  Haddon,^-  and  Nieuwen- 
huis,"  concerning  the  wild  inhabitants  of  Central  Borneo,  and  the  articles 
that  have  appeared  on  the  same  subject  from  the  pen  of  Messrs.  Hose  and 
McDougall  in  the  Journal  of  the  Anthropological  Institute,  and  in  a  more 
recent  work.''^  In  view  of  the  fact  that  many  of  these  inland  tribes  are 
as  primitive  as  any  to  be  found  in  the  archipelago,  the  startling  disclosures 
of  the  two  latter  should  be  carefully  examined  and  weighed, — the  only 
two  white  men  that  have  given  us  anything  like  a  complete  account  of 
the  beliefs  and  practices  of  the  Forest-Dayaks  and  their  allies  in  the 
tropical  jungle,  though  the  work  of  Nieuwenhuis  is  otherwise  indispen- 
sible.  For  similar  reasons  the  mythology  of  the  Gelebesian  Toradjas,  com- 
monly known  as  Posos  or  Alfoors,  should  not  be  omitted,  as  they  may  shed 
some  valuable  light  on  the  Toala  beliefs,  which  are  as  yet  very  obscure^" 
Nor  should  the  Molukkas  be  passed  over  without  comparing  the  findings 
of  Kruyt  and  Riedel  on  the  subject  of  the  pre-Islamic  Malayan  and  Papuan 
faith,  which  are  here  found  in  juxtaposition.^^  As  to  New  Guinea  itself, 
it  is  a  land  of  mystery,  but  the  current  articles  in  the  Anthropos  "  and  the 
reports  of  the  Royal  Netherlands  Missionary  Society  ^^  should  be  occasion- 
ally inspected.  These  and  the  Journal  of  the  Indian  Archipelago  ^'  furnish 
in  fact  the  main  channels  through  which  further  light  in  this  region  may 
be  expected.  Finally  the  important  work  of  Dr.  Cooper  is  opening  out  a 
new  world  of  research  in  the  antarctic  zone,  his  immense  collection  of 
facts  on  the  South-American  Fuegians  being  altogether  invaluable." 


3' The  Natives  of  Sarawak  and  British  North  Borneo,  (London,  1896),  2  vols.  ^- A.  C. 
Haddon,  Head-hunters,  black,  white,  and  brown,  (London,  1901).  ^^  A.  W.  Nieuwenhuis, 
In  Centraal  Borneo,  (Leyden,  1900).  Idem,  Quer  durch  Borneo,  (Leyden,  1904),  both  two- 
volume  works.  ^*  Charles  Hose  and  William  McDougall,  The  Relation  of  men  and  animals 
in  Sarawak,  Journ.  Anthr.  Inst.  Vol.  XXXI,  (London,  1901),  p.  173-213.  Idem,  The  Pagan 
Tribes  of  Borneo,  (London,  1912),  2  vols.  ^^  A.  Kruyt,  De  legenden  der  Poso-Alfoeren, 
Mededeelingen  van  wege  het  Nederlandsche  Zendelingsgenootschap,  38de  jaarg.  (The 
Hague,  1894).  Idem.  Het  Animisme  in  den  Indischen  Archipel,  (Hague,  1906).  ^s  pr.  Riedel, 
De  sluik-en  kroesharigen  rassen  tusschen  Selebes  en  Papua,  (Hague.  1886).  3"  Anthropos, 
(Vienna,  1907-1916).  ^^  Mededeelingen  van  wege  het  Koninklijke  Nederlandsche  Zendelings- 
genootschap, an  annual  report  published  at  the  Hague,  Netherlands.  Also  the  reports  of 
the  Koninklijke  Nederlandsche  Aardrijkskundig  Genootschap,  (ibid),  a  geographical  pub- 
lication of  the  Dutch  government.  "9  journal  of  the  Indian  Archipelago  and  Eastern  Asia, 
Also  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  (Straits  branch),  both  of  which  contain  at  times 
interesting  material.  ■'"J.  M,  Cooper,  DD.  Analytical  and  critical  Bibliography  of  the  tribes 
of  Tierra  del  Fuego  and  adjacent  territory,  Bull.  63  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology, 
(Washington,  1917),  p.  1-228. 


XXVIII  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

The  Source-Question, — Indioenous  Origin 

(2)  A  more  complex  problem  is  that  of  the  antiquity  and  indigenous 
origin  of  the  beliefs  and  practices  that  are  reported.  Can  it  be  possible 
that  this  or  any  other  section  of  humanity  has  preserved  intact  a  tradition 
which  upon  the  most  conservative  estimate  must  reach  back  many  thou- 
sands of  years?  From  what  we  know  of  'progress'  in  modern  limes,  such 
an  idea  seems  altogether  unlikely, — an  improbable  assumption.  But  per- 
haps we  have  not  been  schooled  in  time-values.  It  seems  difTicult  to  realise, 
for  instance,  that  Chinese  culture  has  been  stagnant  for  three-thousand 
years,  that  the  neolithic  age  was  for  six-thousand  years  non-mt.'tallic,  thai 
before  that  time  the  unpolished  flint  was  in  use  for  at  least  double  that 
period  and  the  rough  eolith  for  periods  indefinitely  longer.  But  if  there  is 
one  thing  that  palaeontology  has  impressed  upon  our  minds,  it  is  the  fact 
that  for  countless  ages  the  human  race  has  been  on  the  same  uniform 
level  of  culture,  that  changes  have  been  incredibly  slow,  and  that  in  many 
instances  there  have  been  'stagnations'  of  ancient  areas  which  have  left 
them  in  prfcisely  the  same  condition,  social  and  industrial,  tiiat  they  occu- 
pied from  time  immemorial.  Now  if  such  a  'stagnation'  be  admitted  in 
type  and  physiognomy,  in  arts  and  industries,  in  social  and  linguistic 
phenomena,  why  not  a  stagnation  in  religion  also?  Does  it  not  form  an 
important,  nay,  the  most  essential  cultural  element  of  all?  But  this  is  a 
problem  of  wide  ramifications.  Suffice  it  to  say  for  the  present,  that  the 
evidence  for  the  remote  antiquity  of  a  cult  is  based  on  the  convergent  tes- 
timony of  numerous  and  widely  separated  sources.  The  secrecy  of  the 
cult,  the  nature  of  its  propagation,  the  mythologj-  in  which  it  is  clothed,  the 
fidelity  with  which  it  is  echoed  in  distant  centers  on  exactly  the  same 
level, — all  these  make  a  combined  impression  of  originality,  which  it  would 
surely  be  unwise  to  put  down  as  a  mere  coincidence.  They  may  in  some 
cases  produce  moral  certainty.  Whether  they  do  this  or  not,  must  of 
course  be  determined  in  single  instances.  It  is  through  elimination  of  all 
impossible  values  that  the  unknown  quantity  is  discovered." 


•"  Comp.  an  excellent  article  by  Father  I.c  Clcrcq :  'Indications  pratiques  pour  faire  des 
observations  en  maticre  religieuse  chez  les  peuplcs  incultes',  in  Anthropos,  VIII.  (1913)  p. 
12-21.  The  objection  on  the  score  of  "hoary  antiquity"  is  sentimental  rather  than  scientific. 
Wherever  a  borrowing  cannot  be  distinctly  i)roved.  the  evidence  is  in  most  cases  too  strong 
to  be  resisted.  Comp.  A.  Lang.  Magic  and  Religion.  (London.  1901),  Chapt.  II.  (pp.  15-45), 
on  "The  Theory  of  Loan-gods",  a  clear  and  forcible  statement.  It  is  through  the  principle 
of  "cumulative  convergence"  that  the  mind  begins  to  see  that  the  early  development  of  man 
exhibits  a  homogeneity  of  mental  phenomena  which  is  so  striking  that,  in  view  of  the 
parallel  phenomena  in  the  social  and  cultural  field,  an  essential  connexion  is  positively 
demanded  between  the  age  of  a  people  and  its  corresponding  beliefs.  See  below,  pp.  XLI, 
121,  507. 


INTRODUCTION  XXIX 

III.    THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  PRIMITIVES 

— A  Normal  Mentality — 

Another  question  that  has  intimate  bearings  on  the  present  subject  is 
that  of  the  mental  capacity  of  the  races  with  which  we  are  deahng.  Given 
a  set  form  of  rehgious  beliefs,  how  far  can  they  be  said  to  embody  an 
adequate,  that  is  a  metaphysical  idea  of  divine  truth?  Have  the  races  in 
question  a  sufflcient  power  of  abstraction  to  attain  to  the  idea  of  God  in 
any  sense  in  which  we  understand  it?  Clearly  there  is  room  for  discus- 
sion here,  as  opinions  have  not  been  wanting  that  have  boldly  affirmed, 
that  the  so-called  "savage"  of  today  is  a  mental  pariah,  that  his  intellect  is 
but  little  removed  from  the  associative  power  of  brutes.  Evidence  for  this 
was  believed  to  be  abundant.  They  could  not  count  beyond  four,  they 
had  no  names  for  generic  ideas,  they  could  not  always  recognise  pictures, 
they  were  slow  and  unprogressive,  they  were  stunted  if  not  obtuse.  This 
impression  has  colored  the  works  of  nearly  all  wTiters,  from  Sir  John 
Lubbock  ^  down  to  Tylor  ^  and  even  Westermarck,^  and  it  was  easy  to 
make  out  a  case  for  the  stupidity  of  primitive  man,  when  so  little  could 
be  said  for  his  modern  survivor.  These  hasty  inductions  were  destined 
to  be  modified,  partly  by  the  findings  of  palaeontology,  partly  by  the  more 
profound  study  of  the  nature-peoples  as  we  actually  find  them.  In  both 
cases  have  materials  come  to  our  hand  that  have  greatly  influenced,  in 
some  cases  reversed,  our  judgment  on  the  early  mentality  of  the  race. 

— Inventive  Power — 

(1)  As  to  palaeontology,  it  has  long  been  recognised  that  the  very  fact 
of  the  survival  of  man  amid  the  wreck  and  ruin  of  the  glacial  epoch  is 
in  itself  a  proof  of  his  decided  superiority  to  the  animal  creation.  What 
he  lacks  in  physical  and  muscular  strength,  he  more  than  makes  up  by 
the  quickening  power  of  his  intellect.  Thus  it  has  come  to  pass,  that  while 
large  and  swift-footed  animals,  like  the  Cave-Bear  and  the  Irish  Elk,  were 
unable  to  protect  their  species  from  extinction,  man  alone  has,  by  the 
sheer  force  of  his  ingenuity  and  contriving-power,  saved  his  race  from 
the  "deluge"  by  means  of  inventions, — tools,  fire,  clothing,  means  of  trans- 
port,— devices.  It  has  even  been  argued  that  the  art  of  making  fire  by  fric- 
tion is  alone  sufficient  to  prove  his  higher  mentality.* 


1  Lubbock,  Prehistoric  Times,  6th.  Ed.  (N.  Y.  1910)  p.  548.  2  Tylor,  Primitive  Culture, 
4th.  Ed.  (N.  Y.  1904).  ^  Westermarck,  The  Origin  and  Development  of  Moral  Ideas,  (New 
York,  1912)  II.  595.  <  Obermaier,  op.  cit.  p.  418.  Weule,  Die  Kultur  der  Kulturlosen,  p. 
60-99.  - 


XXX  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Psychology, — Cranlvl  Capacity 

Then  again  the  fossil  remains  of  man  are  telling  a  similar  story.  They 
have  revealed  the  fact  tliat  there  is  no  substantial  dilTerence  between  man 
glacial  and  man  recent,  tiiat  in  both  cases  we  are  dealing  with  a  true  'homo 
sajjii'ns',  however  undeveloped  the  type  may  be.  For  neolithic  man 
parallels  may  be  found  among  the  Caucasic  races  of  today,  while  the 
palaeolithic  type  recalls  a  confused  Caucasioid  to-Mongoloid  to-Negroid 
image  which  is  best  expressed  by  the  Dravidian  or  Indo-Australian  races 
of  our  time.  There  is  in  fact  so  close  a  resemblance  between  the  Neander- 
thal and  the  modern  Australian  skull,  both  in  form  and  capacity,  that 
many  authors,  including  Klaatsch  and  Virchow,  have  boldly  identified  the 
diluvial  race,  and  even  primitive  man.  with  this  type.'  For  reasons  that 
have  already  been  given,  such  a  conclusion  seems  altogether  premature. 
Granted,  that  diluvial  man  and  the  Australian  type  are  close  parallels,  a 
loophole  must  surely  be  left  for  the  priority  of  still  earlier  types  on  the 
basis  of  KoUmaun's  theory  of  pre-glacial  forms.-  Here  palaeontology 
deserts  us,  but  the  finger  of  ethnology  points  with  growing  emphasis  to 
the  equatorial  belt,  and  offers  the  melanic  sub-type  as  a  possible  transition 
to  glacial  man.  Once  more,  therefore,  the  past  yields  to  the  present,  the 
dead  is  interpreted  by  the  living  form. 

— High  Art — 

But  before  quitting  the  field  of  buried  antiquity,  it  would  be  well  to 
call  attention  to  the  general  verdict  of  this  science  on  the  mental  endow- 
ment of  the  human  race  during  the  long  period  of  the  Ice  Age.  Apart  from 
the  inventive  talent  already  referred  to,  the  more  recent  discoveries  of 
rock-paintings  have  revealed  a  degree  of  esthetic  taste,  of  artistic  refine- 
ment which  is  surj»rising  and  which  has  caused  many  to  look  upon  them 
as  masterpieces,  which  have  rarely  if  ever  been  excelled.''  Summing  up 
this  question  Prof.  Klaatsch  thus  expresses  himself: — "Primitive  man  was 

neither  bad  nor  stupid He  is  rather  to  be  looked  upon  as  a  siipcrii^r 

being  .  .  ('hochstehendos  Wesen')  .  .  who  by  the  power  of  his  individ- 
uality and  mental  adroitness  was  in  many  respects  above  the  parvenues 
of  culture."*  Compare  also  some  very  similar  remarks  made  by  Eduard 
Meyer  in  his  new  History  of  Antiquity,  an  admittedly  cold  and  materially 
prejudiced  author:  "We  shall  have  tn  dosrend  to  the  fifth  dynasty  of 
Egypt  in  order  to  find  parallels  of  equal  worth."  (to  the  Magdalenian 
paintings)." 


*  Australian-Prcneanderthaloid.  (Klaatsch.  in  Proc.  Anat.  Soc.  1908,  38.)  *  Kollitiann, 
1.  c.  supra.  ^  Carfailhac-Breuil,  op.  cit.  p.  126.  Obermaier,  p.  25.1.  *  Klaatsch.  at  the  Cologne 
Congress  of  German  Physicians  and  Scientists,  1908.  °  E.  Meyer,  Geschichte  des  Altertums, 
(Berlin,  1910),  vol.  I.  p.' 247. 


INTRODUCTION  XXXI 

Psychology, — The  Modern  Survivor 

(2)  So  far  the  verdict  of  archaeology.  What  have  the  living  races  to 
tell  us  of  their  own  psychology?  Does  not  the  preceding  eulogy  seem 
rather  far-fetched  when  applied  to  existing  races  as  we  actually  find 
them?  And  yet  there  are  enormous  sections  of  humanity  that  are  living 
on  approximately  the  same  level  as  the  Magdalenian  bear-hunters.  I  have 
only  to  refer  to  the  rock-paintings  and  chromographs  of  the  modern 
Australians  and  Bushmen  to  see  how  nearly  they  approach  the  diluvial 
type.  Then  again,  if  we  compare  the  bone-engravings  of  the  Indian  and 
Eskimo  with  those  of  his  palaeolithic  forefathers,  we  shall  find  it  difficult 
in  some  cases  to  note  any  ditference.  Much  the  same  may  be  said  of 
their  other  industries  and  their  habits  of  life.  Clearly  we  are  here  face  to 
face,  either  with  a  direct  racial  equation,  or  with  a  'mental  convergence' 
of  such  a  nature  that  the  psychology  of  the  past  may  be  safely  interpreted 
by  the  light  of  the  present,  or  vice  versa.  If  then  the  Mammoth-  and  Rein- 
deer-man solicits  our  admiration  by  reason  of  his  prowess,  his  skill,  his 
inventive  and  artistic  faculty,  the  same  meed  of  praise  should  be  due  to 
his  modern  survivor, — always  allowing  for  possible  degenerations,  owing 
to  want  of  fixity  in  the  type.^ 

— ' '  I NTELLIGEN  CE'  ' — 

But  it  is  a  far  cry  from  these  to  our  own  primitives  of  the  equatorial 
belt.  Here  we  have  nothing  but  ethnology  to  go  by,  as,  they  are  believed 
to  be  'pre-glacial',  to  antedate  the  age  of  the  earliest  fossil  remains  of  man. 
What  then  is  to  be  learnt  of  this  interesting  people?  Are  they  'pygmies' 
in  intellect  as  they  are  supposed  to  be  in  their  bodily  frames?  Far  from  it. 
The  study  of  their  psychology  is,  like  their  discovery,  a  new  acquisition. 
"Bright,  keen,  vivacious,  adroit,  intelligent, — of  almost  fairy-like  deft- 
ness",— such  are  a  few  of  the  epithets  that  have  been  employed  by  different 
travelers  in  their  reports  from  different  and  widely  separated  areas, 
"Intelligence"  is  of  course  an  elastic  term,  and  has  been  employed  with 
a  variety  of  popular  meanings,  but  the  sense  in  which  it  is  used  in  the 
present  place  is  at  least  synonymous  with  that  of  adaption  of  means  to 
ends,  and  implies  therefore  a  delicate  perception  of  cause  and  efTect, — more 
than  a  mere  'instinct'.  Far  from  being  crude,  or  in  any  sense  blunt  or 
puny,  it  is  a  faculty  which  is  relatively  high,  relatively  'perfect'.^ 


1  Birkner,  Der  diluviale  Mensch  in  Europa,  (Mun.  1912).  Obermaier,  op.  cit.  253f. 
2  Opinions  of  Skeat,  Reed,  Meyer.  Man,  Portman,  Stow,  Johnston,  etc.  collected  by  Schmidt, 
Pygmaenvolker,  p.  111-116.  See  also  Johnston,  The  Pygmies  of  the  Great  Congo  Forest, 
(SR.  1902,  489).    LeRoy,  Les  Pygmees,  pp.  95-145. 


XXXII  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Psychology, — Abstractive  Power 

Yet  even  willi  lliese  concessions  there  may  be  some  doubt  as  to  whether 
tliese  'low'  and  culturally  backward  types  are  in  any  sense  worthy  to 
figure  as  the  earliest  representatives  of  the  race.  Does  not  the  sexless  char- 
acter of  their  language,  the  absence  of  generic  terms,  tiie  paucity  of  their 
numerals,  argue  against  any  really  abstractive  knowledge  on  their  part, 
any  adequate  perception  of  immensity,  eternity,  infinity,  etc.  as  we  under- 
stand them?    To  this  question  a  twofold  answer  may  be  given. 

(1)  It  is  important  to  distinguish  between  the  capacity  for  intellectual 
processes  and  tlieir  facility.  The  former  may  exist  in  full  vigor,  while 
the  latter  may,  tlirougli  want  of  training,  remain  dormant  or  unde- 
veloped,— confined  to  'essential'  relations.  (Compare  the  scholastic 
'potency'  and  'act').' 

(2)  On  the  oilier  liand,  their  existing  psychology'  has  been  largely  mis- 
interpreted, largely  misunderstood.  Tlie  fact  that  these  races  are  endowed 
with  speech,  (whether  native  or  borrowed),  this  alone  implies  a  power  of 
abstraction,  though  the  simplicity  of  their  wants  begets  a  simplicity  of 
language,  a  small  vocabulary,  a  paucity  of  terms.  In  all  these  matters 
means  are  proportioned  to  ends,  as  in  other  departments  of  life.  Then 
again  many  are  gifted  with  wonderful  memories,  certainly  not  a  sign  of 
degeneracy.^  But  the  best  test  is  that  of  the  school  or  mission  house, 
where  we  meet  with  statistics  that  are  surprising.  Dr.  Brander  mentions 
the  case  of  a  young  boy.  who  had  been  educated  in  an  orphan-school,  and 
who,  in  spite  of  liis  tender  years,  (12),  could  read  English  and  Urdu 
fluently,  as  well  as  speak  and  write  in  both  these  languages,  retaining  also 
a  knowledge  of  his  mother  tongue.  He  had  besides  acquired  a  fair  knowl- 
edge of  arithmetic.  And.  Mr.  Man  is  careful  to  add, — "this  is  not  an  excep- 
tional case,  for  I  could  instance  others,  and  one  lad  in  particular,  who  was 
his  superior."^  That  this  is  not  a  mere  case  of  infant  precocity  is  sho\\'n 
by  the  fact  that  some  of  them  have  been  known  in  later  years  to  figure  as 
teachers.*  Mgr.  LeRoy  speaks  of  polyglot  Akkas  (0-koas),  with  "an 
intelligence  at  least  equal  to  those  of  their  own  age",  and  he  and  many 
other  missionaries  have  assured  us  that  they  show  as  deep  a  grasp  of  the 
Catholic  Faith  as  any  other  races  with  which  they  have  come  in  contact." 
While  little  is  yet  known  of  this  subject,  it  seems  to  be  clear  that  those 
theories  will  have  to  be  revised,  that  speak  so  slightingly  of  the  'infant 
mentalitv'  of  early  man.' 


'The  inherent  defect  in  J.  G.  Romanes.  Mental  Evolution  in  ^tan,  (1896).  =  Parker,  1. 
c.  p  11.  Man,  1.  c.  p.  28.  ■■'  Man,  1.  c.  p.  27-28.  *  Portman,  1.  c.  vol.  I,  p.  117.  ">  LeRoy,  Les 
Pygmees,  p.  143-144.  Compare,  for  instance,  the  reports  of  the  Mission  Fathers  in  British 
New  Guinea,  Borneo,  and  the  far  East.  "  Compare  D.  Brinton,  Religions  of  primitive 
peoples,  (N.  Y.  1889)  p.  15.  (Am.  Indians). 


INTRODUCTION  XXXI 1 1 

Psychology, — Abstractive  Power 

This  subject  has  been  well  handled  by  Mr.  W.  I.  Thomas  in  his  new 
Source-Book,  (Chicago,  1912),  an  exceedingly  useful  manual.    He  says: — 

"Another  serious  charge  against  the  intelligence  of  the  lower  races  is 
lack  of  the  power  of  abstraction.  They  certainly  do  not  deal  largely  in 
abstraction,  and  their  languages  are  poor  in  abstract  terms.  But  there  is 
a  great  difference  between  the  habit  of  thinking  in  abstract  terms  and  the 
ability  to  do  so. 

The  degree  to  which  abstraction  is  employed  in  the  activities  of  a 
group  depends  on  the  complexity  of  the  activities  and  on  the  complexity 
of  consciousness  in  the  group.  WIilmi  science,  philosophy,  and  logic,  and 
systems  of  reckoning  time,  space,  and  number,  are  taught  in  the  schools; 
when  the  attention  is  not  so  much  engaged  in  perceptual  as  in  deliberate 
acts;  and  when  thought  is  a  profession,  then  abstract  modes  of  thought 
are  forced  on  the  mind.  This  does  not  argue  absence  of  power  of  abstrac- 
tion in  the  lower  races,  but  lack  of  practice.  To  one  skilled  in  any  line  an 
unpracticed  person  seems  very  stupid,  and  this  is  apparently  the  reason 
why  travelers  report  that  the  black  and  yellow  races  have  feeble  powers 
of  abstraction.  It  is  generally  admitted,  however,  that  the  use  of  speech 
involves  the  power  of  abstraction,  so  that  all  races  have  the  power  in  some 
degree.  When  we  come  further  to  examine  the  degree  in  which  they 
possess  it,  we  find  that  they  compare  favorably  with  ourselves  in  any 
test  which  involves  a  fair  comparison. 

On  the  other  side  of  number  we  have  another  test  of  the  power  of 
abstraction  and  while  the  lower  races  show  lack  of  practice  in  this,  they 
show  no  lack  of  power.  It  is  true  that  tribes  have  been  found  with  no 
names  for  numbers  beyond  two,  three,  or  five ;  but  these  are  isolated  groups, 
like  the  Veddas  and  Bushmen,  who  have  no  trade  or  commerce,  and  lead 
a  miserable  existence,  with  little  or  nothing  to  count.  The  directions  of 
attention  and  the  simplicity  or  complexity  of  mental  processes  depend  on 
the  character  of  the  external  situation  which  the  mind  has  to  manipulate. 
//  the  activities  are  simple,  the  mind  is  simple,  and  if  the  activities  are  nil, 
the  mind  ivould  be  nil.  The  mind  is  nothing  but  the  means  of  manipu- 
lating the  outside  world.  .  .  .  From  the  standpoint  of  modern  mathe- 
matics. Sir  Henry  Savile  and  the  Bushmen  are  both  woefully  backward; 
and  in  both  cases  the  backwardness  is  not  a  matter  of  mental  incapacity, 
but  of  the  state  of  the  science".' 


'W.  I.  Thomas,  Source-Book  for  Social  Origins,  (Chicago,  1912),  pp.  160-164. 


XXXIV  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

IV.     THE  SOCIOLOGY  OF  PRIMITIVES 

— A  Normal  Morality — 

If  we  pass  from  the  mentality  to  the  morality  of  these  races,  it  is  chiefly 
for  the  reason  that  mind  alone  furnishes  an  incomplete  picture  of  man, 
that  it  is  worse  than  useless  unless  it  finds  a  normal,  healthy,  and  legitimate 
outlet  for  its  operations.  And  so,  in  estimating  the  general  character  of 
these  peoples,  the  social  and  ethical  question  is  one  that  we  cannot  afford 
to  pass  over.  There  must  be  some  guarantee  that  we  are  dealing  with  a 
type  which  is  fully  'human',  which  is  ethically  fit  to  be  the  recipient  of 
divine  truth.    What  light  have  the  sciences  to  shed  on  this  question? 

— Past  vkrsus  Present — 

(1)  It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  general  tone  of  ethnology  has  until 
recent  years  been  decidedly  negative.  Under  the  pressure  of  extreme  evo- 
lution theories,  the  priority  of  a  lower  standard  of  ethics,  of  promiscuity, 
group-marriage  and  free  love,  has  become  almost  a  dogma.  We  have  only 
to  turn  to  any  of  the  more  widely-read  works  on  this  subject  to  see  how 
thoroughly  this  idea  has  taken  possession  of  the  modern  mind.  'Low, 
degraded,  beastly,  animalish", — such  are  the  expressions  that  are  com- 
monly heard,  whenever  this  subject  is  treated,  ex  professo,  or  otherwise. > 
And  yet  it  was  dilTicult  to  believe  that  these  races  could  have  fallen  below 
the  average  of  the  higher  anthropoids, — say  of  the  Orang,  which  is  gen- 
erally monogamous.  Quite  recently,  however,  criticism  has  taken  a  new 
turn,  and  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  make  some  important  conces- 
sions. In  the  first  place,  there  are  two  classes  of  morals,  corresponding  to 
two  classes  of  races, — the  Negro  and  the  Negrito.  While  the  former  is 
considerably  better  than  he  is  commonly  painted,  he  cannot  compare  in 
this  respect  to  his  more  primitive  prototype.  It  has  already  been  remarked 
that  the  Negrito  social  system  is  primitive  to  a  degree.  It  is  made  up  of 
simple  family  units,  with  little  or  no  coherence.  The  father  of  the  family 
is  king,  priest,  judge,  ruler,  physician, — all  in  one.  Now  it  is  clear  that 
under  such  a  system  of  direct  paternal  surveillance,  the  tendency  to  violate 
the  moral  law  will  be  considerably  diminislied.  And  such,  in  fact,  is 
found  to  be  the  case.  All  reports  agree,  that,  while  considerable  ante- 
nuptial freedom  seems  to  be  allowed,  "the  Negritos  as  a  race  are  virtuous," 
and  that,  "once  married,  they  rarely,  if  ever,  desert  their  consort".' 


'  See  for  instance  Lubbock,  op.  cit.  p.  540-559,  (Savage  ideas  of  virtue,  absence  of  religion). 
'A  general  summary  of  the  evidence  will  be  found  in  Schmidt,  op.  c.  155-168.  Also  in 
LeRoy,  op.  cit.  223-224.  Johnston,  1.  c.  Wcstermarck,  op.  cit.  II.  424,  Human  Marriage,  436. 


INTRODUCTION  XXXV 

Morality, — High  Standards 

Do  we  require  further  evidence  on  this  subject?  Here  are  the  words 
of  a  recent  author,  who  writes  from  a  purely  material  or  "evolutional" 
point  of  view : — 

"Marriage  is  indissoluble  among  the  Andamanese,  some  Papuans  of 
New  Guinea,  (certain  tribes)  in  Sumatra,  among  the  Igorrotes  and  Italones 
of  the  Philippines,  the  Veddas  of  Ceylon,  and  in  the  Romish  Church".'' 

And, — he  might  have  added — ,  among  the  aborigines  of  Malakka, 
among  the  Aeta  of  the  Philippines,  among  the  wild  Dayaks  of  Borneo, 
among  the  Toalas  of  Celebes,  among  many  of  the  American  and  Australian 
aborigines,  and  among  the  Negrillos  of  Central  Africa.  Here  is  the  evi- 
dence : — 

"This  idea  of  the  laxity  of  the  marriage-tie  among  the  negritos  may 
possibly  arise  from  the  great  ante-nuptial  freedom  which  appears  to  be 
allowed,  but  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  when  once  married,  the 
Semang  of  both  sexes  are  in  the  highest  degree  faithful  to  one  another  and 
that  cases  of  unfaithfulness  are  exceedingly  rare.  That  conjugal  infidelity 
is  strongly  discountenanced,  is  shown  by  the  penalty  assigned  to  it, — 
death."  Among  the  Sakai  "divorce,  though  permitted,  was  extremely 
rare",  "the  punishment  for  adultery  was  death",  and  among  the  Jakun,  "I 
do  not  remember  a  single  case  in  which  a  Besisi  had  more  than  one  wife".* 

"So  far  from  the  contract  being  regarded  as  a  merely  temporary 
arrangement,  to  be  set  aside  at  the  will  of  either  party,  no  incompatibility 
of  temper  or  other  cause  is  allowed  to  dissolve  the  union,  and  while  bigamy 
polygamy,  polyandry,  are  unknown,  conjugal  fidelity  till  death  is  not  the 
exception,  but  the  rule".'* 

"The  Veddas'  constancy  to  their  wives  is  a  very  remarkable  trait  in  their 
character.  They  are  strictly  monogamous,  and  infidelity  whether  in  the 
husband  or  wife  appears  to  be  unknown".® 

"Divorce  is  not  very  common  among  the  Negritos  of  Zambales.  There 
seems  to  be  a  sentiment  against  it.  If  the  otTender  is  caught  and  is  unable 
to  pay  the  necessary  fine,  the  penalty  is  death".'' 

"Highly  significant  as  against  other  Dayak  tribes  is  the  complete  fidelity 
to  the  marriage-tie  among  the  Bahau,  and  the  equality  of  conjugal  rights 
between  man  and  woman,  in  spite  of  the  numerical  superiority  of 
the  latter,  argues  for  a  degree  of  continence  and  sexual  self-control  that 
we  would  hardly  expect  among  a  people  on  such  a  low  level  of  culture".* 

2  L.  T.  Hobhouse,  Morals  in  Evolution,  (London,  1906)  Vol.  I.  p.  ISO.  ■*  Skeat,  Pagan 
Races  of  the  Malay  Peninsula,  Vol.  II.  p.  55-56,  65-67,  76ff.  ••  Man,  on  the  Andaman  Islands, 
p.  67.  "Seligman,  1.  c.  p.  87-88.  'Reed,  1.  c.  p.  61ff.  « A.  W.  Nieuwenhuis,  Centraal- 
Bomeo,  Vol.  I.  p.  100,  (Translation  from  the  Dutch). 


XXXVI  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Morality, — High  Standards 

"The  Toalas  are  strict  monogamists.  .  .  Infidelity  and  desertion  are 
rare".'  In  Australia  "a  wife  is  bound  to  be  faittiful  to  her  husband.  For 
the  first  ofTense  she  is  branded  with  a  fireslick;  for  a  second  offence  she 
is  speared  in  the  leg;  for  further  offences  slie  is  killed."  It  is  added,  how- 
ever, that  "no  penalty  attaches  to  the  man",  and  that  wife-loaning  is  occa- 
sionally practiced.  Among  the  Kurnai  bigamy  is  allowed,  but  sex-relations 
are  otherwise  strict.  "Wives  were  not  exchanged  under  any  circumstances, 
nor  were  lent  to  friendly  visitors".'" 

For  the  Congo-region  Mgr.  LeRoy  gives  similar  testimony: — 

"When  we  visited  Hip  difTerent  camps,  we  saw  that  it  was  precisely  the 
family  which  monopolises  everything  else.  The  father  is  ruler,  the  father 
is  judge,  the  father  is  priest,  and  he  unites  all  these  attributes  in  one 
quality,  that  which  gives  him  paternity.  His  wife  is  his,  and  his  only". 
The  author  is  careful  to  add,  however,  that  while  monogamy  is  the  rule, 
polygamy  is  by  no  means  unknown,  the  latter  being  due  to  economic 
causes." 

Among  the  South-American  Botokudos,  monogamy  preponderates  and 
divorce  is  punished  with  blows.  Less  so  among  the  Caingang  and  Bakairi, 
for  here  the  family  tins  are  no  longer  as  rigid,  and  polygamy  and  deser- 
tion are  said  to  be  practiced.  There  seems  to  be  no  uniform  standard  in 
the  Amazonian  belt,  and  exact  statistics  are  difficult  to  obtain.'' 

The  same  remarks  apply  to  some  extent  to  the  Tasmanians  and  Bush- 
men. We  are  distinctly  told  that  divorce  is  prohibited  under  the  usual 
penalties,  that  stability  marks  the  normal  stale  of  the  family.  But  there  is 
considerable  evi'dence  to  show,  that  exceptions  are  too  numerous  to  allow 
of  any  universal  statement  in  the  matter,  and  that  polygamous  unions  have 
undoubtedly  occurred.  It  is  more  especially  among  the  Bushmen,  that  we 
have  reasons  to  suspect  a  growing  invasion  of  Hottentot  influence." 

The  Fuegians,  in  like  manner,  seem  to  have  preserved  many  ideals  of 
the  primitive  life.  Among  the  Yahgans  the  unity  and  stability  of  the  mar- 
ried state  is  a  very  general  characteristic,  even  if  the  occasional  custom 
of  taking  two  or  more  wives  connects  them  witli  tlie  common  Patagonian 
practice.'* 

Taken  all  in  all,  these  testimonies  suggest,  if  they  do  not  always  prove 
the  permanency  of  the  marriage-bond,  and  are  in  any  case  a  valuable 
argument  for  tlie  i)riority  iuid  the  preponderance  of  a  high  standard  of 
marital  ideals. '° 

0  Sarasin.  1.  c.  Vol.  V  (II).  p.  126.  '"  Howitt,  I.  c.  pp.  258.  280.  "  LeRoy,  I.  c.  pp.  221- 
224  (Translation  from  the  French).  '=  Ehrenreich,  Die  Botokudo.<,  1.  c.  p.  31.  P.  Teschauer. 
S.  J.  Die  Caingang  etc.  1.  c.  p.  22ff.  Von  den  Steinen,  1.  c.  p.  332{{.  "  Ling  Roth  (Tasm)  p. 
113.  Stow,  1.  c.  p.  95.  '*  Cooper,  1.  c.  p.  166.  '■'■  Cf.  Westcrmarck.  Human  Marriage 
(N.  Y.  1903)   pp.  431-517ff.  who  supports  this  thesis  with  an  abundance  of   data. 


INTRODUCTION  XXXVII 

Morality, — .Vbsence  of  Grosser  Grimes 

But  have  not  ugly  reports  reached  us  with  regard  to  cannibalism, 
infanticide,  theft,  murder,  and  "head-hunting"?  It  is  certainly  a  remark- 
able fact  that  it  is  precisely  in  these  particulars  that  these  stock-races 
offer  such  a  strong  contrast,  not  only  to  their  more  powerful  congeners, 
but  even  to  many  of  the  so-called  culture-peoples,  which  in  this  respect 
claim  to  stand  so  high.  The  general  absence  of  crime,  or  at  least  its 
extreme  rarity,  is  something  that  cannot  fail  to  make  a  powerful  impres- 
sion upon  the  mind  of  the  unprejudiced  student.  As  to  cannibalism,  if  is 
one  of  the  latest  triumphs  of  ethnology  to  have  demonstrated  its  relative 
absence.  Sporadic  cases  may  occur  here  and  there,  owing  to  contact  with 
"higher"  races,  but  it  forms  no  part  of  primitive  practice  as  such.^  The 
same  may  be  said  of  infanticide,  and  other  forms  of  violence,  whether  to 
person  or  property.  Individual  cases  are  indeed  reported,  and  in  some 
sections  degeneracy  has  undoubtedly  set  in,  but  these  do  not  affect  the 
general  statement,  that  the  care  of  offspring,  the  sanctity  of  the  marriage- 
tie,  the  respect  for  life  and  liberty,  is  one  of  the  most  noticeable  features 
of  these  peoples.  Moreover,  if  the  opposite  practice  is  reported  from  this 
or  that  particular  region,-  it  can  nearly  always  be  traced  to  external  causes 
of  pressure  and  persecution,  whicli,  by  forcing  an  alien  culture  upon  them, 
has  destroyed  the  simplicity  of  their  nomadic  life.^ 

GULTIVATION    OF   HiGHER   VIRTUES ' 

(2)  But  there  is  also  evidence  to  show,  that  these  people  are  not  with- 
out the  higher  virtues, — truth,  mercy,  justice,  charity,  liberality,  and  self- 
sacrifice, — virtues  that  are  rarely  if  ever  associated  with  'primitive'  man. 
As  to  honesty  and  the  love  of  truth,  it  has  come  to  the  notice  of  more  than 
one  traveler  how  favorably  they  compare  with  many  of  the  civilised 
peoples,  say  with  the  Malays,  in  this  regard.  "I  have  never  detected  an 
untruth  except  one  arising  from  errors  of  judgment,"  writes  Gol.  Reed,^ 
and  similar  reports  have  reached  us  from  other  parts  of  Oceania  and 
Central  Africa.*  Respect  for  women  and  children,  and  care  for  the  aged 
and  the  infirm,  is  in  many  cases  equally  well  attested.  Certainly  any  race 
that  will  sacrifice  food  and  clothing,  nay  even  life  itself,  for  the  support 
of  the  aged  and  the  little  ones,  can  hardly  be  called  a  degenerate,  but  is 
in  this  respect  an  ideal  people." 


1  Schmidt,  p.  147,  LeRoy,  r-  193,  (general  statistics),  =  Schmidt,  141f.  LeRoy,  227f. 
'  Reed,  Negritos  of  Zambales,  p.  61.  *  Portman,  A  History,  II.  p.  872.  LeRoy,  212.  ^  Comp. 
Man,  op.  cit.  p.  25-26.  Howitt,  1.  c.  pp.  594.  766,  777  (for  philanthropy).  Further  evidence 
on  this  subject  will  be  found  below  under  each  section.  For  the  general  morality  of  the 
nature-peoples  see  also  Joseph  Miiller,  Das  sexuelle  Leben  der  Naturvolker,  (Leipzig,  1901), 
2d.  Edit,  and  H.  Visscher,  Religion  u.  sociales  Leben  bei  den  Naturvolkern.  (Bonn,  1911). 
2  vols. 


XXXVIII  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Moral  Statistics 

In  illustration  of  these  principles  a  few  testimonies  may  be  worth 
quoting  in  greater  detail. 

(1)  For  the  Malakkans : — 'Crime  among  tiie  ^cmang  appears  to  be 
extremely  rare".  "Theft  and  nuirdiT  among  the  Sahfii  are  so  exceedingly 
rare  as  to  be  a  quantile  uegligeable".  "Child-bearing  generally  continues 
up  to  the  age  of  about  forty-two  years,  though  tiiere  was  one  case  in 
which  a  woman  gave  birth  to  a  child  at  fifty.  Elsewhere  we  are  informed 
that  the  average  number  of  children  in  a  Sakai  family  is  four".  "\Mien  an 
unmarried  Jakiui  girl  had  recourse  to  procuring  abortion,  she  entirely  lost 
all  position  and  status  in  the  clan.  She  was  despised  by  the  other  women, 
and  scorned  as  a  bride  by  the  men;  and  finally  she  exposed  herself  to  the 
disgrace  of  being  chastised  by  her  parents".  "None  of  the  wilder  jungle- 
folk  are  cannibals,  and  there  is  no  proof  at  all  that  cannibalism  has  ever, 
at  least  in  historical  limes,  occurred  among  them".  "The  fact  is, — and  it 
is  but  scant  justice  to  acknowledge  it — ,  that,  rude  and  uncultivated  as 
these  people  are,  yet  in  some  respects  they  are  vastly  superior  to  the  races 
by  whom  they  are  likely  to  be  absorbed, — more  honest,  more  truthful,  less 
covetous,  more  free  in  every  way  from  crime".* 

(2)  For  the  Anclamanese: — "That  outcome  of  civilisation, — suicide — , 
is  unknown  among  tiiem".  "Not  a  trace  could  be  discovered  of  the 
existence  of  cannibalism  in  their  midst,  even  in  far  off  times".  "The 
unnatural  custom  of  infanticide  is  unknown  to  the  Andamanese".  "Every 
care  and  consideration  arc  paid  by  all  classes  to  the  very  young,  the  weak, 
the  aged,  and  the  helpless,  and  these,  being  made  special  objects  of  interest 
and  attention,  invariably  fare  better  in  regard  to  the  comforts  and  neces- 
saries of  life  than  any  of  the  otherwise  more  fortunate  members  of  the 
community".' 

(3)  For  the  Vedda.i: — "The  Hennebeddas  have  retained  their  old  vir- 
tues of  truthfulness,  ciiastity.  and  courtesy".  "The  only  case  of  suicide  of 
which  we  iieard  look  place  in  connection  with  a  breach  of  the  common 
rule  of  conjugal  fidelity".  "In  every  respect  the  women  seem  to  be  treated 
as  the  equals  of  tiie  men.  Indeed,  when  we  gave  presents  of  food,  the  men 
SI  I  mod  usually  to  give  the  women  and  children  their  share  first".  "The 
Veddas  are  affectionate  and  indulgent  parents,  the  babies  are  generally 
haitfiy,  hnl  should  tliey  cry.  their  wishes  are  immediately  gratified  by  either 
parent".  They  have  a  keen  sense  of  ownership,  (juarrels  are  rare,  and 
violent  crimes,  together  with  cannibalistic  practices,  apparently  unknown, 
the  eating  of  the  enemy's  "liver"  being  an  exceptional  and  doubtful 
instance." 


•Skeat.  Pagan  Races.  I.  497.  501.  524.  II.  11-12.  24,  285.     '  Man.  Andaman   Islands,  25, 
43,  45,  109.     (Comp.  Portman,  op.  cit.  sup.)     »  Scligman.  1.  c.  37,  88-90,  106,  207-208. 


INTRODUCTION  XXXIX 

MoR/iL  Statistics 

(4)  For  the  Philippine  Aefirri/o*.— "Murder  is  so  rare  as  to  be  almost 
unknown.  The  disposition  of  the  Negrito  is  peaceable,  and  seldom  leads 
him  into  trouble.  Parents  seem  to  have  great  affection  for  their  children, 
(and  vice  versa).  This  continues  through  life,  as  is  shown  by  the  care 
which  the  aged  receive  at  the  hands  of  the  juniors.  I  have  never  detected 
an  untruth  except  one  arising  from  errors  of  judgment.  I  believe  that 
many  of  the  vices  of  the  negrito  are  due  to  contact  with  the  Malayan,  to 
whom  he  is,  at  least  in  point  of  truthfulness,  honesty,  and  temperance,  far 
superior".  There  is  no  evidence  of  cannibalism  among  the  pure  Aetas, 
either  at  present  or  in  any  previous  times.' 

(5)  For  the  Bornean  Dayaks :— ''The  Land-Dayaks  are  amiable,  honest, 
grateful,  moral  and  hospitable.  Crimes  of  violence,  other  than  head-hunt- 
ing, are  unknown.  The  wild  Bakatans,  or  Forest-Dayaks,  are  very  mild 
savages,  they  are  not  head-hunters,  do  not  keep  slaves,  are  generous  to 
one  another,  are  moderately  truthful,  and  probably  never  do  any  injury 
by  making  a  false  statement.  On  first  acquaintance  they  appear  melan- 
choly, and  certainly  shy  and  timid-looking,  but  when  they  have  gained 
confidence,  they  show  themselves  in  their  true  colors  as  a  cheerful  and 
bright  people,  M'ho  are  very  fond  of  their  children,  and  kind  to  the 
women".^"  (Combined  testimony  of  Low,  Haddon,  Hose,  and  McDougall). 
"It  must  not  be  imagined  that  either  the  Malays  or  the  native  Borneans  are 
the  bloodthirsty  savages  they  are  sometimes  made  out  to  be.  The  Malays 
generally  are  courteous,  dignified,  and  hospitable.  But  monogamy  is  the 
rule  with  the  Borneans,  and  polygamy  with  the  Malays.  The  aboriginals 
are  active,  while,  as  a  class,  the  Malays  are  lethargic  and  luxxirious"." 

(6)  For  the  Papuans:— As  a  race  the  Papuans  can  hardly  be  described 
as  a  peaceful  or  mild-mannered  folk.  Nevertheless  it  is  worth  noting  that 
neither  the  Tapiros  nor  Mafulus  are  habitual  cannibals,  the  latter  con- 
fining the  practice  to  the  devouring  of  an  enemy.  Among  the  Melanesians. 
on  the  other  hand,  "it  may  be  safely  asserted  that  in  the  Banks  Islands  and 
Santa  Cruz  there  has  been  no  cannibalism,  though  the  natives  were  not 
ignorant  of  the  practice  of  it  by  others".  Slavery  and  head-hunting  are 
alike  unknown  in  this  region,  and  family  life  reveals  an  attractive  picture. 
The  same  remarks  apply  in  part  to  the  Papuan  Mafulu,  and  doubtless  also 
to  the  Tapiro  above,  though  information  on  this  subject  is  as  yet  too 
fragmentary  to  furnish  any  certain  conclusions." 


»  Reed,  Negritos  of  Zambales,  p.  56,  61,  62,  63.  i"  Haddon,  1.  c.  p.  320,  321,  322.  >i  Burbidge, 
The  Gardens  of  the  Sun,  p.  152,  156.  '=  Codrington,  The  Melanesians,  p.  27ff.  p.  343,  345. 
Comp.  Williamson,  The  Mafulu,  p.  63,  179ff.  Rawling,  The  Tapiro,  1.  c.  p.  275. 


XL  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

MoiuL  Statistics 

(7)  For  the  Tasnianian- Australians: — "I  was  saved  by  a  native  girl, 
when  my  sisters  were  drowned  while  bathing"."  "The  three  deadly  sins 
were  unprovoked  murder,  lying  to  the  elders  of  the  tribe,  or  stealing  a 
woman  within  the  prohibited  degrees".'*  '"The  Kurnai  men  carry  their 
wives  about  the  country,  when  too  old  or  too  sick  to  walk"."  "There  was 
no  cannibalism  in  Tasmania"." 

(8)  For  the  Central  Africans: — "The  sentiment  of  shame  is  universal 
among  the  Negrillos,  as  elsewhere.  Nudity  is  not  obscenity.  .  .  The  black, 
like  the  white  man  has  invented  certain  special  dances,  particular  feasts, 
secret  initiations  etc.  in  which  it  is  understood  that  sexual  indulgence  has 
its  rights.  This  is  a  proof  that  in  the  ordinary  course  of  life  chastity  has 
its  also.  As  to  theft  it  is  strictly  prohibited  among  themselves.  As  to 
others,  they  are  looked  as  strangers  and  usurpers,  and  it  is  lawful  to  take 
from  them  whatever  can  be  filched.  Slander  and  calumny  are  equally 
reproved.  I  have  made  frequent  inquiries  about  cannibalism,  but  the 
answer  was  always  a  negative  one  except  among  the  Beku  who  are  a 
mixed  race.  They  have  a  fellow  feeling  for  one  another,  assisting  each 
other  as  the  occasion  may  require"." 

(9)  For  the  North-American  Indians: — "A  maiden  guilty  of  fornica- 
tion may  be  punished  by  her  mother  or  female  guardian,  but  if  the  crime 
is  flagrant,  the  matter  can  be  taken  up  by  the  council-women  of  the  gens. 
The  punishment  for  adultery  consists  of  various  bodily  mutilations  .  .  . 
for  theft  twofold  restitution  must  be  made  .  .  .  maiming  is  com- 
pounded ...  in  the  case  of  murder,  compensation  must  be  offered  to  the 
aggrieved  party  .  .  .  witchcraft  is  punished  by  death,  stabbing,  toma- 
hawking, or  burning"."  "The  common  and  substantially  universal  cus- 
tom of  hospitality  among  the  American  Indians,  at  the  period  of  their  dis- 
covery, must  be  regarded  as  evidence  of  a  generous  disposition,  and  as 
exhibiting  a  trait  of  character  highly  creditable  to  the  race"." 

(10)  For  the  Amazoyiian  Peoples: — We  find  a  striking  gradation  of 
morals  as  we  pass  from  the  primitive  East  to  the  more  advanced  West. 
Among  all  monogamy  preponderates,  but  among  the  Botokudos  divorce  is 
punished  with  blows,  among  the  Bakairi  it  is  freely  countenanced,  and 
with  till'  Yivaros  multiple  marriages  are  no  longer  uncommon.  Cannibal- 
ism, infanticide,  and  head-hunting  appear  to  show  a  steady  increase  the 
nearer  we  approach  the  Andean  plateaus.""  In  most  other  n'spects  these 
peoples  resemble  the  North-American  Indiiin." 

>■'"  Langloh-Parker,  1.  c.  p.  1.  'Mdem,  p.  78.  "  Ilowitt,  1.  c.  p.  766.  "  LinR  Roth 
(Tasm),  p.  97  (quotitiR  original  authorities).  '"  LeRoy.  Les  Pytrmocs.  pp.  193.  209-217 
short  translation).  "J.  W.  Powell,  Reports  of  the  Dureau  of  American  Ethnology,  Vol  I. 
i;p.  59-69  (condensed  statement).  "  L.  H.  Morgan.  Houses  and  Home-life  of  the  American 
Aborigines,  pp.  44-62.  Contributions  to  American  Ethnology'.  \'ol.  I\'.  Cf.  Thomas.  Source- 
book (1912).  p.  855.  ="  Data  taken  from  Ehrenreich,  Uber  die  Botokudos.  (Zeitschrift.  fiir 
Ethnologic,  1887),  p.  31  fF.  Von  den  Steinen.  1.  c.  p.  332.  P.  Rivet,  Les  Indiens  Yivaros 
(.Anthropologic,  1907)  p.  333f.  ='  Further  information  in  Westermarck,  The  Origin  and 
Development  of  Moral  Ideals,  (1912),  2.  Vols.,  a  masterly  digest. 


INTRODUCTION  .  XLI 

V.     SPONTANEITY  OR  COLLECTIVISM? 

THEORY  OF  CULTURAL  UNITS  AND  'CIRCLES' 

(KULTURKREIS) 

There  is  one  more  question  to  be  considered  before  approaching  this 
subject  at  closer  range.  It  concerns  the  analysis  of  religious  facts,  with 
a  view  to  determining  their  origination,— either  spontaneously,  without 
regard  to  time,  place,  or  industry,— or  by  transmission  from  definite 
centers  corresponding  to  dilTerent  eras  of  social  and  cultural  development. 
That  this  is  a  problem  of  vast  importance,  will  be  seen  immediately,  when- 
ever it  is  a  question  of  analysing  a  religious  complexity,  of  determining 
the  priority  of  this  or  that  element  in  the  complexity.  Thus  if  it  can  be 
proved  that  certain  forms  of  belief  go  hand  in  hand  with  certain  forms  of 
culture  and  with  them  exclusively,  it  will  follow  that  the  occasional  over- 
lapping of  one  culture  over  the  other  will  entail  a  corresponding  over- 
lapping of  ideas  and  produce  a  complexity,  in  which  the  prior  and 
posterior  elements  should  be  clearly  recognised.  In  this  way  many  of  the 
'primitive'  areas  have  been  overflooded  by  a  later  culture,  and  present  to 
us  a  mythologj'  which  cannot  be  left  as  it  stands,  but  must  be  examined 
and  carefully  dissected  before  it  can  pass  muster  as  a  primitive  belief.  How 
far  is  this  mythology  native,  and  how  far  has  it  been  imported  from  a 
foreign  source?  such  is  the  question  upon  the  answer  to  which  much  of 
the  value  of  the  succeeding  pages  will  have  to  depend. 

In  answering  this  question  ethnologists  have  been  divided  into  two 
camps.  There  are  those  that  believe  that  similarities  in  the  laws  of  thought 
are  sufficient  to  produce  similarities  of  development,  that  identities  are 
mere  coincidences ;  while  others  are  as  firmly  convinced  that  the  accumu- 
lation of  these  identities  is  so  striking  that  some  genetic  connexion  must 
be  postulated,  that  there  must  be  some  equation  between  different  'cultures' 
and  different  'phases'  of  belief.  The  former  is  represented  by  the  school 
of  Bastian,^  Andree,=  Ehrenreich,'  etc,  while  the  latter  is  the  position  taken 
up  by  Ratzel,"  Frobenius,"  Graebner,«  Thomas,'  Foy,«  Schmidt,"  Anker- 
mann,'»  and  many  others." 


'A.  Bastian  Der  yolkergedanke,"  etc.  (Berlin,  1881).  2  R.  Andree,  Ethnographische 
Parallelen  tind  Verg  eiche  (Leipzig,  1889).  a  p.  Ehrenreich,  Die  allgemeine  Mythologie 
und  ihre  ethnologischen  Grundlagen,  (Berlin,  1910).  « Fr.  Ratzel,  Volkerkunde,  2  vols. 
(Leipzig,  1895)  5L.  Frobenius,  Volkerkunde,  (Hannover,  1902),  Idem,  Geographische 
7"vt  in'Ar  ^'  ^JbfiP^'^'  ^^'^■^^-  *'^-  Graebner,  Kulturkreise  u.  Kulturschichten  in  Oceanien, 
(ZH.  1905,  p.  28f).  Idem,  Die  melanesische  Bogenkultur,  (Anthr.  1909.  730f)  'N  W 
Thomas,  Kulturkreise  in  Australien,  (ZE.  7905,  7S9f).  » W.  Foy,  Fiihrer  durch  das 
Kautenstrauch-Joest  Museum,  (Cologne),  1910.  »  W.  Schmidt,  Mythologie  der  austronesischen 
Volker,  (Vienna,  1910).  lo  Ankermann.  Kulturkreise  in  Afrika,  (ZE.  1905  p  54-84) 
"General  exposition  by  W.  Schmidt  in  Anthropos,  VI.  (1911),  pp.  1010-1036  and  F 
Graebner,  Methode  der  Ethnologic,  (Keiueiberg,  1911) 


XLII  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

KULTURKREIS 

Now  with  regard  to  this  whole  subject  it  may  be  said  in  a  general  way 
that  there  is  no  reason  to  talie  an  extreme  or  exclusive  view,  either  for  or 
against  the  system  of  "unified  progress"  or  otherwise.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  "elemental"  concept  has  come  to  stay,  that  it  embodies  an 
important  truth,  the  fact,  namely,  that  the  psychology  of  man  is  very  much 
the  same  all  the  world  over,  that  with  similar  conditions  of  climate,  soil 
and  productive  material,  similar  developments  are  apt  to  follow,  that  when 
they  change,  these  change,  though  not  always  with  the  same  physiographic 
persistency.  It  was  this  general  law,  verified  in  numerous  instances,  that 
led  Buckle  of  old  to  exclaim : — "Give  me  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  a 
nation,  and  I  will  give  you  its  religion," — an  observation  which,  however 
distorted,  contains  some  germs  of  truth  when  applied  to  religious  expres- 
sion. But  more  than  tliis.  The  wholesale  application  of  the  transmission 
theory,  (understanding  by  this  a  literal  migration  not  only  of  culture 
but  also  of  culture-bearers), — has  been  the  occasion  of  great  abuses  and 
led  many  to  abandon  the  whole  system  as  an  artificial  construction.  We 
have  only  to  recall  the  heroic  attempts  of  Winkler'^  and  Jeremias"  to  re- 
duce the  whole  of  the  astral  mythology  to  Pan-Babylonian  waves  of  culture 
to  see  how  easy  it  is  to  make  our  conclusions  overlap  our  premises;  though 
here  the  mistake  was  caused  by  deficiency  of  material  and  has  no  bearings 
on  the  general  truth  of  the  culture-notion  as  such.  For  indeed  that  notion, 
in  the  sense  of  cultural  'eras'  (with  or  without  racial  contact),  is  some- 
thing that  must  be  clearly  postulated  in  any  system  that  would  account 
for  the  development  of  the  human  race  in  all  its  fulness  and  complexity. 
The  fact  that  different  cultures  correspond  to  different  ages,  and  these  again 
to  different  climates,  races,  and  so  on, — this  thought  was  at  the  bottom  of 
the  elemental  theory  and  has  become  the  mainstay  of  the  tradition-argu- 
ment, only  with  this  difTerence,  that  the  number  of  identities  is  felt  to  be 
so  striking,  (even  down  to  the  smallest  details)  that  the  idea  of  transmis- 
sion, in  one  sense  or  another,  has  become  almost  irresistible.  Thus  while 
the  old  theory  of  spontaneous  development  still  holds  its  own,  the  newer 
idea  of  organic  and  cultural  units  encircling  the  earth  in  successive  waves 
of  social  and  mental  advancement  is  one  that  is  steadily  gaining  ground 
and  is  now  coming  more  and  more  to  the  front." 


■=H.  Winkler,  Himmels-und  Weltenbild  der  Babylonier,  (Leipzig.  1903).  2d.  Ed.  "A. 
Jeremias,  Die  Panbabylonisten,  (Leipzig,  1907).  Comp.  also  E.  Stiicken,  Astralmythen, 
(Leipzig,  1907).  '*  See  the  "Scmaine  d  Ethnologie  religieuse"  of  Louvain,  (Paris,  1913), 
pp.  35-56.  (L'Etude,  d'Ethnologie,"  by  W.  Schmidt)  (Bibliography),  Idem.  Solar  and  Lunar 
Mythology,  Totemism,  (ibid.  pp.  99,  25Sff).     Hestermann,  Kulturkreis,   (ibid.  p.   117ff.). 


INTRODUCTION  XL  1 1 1 

Culture-Cycles  for  Three  Epochs 

What  then  are  the  facts  upon  which  the  new  system  is  founded? 
Broadly  they  may  be  stated  as  follows : — 

Let  us  take  two  typical  cultures,— the  lowest  known  culture,  that  of 
our  own  "primitives",  and  a  decidedly  higher  culture,— that  of  the  North- 
American  Indians.  Comparing  these  two  cultures,  we  are  struck  by  two 
features, — a  certain  uniformity  within  each  culture,  and  a  certain  radical 
diversity  between  the  cultures.    The  points  to  be  noted  are  briefly  these : 

(1)  In  the  "primitive"  culture  there  are  certain  similarities  between  the 
negrito  peoples  and  their  allies  which  extend,  as  we  have  seen,  into  the 
social  sphere.  Now  if  these  similarities  are  found  to  extend  still  further, 
if  they  are  found  to  embrace  such  details  as  the  leaf-apron,  the  wind- 
screen, the  fire-plow,  the  simplest  of  bows  and  arrows,  the  bamboo  knife, 
the  bone-  or  shell-scraper,  the  stone  hammer,  the  wooden  clapper,  the 
tubeviol,  the  quinary  numeration,  the  pejitatonic  scale,  the  tree-float,  the 
balsaraft,  the  patriarchal  system,  the  local  exogamy,  the  paternal  descent, 
the  earth  or  tent-funeral,  etc.  etc. — we  begin  to  suspect  more  and  more 
that  they  form  a  complete  cultural  unit,  that  as  there  is  uniformity  in 
nearly  every  aspect  of  life,  there  is  probably  a  uniformity  in  religion  also. 
And  such  in  fact  is  found  to  be  the  case.  This  region  is  characterised  by 
extreme  simplicity,  both  of  thought  and  practice.  The  father  of  the  family 
combines  in  his  own  person  the  otTice  of  king,  priest,  and  medicine-man, 
there  are  no  classes,  professions,  or  vocations  in  life,  other  than  those 
dictated  by  the  natural  requirements  of  sex.  Moreover  it  is  especially  to 
be  noted  that  there  is  a  minimum  of  astral  mythology  in  this  region,  as 
well  as  a  general  absence  of  that  complex  system  of  relationship  between 
a  man  and  a  natural  (generally  a  living)  object,  that  goes  by  the  name  of 
totemism,  and  that  forbids  the  killing  or  eating  of  the  totem,  or  the  inter- 
marrying of  those  that  belong  to  the  same  totemic  clan.^ 

(2)  Now  let  us  take  the  North-American  Indian  on  the  broad  prairies. 
He  was  formerly  wrapt  in  heavy  blankets  of  buffalo-skin,  was  covered  with 
quills  and  feather-ornament,  and  was  often  painted  or  tattooed.  He  lived 
in  tent,  wigwam,  or  round  houses  of  earth  or  grass,  he  produced  fire  by 
rapidly  twirling  a  stick;  he  used  a  heavy  spear,  a  broad  shield,  and  a  stone- 
headed  club,  as  well  as  a  massive  bow,  which  was  often  spliced,  tipped, 
or  doubly-reflected. 


1  All  the  sources  agree  on  this  point.  (See  pp.  V-XIV  above  for  the  combined  data.) 
"There  is  no  trace  of  totemism  among  the  Semang"  writes  Skeat,  (1.  c.  II.  260).  There 
is  only  the  Soul-  or  Conception-bird  (the  dove),  which  is  eaten  by  the  mother  during  par- 
turition. (Ibid.  II.  3-5.)  The  so-called  "taboo"  or  "yat-tub"  of  the  Adamanese  has  no 
relation  to  marriage,  but  is  designed  to  prevent  indigestion!  (Man,  1.  c.  134).  The  Sex- 
bird  reappears  in  S.  E.  Australia  among  the  Kurnai  who  are  otherwise  non-totemic,  though 
the  idea  of  relationship  is  more  pronounced.  (Howitt,  1.  c.  148,  168).  For  Central  Africa, 
see  LeRoy,  1.  c.  p.  19Sff. 


XLIV  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Culture-Cycles  fob  Tiiuee  Epochs 

He  knew  how  to  sliarpen.  sometimes  also  to  polish  stone,  and  he  was 
an  expert  carver  in  horn,  bone,  anri  wood.  He  was  a  painter  in  polychrome, 
whether  on  skin,  wood,  or  rock,  and  had  acquired  the  art  of  making  pottery 
and  of  weaving  his  own  garments,  though  the  latter  are  still  in  the  hand- 
made stage  of  development.  Music  he  expresses  chiefly  by  means  of  the 
bone-flute,  drum,  and  the  rattle,  and  his  songs  extend  over  three  octaves. 
He  counts  by  the  vigesimal  or  the  decimal  system,  and  plies  the  rivers  in 
well-shaped  canoes,  "dug-outs",  "bull-boats",  or  balsas.  He  governs  the 
tribe  or  nation  by  means  of  a  single  chieftaincy,  which  is  often  heredi- 
tary, the  dignity  passing  from  father  to  son  in  a  regular  line.  Before 
he  arrives  at  manhood,  he  is  initiated,  either  by  a  strenuous  fast,  or 
by  some  other  form  of  bodily  penance  which  admitts  him  to  a  full 
knowledge  of  the  secrets  or  mysteries  of  the  tribe.  These  ordeals  are 
managed  by  professional  "medicine-men",  who  have  the  power  to  expel 
bad  spirits,  and  to  treat  the  patient  by  means  of  dances,  manipulations, 
incantations,  and  the  like.  Matrimonial  rites  are  complicated.  A 
man  is  forbidden  to  marry  any  woman  of  his  own  clan-totem,  and  in 
addition  to  this  he  is  often  obliged  to  marry  into  another  class  or  "phratry", 
which  makes  the  sub-tolem  divide  with  the  group-totem  the  power  of 
regulating  the  tie.  When  a  man  dies,  he  is  often  given  a  platform-  or  tree- 
burial,  and  the  corpse  is  either  embalmed  and  mummified,  or  sometimes 
cremated.  But,  more  important  than  all,  there  is  a  wonderful  similarity 
of  beliefs  throughout  this  region.  Apart  from  the  question  of  a  supreme 
divinity,  there  is  a  strong  solar  element  running  through  the  mythology, 
and  the  whole  of  nature  is  looked  upon  as  genetically  related  to  man,  as 
in  some  sense  his  direct  ancestor.  That  this  is  not  putting  the  case  too 
strongly,  may  be  proved  by  any  one  who  will  examine  this  mythology'  in 
its  native  setting.  All  the  plainsmen  "dance"  to  the  sun,  they  "come" 
from  the  sun.  the  bear,  and  the  buffalo,  to  which  at  death  they  return, 
while  the  Kwakiutl  of  the  far  North-West  claim  to  be  descended  from  the 
sun,  the  sea,  and  the  thunder-bird,  and  they  have  an  elaborate  ghost-dance, 
in  which  the  "mask  of  the  sun"  and  the  fire-wheel  are  leading  features. 
In  the  words  of  Dr.  Boas,  "all  nature  is  animated,  and  tiie  spirit  of  any 
being  can  become  the  spirit  of  a  man,  who  thus  acquires  supernatural 
power.* 


'Cultural  items  will  be  found  in  F.  W.  Hodge.  Handbook  of  American  Indians.  (Wash- 
ington, 1907),  each  under  its  respective  hea<linK.  For  North-American  totcmism  and  matri- 
monial rites,  consult  Frazer,  Totcmism  and  Exogamy.  4  vols.  (London,  1910),  \'ol.  HL  pp.  213, 
237,  275,  325.  389,  423,  502,  533.  For  the  mythologies.  J.  O.  Uorsey,  Omaha  Sociolog>-,  3d. 
Report  of  the  Bureau  of  .American  Ethnology,  (Washington.  1884),  p.  347ff.  Idem.  A  Study 
of  Siouan  Cults,  11th.  Report,  p.  395;  G.  B.  Grinnell.  Blackfoot  Lodge  Tales  (London.  1893) 
pp  191-193.  Dr.  Franz  Boas,  The  social  organisation  and  the  secret  societies  of  the  Kwakiutl 
Indians,  Rep.  of  U.  S.  National  Museum  for  1895  (Washington,  1897),  pp.  374-37Sff.  Also 
5th.  Report  of  B.  A.  E.  p.  52.  Comp.  J.  A.  Jacobsen,  "Gchcimbiinde  der  Kiistenbcwohner 
NordWcst-Amerikas",  in  Zeitschr.  Ethnol.  XXIII,  pp.  (383)-(38S). 


INTRODUCTION  XLV 

Culture-Cycles  for  Three  Epochs 

But  these  ideas  are  not  confined  to  the  North-American  continent.  This 
system  of  metamorphic  evolution  and  transmigration  of  souls  finds  a 
close  parallel  in  far-off  India,  Africa,  and  Australasia.  Nay  more,  it  goes 
hand  in  hand  with  a  very  similar  culture,  whether  we  look  at  it  from  the 
industrial,  social,  or  religious  point  of  view.  As  to  India,  there  are  wild 
tribes  living  in  ttie  Dekkan,  generally  known  as  Dravidians,  who,  (in  so  far 
as  they  are  not  hindooised),  exhibit  such  a  striking  resemblance  to  the 
North-American  Indian  in  their  social  and  matrimonial  life,  that  some 
resemblance  in  their  religious  ideas  is  only  to  be  expected.  Apart  from 
the  fact  that  the  clans  and  "gotras"  show  an  identical  organisation,  we  find 
the  same  practice  of  the  "sororate"  (or  marriage  with  deceased  wife's 
sister),  the  same  taboos  on  food,  the  same  fear  of  devouring  an  ancestor 
concealed  in  this  or  that  plant  or  animal  totem,  the  same  permission  to 
eat  the  said  totem  as  a  sacred  or  "sacramental"  rite,  and  above  all  the  same 
kind  of  astral  mythology,  which  associates  all  natural  objects,  animate  or 
inanimate,  with  the  great  central  orb  of  heaven, — the  Dravidian  "Sin 
Bonga".^  This  is  hardly  a  Brahminical  importation.  "The  (aboriginal) 
Mallas",  writes  Professor  Oppert,  "like  their  ancestors,  still  worship  the 
Sun,  which  is  the  presiding  deity  of  Multan,  a  circumstance  that  intimates 
a  Scythian  (?)  or  non-Aryan  origin."^  "Like  other  primitive  races  of 
Turanian  or  Scythian  origin  (?),  the  Todas  revere  the  great  luminaries 
of  the  sky,  the  Sun  and  the  Moon,  besides  the  Fire."  ^  With  the  latter  the 
buffalo  is  sacred,  and  cannot  be  killed  or  eaten,  except  on'sacrificial  occa- 
sions.* Practically  all  the  Dravidian  races  believe  in  their  descent  from  the 
totems,— sun,  moon,  plants  or  animals,  and  with  these  and  the  Khasis  of 
Assam  transmigration  of  souls  into  the  totems  is  clearly  taught.'  It  is  true 
that  modern  India  has  been  largely  "overcoated"  by  a  higher  culture,  so 
that  many  of  the  minor  elements  of  the  totemistic  complex  are  difficult  to 
trace, — implements,  initiations,  burial-rites.*  But  in  its  main  outlines  this 
picture  is  almost  a  reproduction  of  the  conditions  that  exist  in  the  Missouri 
and  St.  LaviTence  basins,  and  it  calls  for  some  explanation,  whether  from 
the  mental  or  the  cultural  point  of  view. 


IS.  C.  Roy,  The  Mundas  and  their  country,  (Calcutta,  1912),  pp.  400-412,  App.  XXff. 
Criticism  in  Anthrop.  VIII  (1913)  pp.  272-274.  (W.  Schmidt,  on  solar  mythology,  &c.)  ^  G. 
Oppert,  The  original  inhabitants  of  India,  (London,  1893),  p.  78.  '  lb.  p.  188.  ■'lb.  p.  186-188. 
Here  the  totemic  relation  is  not  clearly  recognised.  Comp: —  ^^  Frazer,  op.  cit.  vol.  II.  pp. 
218-335,  for  Indian  totemism  in  general.  lb.  p.  321,  (note  4),  for  totemism  and  metempsychosis 
in  Assam.  «  Comp.  however  the  rudimentary  bow,  the  bufifalo-hunt,  the  use  of  palaeoliths 
in  the  wild  state,  the  existence  of  circumcision,  the  platform  or  pyre-funeral,  the  painting  or 
embalming  of  the  corpse, — all  attested  in  numerous  instances.  See  Roy,  1.  c.  p.  354-466.  E. 
Thurston,  Ethnographic  Notes  in  Southern  India,  (Madras,  1908),  pp.  140-145-150  (funeral), 
388ff.  (circumcision,  shell-trumpet),  466  (Fire-drill),  634  (Bark-belt),  556  (Boomerang,  etc). 


XLVI  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

GCLTLRE-CVCLEb  FOH  TlIKtlE  EPuCHS 

But  if  we  pass  over  to  Eastern  Africa  and  Auslral«isia,  and  find  the 
idenlicai  combination  of  points,  even  down  to  many  minor  details, — the 
argument  for  a  cultural  connexion, — even  if  by  oceanic  highways, — begins 
to  assume  serious  proportions.  Not  one  or  two  elements  only,  but  whole 
complexities  of  culture  are  here  at  stake.  To  take  but  one  instance, — 
Australasia.  Here  we  have  the  same  totemic  system  as  in  India  and  North 
America.  We  have  the  Sun-god  in  Indonesia,  and  the  Moon-god  in 
Melanesia,  clans  or  "septs"  in  the  former.  class-"phralries"  in  the  latter, 
round-houses  in  the  one,  gabled  houses  in  the  other,  communal  life 
in  one  case,  mask-dances  and  secret  societies  in  the  other, — both  of 
these  areas  overlapping  each  other  in  many  parts.  All  the  minor 
elements  of  the  culture, — from  the  fire-drill  down  to  the  pointed 
flint,  the  solid  canoe,  and  the  shell-trumpet,  together  with  circumcision, 
j)latform-burial,  mummification,  sand-  or  rock-painting,  bone-  or  wood- 
carving,  animal  hunting  by  means  of  bevelled  bows,  flint-headed  spears, 
and  bone-constructed  harpoons, — all  these  elements  are  vividly  represented 
in  tiiis  region  and  are  partly  fused  on  the  .Australian  continent.'  Here  we 
have  in  the  "Alchoringa"  that  same  idea  of  transmigration  and  re-incarna- 
tion of  totemic  spirits  in  the  womb  of  the  mother  that  has  been  mentioned 
above.'  Now  can  all  these  facts  be  fortuitous?  Can  all  these  identities  be 
explained  by  a  merely  accidental,  mental  "convergence"?  Perhaps.  But 
in  the  meantime  they  form  a  cultural  unit,  as  distinct  from  the  "archaic" 
or  "neolithic"  types,  as  the  middle  ages  dilTer  from  classic  times  and  from 
the  twentieth  century.  Says  Frazer:  "What  communication  was  pos- 
sible between  .  .  .  Southern  India  and  N.  E.  .\merica  .  .  .  between 
Dravidians  and  Iroquois  .  .  .  between  N.  S.  Wales  and  S.  Africa  .  .  . 
between  the  Kamilaroi  (E.  Australia)  and  the  Herero.  (W.  Africa)?"  And 
he  suggests  the  "action  of  similar  minds",  by  reason  of  impassable  (?) 
oceans."  .\nd  yet  he  draws  a  menacing  parallelism  between  Dravidian  and 
Australian  totomism,  and  in  comparing  them  with  the  Iroquois  of  North- 
Eastern  .\merica,  he  says:  "Their  agreement  in  the  principles  and  most 
of  tlii^  details  of  a  complex  family  system  has  been  justly  described  by  its 
discoverer,  L.  H.  Morgan,  as  'one  of  the  most  extraordinary  applications 
of  the  natural  logic  of  the  human  mind  to  the  facts  of  the  social  system 
preserved  in  the  experience  of  mankind"  ". — and  this  without  any  reference 
to  the  remaining  ethnological  data." 


'  H.  L.  Roth,  The  Natives  of  Saravak  and  British  North  Borneo,  (London.  18%).  C.  G. 
Seligman,  The  Melanesians  of  British  New  Guinea,  (Cambridge.  1910).  R.  H.  Codrington. 
The  Melanesians.  (Oxford.  1891)  32.  69.  348.  Comp.  Frazer.  op.  cit.  V.  II.  pp.  185-217 
(Indonesia),  25-150  (New  Guinea  and  Melanesia).  Gracbner  in  Anthrop.  IV  (1909)  pp.  998f. 
Foy.  op.  cit.  pp.  61,  74-75,  226  "  Spencer  and  Gillen,  The  Northern  Tribes  of  C.  Australia, 
pp.  145,  174.    »IV.  15.     'Oil.  228,  331. 


INTRODUCTION  XLVII 

Culture-Cycles  for  Three  Epochs 

Now  the  point  that  the  "cycle"-theory  wishes  to  bring  forward  is  this.— 
It  affirms  that  the  similarities  throughout  this  area  are  altogether  too  strik- 
ing to  be  dismissed  as  mere  coincidences.  Apart  from  the  question  of 
how  the  culture  was  propagated,— whether  by  land-bridge  or  ocean-pas- 
sage, (both  are  possible),— it  requires  us  to  assume  an  intimate  cultural 
interdependence  of  humanity  at  a  certain  definite  stage  of  its  development. 
This  stage  is  known  as  the  "Totem-culture",  of  which  the  following  facts 
are  believed  to  be  provable: — 

(1)  That  it  is  later  than  the  "archaic"  culture,  (No.  1). 

This  would  appear  to  be  self-evident.  The  whole  complexity  is  in  every 
way  more  advanced.  Compare  any  of  the  items  in  the  above  summary, 
and  the  statistics  given  on  pp.  V-XIV. 

(2)  That  it  is  earlier  than  the  neolithic  and  a  fortiori  to  the  metallic 
(or  bronze)  ages.     (Recent  culture). 

This  does  not  imply  the  absence  of  all  neolithic  or  "metallic"  elements. 
There  is  hardly  a  section  of  humanity  that  has  not  felt  the  influence  of  the 
polished  flint  or  the  bronze  sword.  But  it  does  imply  that  there  is  a  strong 
under-current  of  pre-neolithic  or  "palaeolithic"  elements  precisely  in  those 
sections  of  the  area  that  have  preserved  the  totemistic  culture  in  its  great- 
est purity,— Central  Australia,  Central  India  (in  parts),  South-Central 
Africa,  and  North-Central  North  America.'  Moreover  from  what  is  known 
of  Neolithic  peoples  in  the  strict  sense, — European  Lake-dwellers,  Oceanic 
Polynesians,  North-African  Mauretanians,  North-American  Cliff-dwellers, 
&c.  etc. — it  appears  to  be  more  and  more  evident  that  though  they  have 
some  analogies  to  the  totem-culture,— worship  of  sun,  moon,  stars,  plants, 
animals  etc. — the  idea  of  a  personal  descent  from  these  objects,  with  pro- 
hibition of  marriage  to  those  of  the  same  totem,  is  conspicuous  by  its 
absence.''  Not  until  far  later,  Hindoo  or  Brahminical,  times  do  we  find 
the  idea  of  metempsychosis  at  all  strongly  developed,  but  without  any 
relation  to  marriage  or  the  classificatory  system.'  Finally  there  is  a  strik- 
ing parallelism  between  palaeolithic  man  (as  known  to  us)  and  the  social 
and  industrial  condition  of  these  peoples,  a  parallelism  which  extends  to 
solar  symbols,  animal  paintings,  hand-silhouettes,  and  masked  dances.* 


iComp.  W.  Foy,  op.  cit.  pp.  51-62  (Australia),  225-227,  (India),  181-186  (Africa)  149-154, 
167-171  (North  America), — showing  parallelism  with  Oceania  and  strong  palaeolithic  sur- 
vivals. 2  Por  analogies  and  contrasts  between  totem-culture  and  European  Neolithic,  see 
Graebner,  Die  Melanesische  Bogenkultur  (supra),  pp.  1025-1030.  Implying  a  palaeolithic 
totemism,  ib.  &p.  1031  note.  Also  Frazer,  op.  cit.  IV.  12-14  (pre-Caucasic)  30-38  (pre-poly- 
theistic).  3  Frazer,  IV.  13.  For  alleged  Egyptian  totemism,  see  J.  Capart  in  "Semaine 
d'Ethnologie  religieuse"  (supra)  pp.  274-278.     <  Obermaier,  op.  cit.  253-258,  413-430. 


XLVIII  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Culture-Cycles  for  Three  Epochs 

This  is  illustrated  by  a  comparison  of  the  totem-culluro  with  the  last 
great  prehistoric  era  that  we  know  of,  the  age  of  polished  and  hafted  flint, 
and  of  the  more  advanced  social  and  mental  phenomena  that  accompany 
it. 

(3)  To  begin  again  with  the  North-American  region,  it  is  more  espe- 
cially among  the  plateau-Indians  of  Arizona,  Colorado,  and  New  Mexico, 
generally  described  as  Puublos,  that  we  meet  with  a  far  higher  culture 
than  is  to  be  found  in  most  of  the  other  sections  of  llie  continent.  Instead 
of  the  miserable  skins  or  blankets,  formerly  so  common  in  the  plain-states, 
the  Zuni  Indian  and  the  Navajo  is  a  comparatively  well-dressed  man,  his 
loom-weaved  shirts,  trousers,  and  moccasins,  presenting  an  almost  modern 
appearance.  These  have  since  spread  over  nearly  the  entire  continent, 
but  they  are  of  finer  quality  among  the  highland  tribes,  and  are  par- 
ticularly elaborate  in  the  .Alaskan  region.  In  place  of  the  simple  wigwam, 
we  here  meet  with  the  castellated  dwelling  or  cliff-house,  which  is  often 
constructed  of  large  and  solid  blocks  of  masonry,  the  sign  of  a  settled  non- 
nomadic  civilisation.  Fire  is  made  by  the  flint  and  pyrites  method  as  well 
as  by  drilling,  and  the  compound  double-reflected  bow,  made  of  several 
strips  of  bufl'alo-horn,  is  clearly  a  new  invention.  Superfine  axes,  chisels, 
and  boring-tools  testify  to  a  more  finished  industry,  while  as  potters  and 
weavers  the  Pueblos  are  unexcelled,  the  elaborately  painted  vessels  and 
the  famous  "Navajo-loom"  being  an  addition  to  any  museum.  Blow-horns 
and  polyphonic  flutes  accompany  a  richly  melodic  chant,  and  on  the 
Pacific  coast  we  find  the  built-up  plank-boal,  with  all  the  modern  acces- 
sories. We  have  entered  in  short  a  new  world  of  culture,  and  with  this  a 
new  world  of  ideas." 

Among  these  the  institution  of  hereditary  Priest-Kingsiiip  must  be  pro- 
nounced as  one  of  tiie  most  distinctive.  Tlie  Pueblo  "Sun-Priests"  origin- 
ally controlled  not  only  the  weather,  but  the  entire  gens  or  nation.  But, 
what  is  of  particular  interest  to  us,  they  are  the  center  of  an  astrono77ucal 
rilufil,  in  which  sun,  moon,  and  stars  are  not  so  much  the  genetic  causes 
of  things  as  tlie  exponents  of  the  divine  will,  the  abode  of  numerous  spirit- 
beings,  themselves  immaterial, — rO'Wa.  This  is  evident  from  the  fact  that 
marriage  is  no  longer  dependent  on  cosmic  or  animal  ancestry, — the  totems 
are  mere  symbols — ,  and  at  death  man  is  delivered  from  nature,  he  becomes 
a  sjiirit,  migrating  from  star  to  star.  In  other  words,  man  has  become 
independent  of  nature  and  his  spirits  are  personal  "gods"  who  manifest 
their  will  by  the  relative  position  of  the  heavenly  bodies, — Sun,  Moon,  and 
Venus.* 


»  Cultural  Items  in  Hodge,  op.  cit.  supra.  «  For  mythology  and  sociology  see  F.  H.  Gush- 
ing, Outlines  of  Zuni  Creation-m>ths,  13th.  Ann.  Rep.  B.  A.  E.  (Washington,  1891),  p.  247ff. 
M.  C.  Stevenson,  The  Zuiii  Indians.  23d.  Rep.  do.  (1904)  passim. 


INTRODUCTION  XLIX 

Culture-Cycles  for  Three  Epochs 

But  if  these  data  be  justly  regarded  as  inconclusive,  they  may  be  sup- 
plemented by  a  vast  material  from  the  Old  World,  vi'hich  shows  that  our 
main  contention  is  a  correct  one,  though  the  evidence  can  here  only  be 
given  in  brief. 

From  vv^hat  can  be  known  of  the  mound-builders  of  neolithic  Europe,  it 
appears  that  they  stood  on  a  very  similar  stage  of  culture,  their  large  stone 
monuments  being  frequently  inscribed  with  very  similar  hieroglyphs, — 
the  star,  the  cross,  and  later,  the  swastika.  These  and  the  stone  "circles" 
may  or  may  not  be  taken  as  solar  symbols, — on  this  opinions  are  divided — , 
but  the  practice  of  tomb-burial  and  of  supplying  the  deceased  with  a  large 
part  of  his  personal  and  household  efTects,  including  food  and  drink  "for 
the  journey",  shows  without  a  question  that  the  life  beyond  is  conceived 
as  essentially  the  same  as  the  present, — there  is  no  return  to  the  bulTalos. 
Moreover  the  occasional  trepanning  of  the  skull  reveals  a  strong  belief  in 
spiritism,  in  the  escape  of  the  soul  (or  demon)  from  its  material  environ- 
ment.' 

Further  and  more  definite  evidence  is  obtained  from  the  buried  remains 
of  Egypt  and  Mesopotamia.  There  is  an  abundance  of  material  to  prove, — 
as  we  shall  presently  see — ,  that  the  earliest  symbols  for  divinity  were  dis- 
tinctly astral,  the  eight-rayed  star  being  the  foundation  of  Babylonian 
religion.  This  is  not  a  sun-cult  in  the  purely  material  sense,  but  an 
astrotheological  system,  in  which  the  heavenly  bodies  are  looked  upon  as 
so  many  distinct  persons,  the  solar  orb  being  invariably  the  "father"  of 
all  the  gods  and  himself  apparently  transcendent.  The  same  ideas  are 
re-echoed  in  the  later  Graeco-Roman,  the  Polynesian,  and  the  contempo- 
rary Chinese  theology.  In  every  case  we  have  a  "heavenly  one"  or  a 
"shining  father",  whose  vice-regent  is  the  "son  of  heaven"  or  the  national 
high-priest,  who  decides  the  fate  of  kingdoms  and  the  conduct  of  private 
life  largely  by  what  he  sees  in  the  skies,  in  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac, 
or  in  the  entrails  of  certain  animals.  Religic^  has  become  largely  astro- 
logical and  animistic,  the  sexagesimal  system  finally  triumphant.  Archi- 
tecture, sculpture,  painting,  music,  navigation,  and  so  on,  all  show  a  far 
more  developed  state  than  anything  to  be  found  among  the  totemic  peoples, 
and  with  this  has  come  a  different  aspect  of  life  and  existence.  Man  is 
no  longer  descended  from  plants  or  animals,  he  is  "created"  by  god  or 
demi-god,  and  as  such  he  is  free  to  marry  within  certain  degrees  of  descent, 
he  becomes  in  fact  more  and  more  aristocratic,  more  and  more  endog- 
amous.  As  to  his  soul,  it  does  not  re-enter  the  brutes,  but  passes  to  a  land 
of  shades  or  to  a  life  of  glory,  it  has  become  "divine".' 


'  For  the  European  Neolithic  consult  Obermaier,  op.  cit.  pp.  465-524.  Dechelette  Manuel 
d'Archeologie  (Paris,  1908)  pp.  347-630.  *  S.  P.  Handcock,  Mesopotamian  Archaeology  (N.  Y. 
1912).  Also  Jastrow,  Sayce.  Meyer,  Schmidt,  etc.  op.  cit.  infra,  for  Babylonian,  Eg>ptian, 
Indo-European,  and  Polynesian  data. 


L  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

CtLTURE-CVCLES   FOK  THREE  EPOCHS 

From  all  this  material  it  may  be  inferred  wilti  some  certaintj-  that  there 
are  at  least  throe  epochs  in  the  pre-history  of  man,  corresponding  to  three 
mental  or  social  stages  in  the  evolution  of  the  race.    These  are : — 

(1)  The  "primitive"  or  "archaic"  stage,  which  is  believed  to  be  pre- 
palaeolithic,  and  which  is  characterised  by  an  extreme  simplicity  of 
thought  and  practice,  by  the  absence  of  cosmic  or  animal  "pedigrees",  and 
by  the  general  superiority  of  man  over  nature,  which  makes  him  a  unique, 
a  supra-mundane  being.' 

(2)  The  "mediaeval"  or  "totemic"  stage,  which  belongs  roughly  speak- 
ing to  the  palaeoliliiic,  and  whose  dominant  note  is  the  identity  of  a  man 
with  a  natural  object,  his  descent  from  that  object,  and  his  possible  return 
into  that  object  by  palingenesis, or  re-birth.  This  object  may  be  anything, 
from  the  sun  or  moon  down  to  a  blade  of  grass;  it  affects  food  and  matri- 
mony very  vitally,  but  leaves  the  transcendent  Cause  of  nature  otherwise 
untouched.^ 

(3)  The  more  "modern"  or  "recent"  stage,  which  is  contemporarj- 
with  the  neolithic,  and  in  which  the  astral  elements  have  become  real 
divinities,  though  they  are  generally  subordinate  to  chief  divinity  and 
have  no  genetic  relation  to  man.  (Henotheism).^ 

IJul  besides  tliese  general  comi)lexities, — which  seem  to  be  well  proven, — 
modern  ethnologists  have  carried  the  culture-notion  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  subdivide  these  areas  into  smaller  units,  and  to  require  transitional 
stages  from  one  culture  to  the  other.  Thus  between  the  "Archaic"-  and 
the  "Totem"-  they  insert  the  "Boomerang"-('ulture,  (with  a  supposed  lunar 
mythology),  and  between  the  Totem-  and  Recent-  they  introduce  a  "Two- 
class"  or  "Mask"-culture  with  similar  tendencies.  Then  again  the  Totem- 
culture  may  be  divided  into  three  sections, — .Aurignacian,  Solutrean,  Mag- 
dalenian, — and  the  Neolithic  age  similarly  into  three  stages,  known  as 
the  "How",  "Polynesian"  and  "Arctic"  culture.  But  whether  all  these 
"transitions"  etc.  will  stand  the  test  of  verification,  remains  to  be  seen,  as 
also  the  supposed  equations  between  any  given  age  and  its  accompanying 
industry  (down  to  the  smallest  details).  In  tiie  following  table,  (p.  LVI- 
LVII),  are  given  the  main  results  of  this  system  as  applied  to  five  principal 
periods.  This  table  is  compiled  from  original  sources,* — and  this.  1 
believe,  for  the  first  time, — but  it  makes  no  pretence  to  being  final  or 
exhaustive  and  is  subject  to  indefinite  modification  with  the  advance  of 
the  times. 

'  This  would  seem  to  follow  from  its  non-totcmic  character,  Man  is  not  'classified'  with 
nature,  though  he  'belonRs'  to  it.  Cp.  .Schmidt.  1.  c.  pp.  183-187,  241  f.  '  Frazer.  Totemism  and 
Exogamv.  vol.  IV.  pp.  4-6.  Spencer  and  Gillen,  loc.  cit.  sup.  ■'' Comp.  Leopold  von 
Schroeder.  Altarische  Religion.  {Munich,  1918).  (in  the  press).  Also  O.  Schrader,  Reallexi- 
con  der  indogermanischoii  Altcrthumskunde,  pp.  824ff.  Recent  opinions  on  Totemism. 
Animism,  Solar  and  Lunar  Mythology,  will  be  found  in  the  Compte-Rcndu  of  the  "Semaine 
d'F.thnoIogic"  (Louvain,  1912)  p.  93,  99,  22Sff.  ♦  Graebner,  Foy,  Schmidt.  Ankcrmann.  opera 
citata  supra. 


INTRODUCTION  LI 

Arguments  for  the  Five-Period  System  Advanced 

It  has  been  seen  that  a  threefold  stratification  of  culture  is  fairly  well 
evidenced  by  nearly  all  the  data  from  taken  from  three  extreme  and  widely 
separated  periods  of  humanity.  Does  it  not  seem  on  the  face  of  it  probable 
that  the  gap  between  the  lower  and  the  far  higher  culture  is  bridged  over 
by  some  intervening  stage  of  development,  some  transition  from  the  one 
to  the  other?  Such  transitions  have  been  verified  over  and  over  again  in 
the  domain  of  palaeontology,  and  would  seem  to  suggest  that  the  kindred 
fields  of  ethnology  and  comparative  mythology  run  on  parallel  lines,  show 
a  parallel  course  of  development,  corresponding  to  some  extent  with  the 
industrial  change.  Let  us  see  to  what  extent  this  argument  is  borne  oUt  by 
the  facts. 

SOME   INTERVENING    PERIODS    NECESSARY 

It  seems  incredible  that  the  rise  from  the  crude  primitive  to  the  com- 
plicated totemic  culture  could  have  taken  place  without  leaving  some  ves- 
tiges of  a  transitional  period.  Such  vestiges  are  revealed  in  the  palaeonto- 
logical  data,  which  require  the  Chellean-Mousterian  as  a  stepping-stone  to 
the  perfected  Aurignacian-Magdalenian  industry.  Man  could  hardly 
become  such  a  fine  artist,— painter,  engraver,  carver,  boat-builder—,  in 
a  day.  The  evolution  of  perfected  tools  requires  time,  and  such  time  is 
clearly  marked  in  the  annals  of  archaeology.  Similarly  the  rise  from  the 
Magdalenian  to  the  full  Neolithic  reveals  a  hiatus  which  has  only  recently 
filled  out.  The  existence  of  a  transitional  Azylian-Tardenoisian  stage,  with 
microlithic  industry,  perfected  bone-needles,  stringed  instruments',  and 
masked  dances,  may  now  be  regarded  as  certain,  whether  from  the 
archaeological  or  the  ethnological  point  of  view.  Let  us  consider  these  two 
transitions  one  by  one. 

FIRST    TRANSITIONAL    STAGE, — "B00MERANG"-CULTURE 

Between  the  Oceanic  Primitives  on  the  one  hand  and  the  advanced 
Indo-Asiatic  and  totemic  peoples  on  the  other,  an  intermediate  type  of 
humanity  is  revealed  in  the  proto-Malayan  family,  which  has  left  vestiges 
of  its  presence  in  Indo-Africa,  Indo-Australia.  and  possibly  in  Indo-South- 
America.  (Bororo-Group?).  Its  architecture  rarely  exceeds  that  of  the 
bee-hive  hut,  or  tunnel-house,  and  its  typical  weapon  is  the  Boomerang, 
which  can  be  traced  from  Southern  India,  through  Egj-pt  to  the  Sudan,' 
through  Malaysia  to  Australia,  and  through  North  America  to  Peru  and 
Central  Brazil.  Its  "Bundle-Canoe"  is  found  in  regions  as  far  apart  as 
the  Coromandel-Coast  and  Tasmania,  the  upper  Nile  and  the  lower 
Amazon  (Shingu  Region). 


LI  I  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Arguments  for  the  Five-Period  System 

This  reveals  a  considerable  advance  upon  primitive  conditions,  in  that 
the  making  of  palaeolitlis,  liowever  crude,  the  more  complex  dwellings, 
however  unsubstantial,  the  manufacture  of  plaited  belts  and  basket-work, 
of  bundle-canoes  and  of  a  highly  finished  throwing-instrument,  is  a  dear 
indication  that  the  bearers  of  this  culture  have  learnt  more  of  the  arts  and 
sciences  than  their  immediate  predecessors,  even  though  it  falls  equally 
short  of  that  of  their  immediate  successors.  It  is  not  pretended  that  all  tiie 
items  of  this  culture  can  be  verified  throughout  the  above  vast  area, — far 
from  it — ,  but  tiie  elements  common  to  Indo-Africa  and  Australia  are 
sufficiently  striking  to  merit  the  further  consideration  of  ethnologists,  and 
the  South-American  data  seem  to  reflect  many  of  its  distinctive  features. 

As  to  social  organisation  and  higher  beliefs,  the  material  is  as  yet  far 
too  fragmentary  to  admit  of  any  generalisations, — that  is,  for  the  com- 
bined area.  The  wild  Malays  of  the  East,  the  Tamils  of  Southern  India, 
the  Nigerians  of  the  Sudan,  the  Tasmanioids  of  Australia,  and  the  Bororos 
of  Central  Brazil, — all  these  exhibit  such  striking  variations,  both  in 
climate,  physique  and  adopted  culture,  that  anything  like  a  uniformity, 
either  in  beliefs  and  practices,  is  hardly  to  be  expected.  But  upon  one 
aspect  of  tills  development  emphasis  can,  I  think,  be  laid  with  a  fair  degree 
of  security.  From  what  is  so  far  known  of  the  mythologj'  of  these  peoples, 
it  appears  that  in  large  sections  of  the  Oceanic  and  South  American 
regions,  the  association  of  religious  ideas  with  the  waxing  and  waning 
moon,  and  the  practice  of  more  or  less  occult  magic  by  means  of  the 
whirring-disk  or  "bull-roarer",  is  too  significant  to  be  dismissed  offhand 
as  a  mere  side-issue.  We  shall  find  very  shortly  that  the  idea  of  the 
"Spider-Moon",  and  the  association  of  divinity  witli  some  mysterious  and 
apparently  sagacious  animal — the  spider,  the  lizard — ,  extends  with  slight 
variations  from  the  Malay  Peninsula,  through  Central  Borneo  and 
Melanesia,  to  South-East  Australia  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  the  farthest 
Amazonian  regions  on  the  other.  Considering  that  these  territories  are 
already  linked  together  by  many  of  the  cultural  elements  above  referred 
to,  a  presumption  is  formed  that  they  are  linked  together  in  their  beliefs  as 
well,  and  this  opinion  has  recently  been  defended  with  considerable  force 
by  several  experts  in  ethnology  and  comparative  mythology.' 


>F.  Gracbncr.  Kulturkreise  in  Ozeanien,  (ZE.  1905.  p.  28ff).  Idem.  Methode.  (1911), 
p.  149.  \V.  Foy,  Fuhrcr,  pp.  60,  72,  149,  155,  182,  225ff  (Data  for  five  continents).  W. 
Schmidt,  Mvthologic  dcr  austronesischen,  Volker,  (1910),  p.  25.  (Lunar  Myths).  Ehren- 
reich,  Allgemcinc  Mythologie,  (1910),  p.  115,  262-272.  Idem.  Die  Mythen  und  Legenden  der 
sud-amcrikanischen  Urvolkcr,  (1905),  pp.  34-36.  42-44,  66-102  (Migrations  of  solar  and 
lunar  myths,— the  "Spider-Moon,"  etc.). 


INTRODUCTION  LIII 

Arguments  for  th£  Five-Period  System 

SECOND  TRANSITIONAL   STAGE, — TWO-CLASS   OR   "MASK"-CULTURE 

Until  recently  no  separation  has  been  made  between  the  pure  totem- 
culture  and  the  classificatory-system.  Both  appeared  to  be  so  closely  inter- 
twined, so  inextricably  woven  together,  as  to  form  almost  a  unit.  Yet  even 
Frazer  soon  began  to  recognise  that  the  two  ideas  are  by  no  means  synony- 
mous, that  it  is  possible  to  have  the  class-system  without  totemism  and 
vice  versa,  even  though  in  practice  they  are  nearly  always  found  together.^ 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  break  between  the  full  Magdalenian  and  the 
early  Neolithic  culture  is  no  longer  as  abrupt  as  was  once  supposed.  The 
palaeontological  evidence  has  brought  to  light  an  intervening  stratum, 
known  as  the  Azylian-Tardenoisan  period,  which  was  famous  for  the 
production  of  superfine  flints  and  bone-needles,  for  the  manufacture  of 
higher  musical  instruments,  and  for  the  performance  of  costume-  or 
masked-dances.  If  we  look  to  the  existing  races  of  mankind  as  its  pos- 
sible representative,  we  shall  find  that  in  no  single  case  has  this  culture 
been  preserved  with  anything  like  purity,  but  that  strong  undercurrents 
of  the  culture  may  be  discerned  among  the  Turanian-Asiatic,  the  West- 
African-Bantu,  the  East-Indian-Melanesian,  and  the  more  advanced  North 
and  South-American  peoples.  Here  we  shall  discover  that  the  above 
elements  are  accompanied  by  the  painted  mask,  the  gable-roofed  club- 
house, the  built-up  canoe  or  plank-boat,  the  bamboo-fiddle  and  pan-pipe, 
the  men's  secret  society,  the  female  "matriarchate",  the  skull-trophy  with 
associated  head-hunting,  and  above  all  the  Ghost-Dance,  which  is  the  most 
distinctive  of  all  the  external  features  of  this  culture,  and  which  can  be 
traced  from  Nigeria  to  Melanesia,  and  from  Alaska  to  Brazil."  While 
many  of  the  intervening  links  have  disappeared,  it  is  being  felt  that  these 
complexities  are  too  strong  to  be  accidental,  that  a  parallelism  over  such 
widely  separated  areas  points  to  some  genetic  relation  in  the  past,  or  at 
least  to  some  unified  or  collective  development.  In  nearly  every  case,  the 
social  and  industrial  stage  of  this  period  may  be  marked  off  from  the  full 
neolithic  on  the  one  hand  and  from  the  preceding  "glacial"  stage  on  the 
other,  though  the  growing  contact  with  higher  cultures  and  the  general 
fusion  of  cultures  will  probably  account  for  the  apparent  want  of  con- 
tinuity in  its  geographical  distribution. 


2  Frazer,  Totemism  and  Exogamy,  (1910),  Vol.  IV.  pp.  71-136,  on  the  origin  of  exogamy 
and  the  class-system,  and  their  geographical  distribution,  esp.  p.  136.  ^  Items  will  be  found 
in  F.  Graebner,  Die  Melanesische  Bogenkultur,  (Anthropos,  1909),  p.  998ff.  (with  a  valuable 
map).  Also  in  Foy,  op.  cit.  pp.  61,  75,  ISO,  156,  170,  183,  225ff.  showing  distribution  over 
five  continents,  if  European  Palaeolithic  (Azylian  stage)  be  included.  Comp,  Obermaier, 
Der  Mensch  der  Vorzeit  (1912)  pp.  213-222,  424-430.  434-435,  for  late-palaeoIithic  parallels. 
Also  J.  Dechelette,  Manuel  d'ArcheoIogie,  (Paris,  1908),  p.  318ff. 


LIV  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Arguments  for  the  Five-Period  System 

The  quality  of  belief  whicli  is  ciiaracteristic  for  tiiis  period  is  intimated, 
partly  by  the  numerous  buried  remains,  partly  by  the  existing  races  as  we 
actually  find  them.  The  combined  data  furnish  sulficienl  evidence  for 
inferring  that  a  pronounced  spirit-cult  with  a  developed  ancestor-worship 
forms  as  it  were  the  background,  upon  which  the  skull-cult,  the  ghosl- 
tdance,  the  fire-walk,  and  other  secret  orgies,  have  been  in  part  engrafted. 
We  have  only  to  refer  to  the  decapitated  skeletons  of  Ofnet  and  Mas  d'Azyl, 
to  the  phantastic  figures  with  masked  heads  that  adorn  so  many  of  the 
French  and  Spanish  caverns  of  this  period,  not  to  speak  of  the  spiral 
designs,  the  "eye"  patterns,  the  hand-silhouettes,  the  amputated  fingers, 
the  painted  pebbles,  and  other  symbolic  devices,  to  see  how  faithfully 
many  if  not  most  of  these  features  are  represented  among  the  surviving 
peoples  above  enumerated.*  If  they  have  so  many  elements  in  common 
witii  late-glacial  man,  including  their  industry,  does  it  not  seem  highly 
probable  that  they  mirror  to  some  extent  their  religious  beliefs,  that  where 
a  spirit-cult  is  demonstrable  in  the  one  case,  it  is  to  say  the  least  strongly 
suggested  in  the  other? 

But  as  to  the  nature  of  the  existing  beliefs,  there  is  throughout  a 
strongly  developed  ghost-worsliip,  which  without  attaining  to  the  full 
maturity  of  a  universal  animism,  has  brought  the  tribal  ancestor  into  bold 
relief,  who  now  occupies  the  principal  position  in  the  cult,  the  converging- 
point  in  the  ritual.  The  numerous  "ghost-societies",  distributed  over  such 
vast  regions, — from  Melanesia  to  Brazil — ,  are  alone  sulTicient  to  prove  this, 
however  vague  and  mysterious  may  be  their  inner  symbolism.  The  fact 
that  most  of  these  dancing-escapades  take  place  by  moonlight  has  trans- 
ferred the  central  object  of  the  mytholog>'  from  the  sun  to  the  moon,  it  is 
the  lunar  phases  which  again  arouse  the  interest  of  man,  the  bright  and 
dark  moon  being  often  symbolical  of  the  twofold  division  of  society  into 
the  class-phratries,  which  division  is  commonly  expressed  in  Oceania  by 
the  "Eagle-Hawk  and  Crow", — the  two  typical  birds  of  the  class-system.' 
But  whatever  be  exact  relation  of  the  social  and  mythological  data. — and 
much  obscurity  still  surrounds  this  subject — ,  the  case  for  an  intervening 
culture,  characterised  by  the  above  features,  and  illustrated  in  part  by  the 
above  peoples,  is  becoming  increasingly  strong  with  every  fresh  discovery. 


*Obermaier,  loc.  cit.  supra,  giving  the  latest  discoveries  of  the  Abl)e  Breuil  (Paris,  1910), 
with  existing  survivals  among  nature-peoples,  (pp.  253-258).  "J.  Mathew,  Eagle-Hawk  and 
Crow,  (London  and  Melbourne,  1899),  pp.  93-148.  R.  Codrington,  The  Melanesians,  (Oxford, 
1891),  pp.  20-68  (social  features),  pp.  69-115,  (secret  societies  and  mysteries),  p.  34Sff. 
(skull-trophies,  etc.).  Also  Graebner,  Foy,  1.  c.  sup.  and  W.  Schmidt.  .■Xusfronesische 
Mythologie,  (1910),  pp.  128ff.  Ursprung,  p.  302ff.  Ehrenreich,  Siidamerikanische  Myth- 
ologie,  p.  34ff. 


INTRODUCTION  LV 

Arguments  for  the  Five-Period  System 

Thus  the  combined  evidence, — palaeontological,  ethnological,  myth- 
ological— ,  establishes  a  fairly  strong  presumption  in  favor  of  at  least  two 
intermediate  stages,  which  are  marked  off  with  sufficient  clearness  to  be 
for  the  most  part  recognisable.  However  deficient  many  of  the  existing 
links  may  prove  to  be, — and  such  deficiencies  are  only  to  be  expected  by 
analogy  with  geological  "breaks" — ,  the  convergence  is  in  most  cases  too 
striking  not  to  rivet  the  attention  of  the  inquiring  student.  Such  transitions 
are  not  only  a  priori  probable,  but  for  certain  periods  plainly  demon- 
strable, and  have  been  long  since  recognised  in  the  field  of  archaeology, 
the  discovery  of  the  ethnological  parallels  being  comparatively  recent. 
Thus  in  the  Neolithic,  the  lacustrian  is  sharply  divided  from  the  later 
megalithic  and  pyramid-building-stage,  the  huge  monuments  of  Western- 
Eurasia,  Northern  India,  Polynesia,  and  Peru,  being  characterised  by  so 
many  similarities,  both  in  structure  and  design,  as  to  call  for  some  period 
of  common  development  during  which  massiveness  in  architecture  became, 
as  it  were,  the  craze.  Advanced  navigation  in  finely  constructed  galleys, 
with  typical  three-cornered  (Polynesian)  sails  and  elegantly  constructed 
rudders,  was  then  the  order  of  the  day,  the  ocean  became  the  common 
highway  of  commerce,  bereft  of  many  of  its  old-time  terrors.  At  a  still 
later  period,  the  sub-arctic  peoples  of  the  far  North  gave  birth  to  the 
most  recent  of  all  developments  of  prehistoric  industry,  that  of  stitched 
moccasin  foot-wear  and  European  trousers, — the  so-called  "Pantaloon- 
culture".  It  is  not  always  realised  that  the  standard  male  attire  of  modern 
times  is  the  distant  descendant  of  the  Eskimo  snow-costume,  and  that,  far 
from  being  ancient,  or  in  any  full  sense  primitive,  the  existing  sub-arctic 
populations  are  in  reality  the  bearers  of  a  very  late,  almost  contemporary 
phase  of  civilisation, — for  which  reason  they  are  of  little  or  no  value  as 
the  exponents  of  an  early  tradition.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  in  the 
analysis  of  any  known  culture — 

Periods  may  be  multiplied  indefinitely, 

nearly  every  supposed  break  has  brought  to  light  an  intervening  bridge, 
from  which  the  transition  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  civilisation  may  as  a 
rule  be  vaguely  recognised.  In  view,  however,  of  the  greater  primitive- 
ness  of  the  non-metal  ages,  the  above  five  periods  may  be  deemed  sufficient, 
they  embody  five  of  the  earliest  stages  in  the  upward  ascent  of  man.® 


«  Further  details  in  Obermaier,  op.  cit.  pp.  Part  II.  pp.  439f f.  K.  Weule,  Die  Urgesellschaft 
und  ihre  Lebensfursorge,  (Stuttgart,  1912),  pp.  63-110.  Idem,  Leitfaden,  (1912)  pp.  103- 
136,  and  with  great  clearness  bv  the  writers  of  the  Cologne-school,  esp.  W.  Foy,  op.  cit. 
pp.  76,  271ff. 


LVI 


THE  PREHISTORIC  DEVELOPMENT  O 


TIME-TABLE: 

R.\CE-TYPE : 
(survivals) 


(A)  ARCHAIC 
(PRE-PALAEOLITHIC) 


(B)  BOOMERAN( 
(EARLY-PAL.\EOLIT 


CLIMATE : 


Oceanic  Primitive  (East  Ind.)  Indo-Asian-Malaysian   (T 

African  Primitive  (Congo  Belt)  C.  African  Nigerian  (Sudi 

Australian  Primitive  (Tasman)  Indo-Asian-Australian  (S 

Amazonian  Primitive  (Brazil)?*  [ndo-Asian-Am6izonian  (E 

Tropical  (with  Pluviation)  Tropical  to  Mild.  Glacial: 


FOOD:  (Veg.) 
(Staple 
Animal) 
(Narcotics) 

CLOTHING: 


Banana,  Plantain,  Palm-fruit. 
Wild  Boar.  (Tiger,  Eleph.  and 
Rhinoceros  in  Indo-Africa). 
Narcotics  originally  wanting. 


Banana,  Palm-fruit,  Pine- 
Wild  Boar.  (Tiger,  Eleph 
Hippopotamus  in  Indo-A 
Narcot,  originally  wanlir 


Leaf-Belt  and  Skin-Mantle 


ORNAMENT: 


Generally  wanting.  (Combs  & 
Shell-necklace  in  Malaysia. 
Body-painting  in  parts). 


Loin-strap  and  Fur- jacket. 

Plaited  Belts  and  Head-b{ 
Nose.  Lip,  and  Ear-ornan 
Painting  and  Scarificatio 


HABITATION : 

FIRE-MAKING: 

WEAPONS: 


Cave,  Tent,  or  Windshelter. 
Fire-Strap  and  Fire-Plow 


Bee-hive  Hut  and  Tunnel 
Fire-Plow  and  Fire-Drill. 


Staff-Bow,  with  fibre-string  & 
reed  arrow.  Blowpipe  in  parts. 
Also  clubs  &  simple  spears. 


Boomerang  dominates,  w 
spear,  club,  and  fencing-s 
Bow  and  arrow  survive. 


IMPLEMENTS:        Bamboo-Knife  &  Stone  Hammer.  Chipped  Flint  and  Stone 
Flint-chips,  flakes,  bone  and  (Chellean-Mousterian   Ind 

shell-scrapers   (untouched).  Bone  implements  survive. 


ARTS  AND  The  Bamboo  Vessel  &  Charm-tube.The  Magic  Wand  or  Bull 

INDUSTRIES:          Simple  tracery.     Crude  Pottery.  Bamboo  vessels  and  bask 

Zig-zag  patterns.    Network.  Cord  &  Hair-string  techniq 

MUSIC:                     The  Monochord,  or  "Pangolo"?  Sounding-slick  and  Bull- 

N.\VIG.\TION:         Tree-Float  or  "Balsa"-Rafl.  Balsa-Raft  and  Bundle-Ca 

GOVERNMENT:       Patriarchal   Family-system,  Presidential   Clan-system, 

with   "natural"   Headmanshlp.  elective   Headmanship(?). 

INITLVnoN: 


Fasting  and  lustration. 


Fasting  and  tooth-pulling 


SACRIFICE: 
MARRIAGE: 
BURIAL: 
BELIEFS : 


First-fruits  and  animals. 
Paternal, — local  exogamy. 
Simple  earth  or  tent-grave. 


First-fruits  and  animals. 

Maternal, — clan-exogamy  ( 

Niche  or  Tree-grave.    Crer 

Supposed  Monotheistic  Belt.  Region  of  Lunar  Mytholo^ 

Mythology  appears  in  simple  Divinity  as  waxing  and  wi 

anthropomorphic  dress.  moon,  "spider"-moon.  (Mi 

•Non:    The  whole  of  the  New-World  culture  must  be  looke 


LVII 


VE  PERIODS-CULTURE  SCHEDULE 


(C)  TOTEM 
V.  PALAEOLITHIC) 


(D)  TWO-CLASS 
(LATE  PALAEOLITHIC) 


(E)    RECENT 
(NEOLITHIC) 


n-Dravidian  (Kolar) 
3an  Bantuan 
luan-Australian 
in  N.  American?* 


Indoasian-Eurasian  (Turan) 
West-African  Bantuan 
East-Papuan-Australian 
West-Indian  N.  American?* 


Eurasian-Caucasian  (Ligur). 
N.  African-Mauretanian. 
Oceanic-Polynesian. 
Melanesian-Pan- American.* 


Glaciation  full. 


Mild.    Glaciation  recedes. 


e,  and  Pine-apple, 
leindeer,  Kangaroo. 
1,  Rhinoceros,  etc.) 
imported. 


Corn,  Rice,  and  Pine-apple. 
Great  Elk  &  Forest-Stag. 
Tropics  retain  fauna. 
Narcotics  imported. 


Normal.    Alluvium  begins. 

Corn,  Wheat,  &  Barley-Cult. 
Dog,  Horse,  Sheep,  Pig,  etc. 
Tropics  retain  fauna. 
Hemp,  Tobacco,  Betel-nut. 


ture  &  Fur-jacket.  Bark-cincture  &  Fur-jacket.  Flax-garments,  (weaved). 


Flower-ornament. 
>ests  &  Head-gear. 
&  Scarification. 


The  Painted  Mask  in  all 
its  varieties.    Ghost-garb. 
Painting  &  Scarification. 


»use  or  Wigwam. 


Gable-roofed  Club-House. 


The  Diadem.  Spiral  Cinc- 
ture. Boar-tooth  necklace. 
Branding  and  Tattooing. 

Pile-,  Stone-,  or  Cliff-House. 


(perfected). 


Fire-Drill  and  Fire-Saw. 


Fire-Flint,  Fire-Pump,  etc. 


3ow  (oval  section), 
pear.  Throwing- 
ae  Dagger. 


Bevelled  Bow  w.  Broad  Shield. 
Flinted  Spear  &  Morning- 
star  Bludgeon. 


Flat  Bow  w.  Round  Shield. 
Flinted  Spear.  Sling-Bow, 
Double-reflected  Arctic  Bow. 


lint  (perfected) 
)ian-Magdalenian) 
ilements   (perfected) 


Small  Flint,  Bone  Needle. 
(Azylian-Tardenoisian) 
Digging-stick  or  shovel. 


Ground  or  polished  Flint. 
( Flenusian-Robenhausen) 
Knee-adze,  Spindle-whirl. 


!d  Figurine.    Carved  The  Painted  Mask.    Painted 

ainting  &  Engraving.  Pebbles.     Phonetic  Alphab. 

spiral  Pattern.  Circle  &  Spiral  Pattern. 

e  &  Shell-Trumpet.  Fiddle,  Gong,  Panpipe,  etc. 


Pottery  &  Loom-weaving. 
Hammock  and  Rope-bridge. 
Star  and  Swastika. 


Horn,  Drum,  Piano,  Organ. 


)e  and  Dug-out. 


Bark-canoe  &  Plank-boat. 


i\  Sept-system, 
ditary  chief. 


Presidential  Tribe-System 
with  electing  classes. 


Sail-boat,  w.  outriggers  &c. 

Patriarchal-National. 
Kingship  and  Aristrocracy. 


;  Circumcision, 
falo,  Reindeer. 


Ghost-dance.     Fire-walk. 


Branding  and  Tattooing. 


Cannibalism  and  Human. 


Corn,  Horse,  Sheep,  Human. 


Totemic  Exogamy. 
Mummification. 


Maternal,  Class  Exogamy. 

Skull-Trophy,  Cremation. 

'  Solar  Mythology.  Advanced  Lunar  Mythology. 

IS  Genetic  Power  Ghost-dance  &  Skeleton- 

(Totemism).  cult  point  to  Spiritism. 

ortation  from  Asia.     America   forms  a  separate  province 


Paternal,  Local  Exogamy. 
Tomb-burial.     Cremation. 


Advanced  Solar  Mythologj'. 
Divinity  as  "World-Soul"  or 
"Mana".   (Animism). 


LVIII  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Does  the  Evidence  Caiiry  Conviction? 
As  a  broad  generalisation,  then,  it  would  seem  some  such  groups  of 
social  and  industrial  development  are  revealed  with  considerable  cer- 
tainty by  all  the  data  thai  are  so  far  accessible  to  us.  Is  it  sufTiciently 
strong  to  establish  a  corresponding  mental  development,  to  prove  that  in 
a  given  age  the  thoughts  and  mythologies  of  a  people  will  assume  a 
definite  color  and  tendency,  pointing  to  some  leading  motif  or  guiding- 
theme  as  being  uppermost  for  the  lime?  This  from  the  above  evidence 
may  be  regarded  as  a  fairly  safe  induction.  The  points  enumerated  are 
not  too  few,  the  analysis  not  too  brief,  to  warrant  a  decisive  verdict  on 
the  subject  for  ai  least  three  cultural  epochs.  But  it  does  not  lay  claim  to 
such  convincing  power  as  to  render  a  detailed  investigation  superfluous. 

The  Culture-Schedule  is  a  Well-Propounded  Working-Scheme 

Like  other  movements  in  the  inductive  sciences  it  has  to  pass  through 
the  stage  of  extended  verification  before  it  can  attain  to  the  dignity  of  a 
fully  demonstrated  system.  It  is  by  means  of  more  or  less  plausible 
theories  that  the  greatest  triumphs  of  modern  science  have  been  attained. 
The  discoverer  uses  an  artificial  scheme  as  a  "working-hypothesis",  finds 
it  satisfactory,  and  by  repeated  applications  in  numerous  individual 
instances,  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  he  has  discovered  a  '"law",  that 
nature  has  yielded  one  more  of  her  secrets.    In  like  manner — 

The  Parallelism  Between  Mental  and  Social  Evolution  is  a  Thesis 
Which  Requires  Extensive  and  Individual  Proof. 

Such  a  proof  has  been  broadly  intimated  in  the  preceding  analysis,  but 
it  is  summary  and  suggestive  rather  than  final  and  exhaustive.  It  points 
the  finger  to  those  regions  where  such  a  parallelism  may  be  expected,  and 
where  it  is  in  part  demonstrated,  it  makes  no  pretense  to  establishing  a 
rigid  equation  between  the  ethnological  and  the  mythological  data. 

The  data  will  be  tested  and  verified  in  the  ensuing  study: 

it  is  only  through  a  detailed  examination  of  each  area  that  anything  like 
a  cumulative  argument  can  be  propounded  with  any  hope  of  success. 

Tiie  mythologies  must  be  carefully  dissected, 

whereby  some  such  stratification  in  beliefs  and  practices  may  be  estab- 
lished with  greater  or  less  certainty  or  probability,  as  the  case  may  be. 

The  proof  will  then  be  brought  nearer, 

that  for  three  (or  possibly  five)  broad  eras  of  humanity,  the  material, 
mental,  and  social  data  reveal  such  an  astounding  similarity  and  dis- 
tinctive coloring,  that  some  genetic  unity  in  the  past  will  seem  to  be  postu- 
lated. 


INTRODUCTION  LIX 

Application  of  the  Form-Criterion 

In  estimating  the  value  of  this  system,  the  following  points  deserve  to 
be  noted,  in  so  far  as  they  concern  its  purely  material  aspect : — 

(1)  The  equations  between  time,  race,  industry,  etc.  are  only  approxi- 
mations. They  do  not  pretend  to  be  rigidly  fixed,  but  admit  of  much  over- 
lapping. 

(2)  The  migration  of  culture  does  not  imply  a  migration  of  culture- 
"bearers." 

(3)  The  cultural  items  for  any  single  region  have  no  reference  to  their 
origination  but  rather  to  their  dissemination.  They  simply  mean  that  in 
this  or  that  period  this  or  that  form  of  culture  obtained  the  ascendancy. 

With  these  provisos  we  will  now  reconsider  the  scheme.  What  have 
the  leading  specialists  to  say  on  the  subject? 

It  is  to  be  noted  in  the  first  place  that  none  of  the  "convergence"  school 
of  writers  excludes  the  idea  of  cultural  "units",  and  even  the  idea  of  whole- 
sale borrowing  in  this  or  that  particular  instance.^  But  more  than  this, 
the  general  tone  of  criticism,  though  often  reserved,  is  on  the  whole 
decidedly  in  favor  of  transmission-possibilities,  exception  being  taken  only 
to  smaller  details,  which  in  the  first  effort  to  master  such  an  enormous 
area,  are  naturally  difficult  to  verify  in  all  their  complexity. 

Roland  B.  Dixon,  in  a  monograph,  "The  Independenge  of  the  Culture 
of  the  American  Indian,"  ^  handles  the  Asiatic  theory  somewhat  roughly 
as  "in  no  sense  demonstrated".  At  the  same  time  he  gives  Dr.  Graebner 
the  credit  of  having  called  attention  to  some  striking  parallelisms  between 
American  and  Oceanic  culture,  viz: — "the  true  plank-canoe,  the  use  of  a 
masticatory  with  lime,  head-hunting  and  associated  skull-cults,  the  blow- 
gun,  the  throwing-stick,  the  hammock  and  perhaps  the  institution  of  the 
men's  house  and  certain  peculiar  masked  dances  and  forms  of  masks  in 
use  in  Papuan  Melanesia  and  in  America  only  in  parts  of  Brazil."  (But 
what  about  the  Ghost-Dance  in  the  far  North-West?)  Elsewhere  he  puts 
the  "historical"  on  the  same  level  with  the  "evolutionary"  school: — "We 
have,  it  is  hoped,  left  behind  us  the  period  of  vague  and  futile  theorising, 
without  facts  or  with  too  few  facts,  but  there  are  still  many  who  believe 
that  evolution  is  the  master-key  which  will  unlock  all  doors,  and  that  by 
the  amassing  of  more  or  less  heterogeneous  and  unrelated  facts  from  all 
over  the  world  a  continuous  development  through  definite  stages  of  culture 
may  everywhere  be  shown.    The  partisans  of  independent  development 


iComp.  Anthropos,  VI.  (1912)  pp.  1010-1036.  Also  K.  Weule,  Kultur  der  Kulturlosen, 
(supra)  pp.  11-30.  ('Ethnographische  Parallelen')  esp.  p.  16.  where  the  author,  following 
Andree,  admits  a  cultural  borrowing  "within  the  enclosed  province",  though  he  is  otherwise 
non-committal,  and  leaves  the  question  an  open  one.  -In  "Science",  vol.  XXXV.  (1912)  pp. 
46-55.  Professor  Dixon  is  on  the  whole  the  most  cautious  writer  on  this  subject,  and  is 
open  to  conviction. 


LX  REHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Application'  of  the  Form-Criterion 

based  on  the  theory  of  the  psychological  unity  of  the  human  mind,  are 
set  over  against  tliose  who  believe  in  the  "complexity"  of  cultures,  and  tiie 
possibihly  that  by  analysis  and  comparison  their  historic  relationships 
may  be  determined,  and  who  would  explain  similarities  in  culture  between 
widely  separated  peoples  on  this  basis  or  on  that  of  convergent  evolution." 
Dixon  therefore  clearly  recognises  "definite  stages  of  culture",  with  or 
without  "historical  relationships".' 

R.  H.  Lowie,  in  an  article  "On  the  Principle  of  Convergence  in 
Ethnology",*  draws  a  valuable  distinction  between  the  morpholog\'  and 
the  teleology  of  a  culture.  To  prove  identity  of  culture  there  must  be  not 
only  identity  of  form  but  identity  of  purpose  in  the  details  of  the  culture. 
He  argues  that  many  of  the  identities  are  mere  "analogies"  and  have  differ- 
ent meanings  under  different  conditions  of  origination.  But  he  seems  to 
overlook  the  principle  that  many  of  these  analogies  may  become  identities 
by  serving  exactly  the  same  purpose,  as  for  instance  the  different  kinds  of 
throwing-sticks,  loin-cinctures,  platform-graves,  etc.  and  that  where  the 
form-criterion  is  weak,  the  teleological  criterion  is  by  comparison  strong, 
so  strong  in  fact  as  to  produce  a  "unity"  of  culture.  Lovvie's  ideas,  though 
suggestive,  are  too  rigid  and  one-sided  to  be  likely  to  triumph.  His  analysis 
has  revealed  a  strong  parallelism  and  has  failed  to  disprove  an  historical 
connexion." 

As  against  the  hesitating  attitude  of  American  writers,  the  bold  stand 
taken  by  Prof.  Nordenskjold, — one  of  the  greatest  Americanists  of  the 
day, — comes  as  a  welcome  surprise.  He  says:  "Without  accepting  the 
classification  of  Mr.  Graebner,  I  believe  that  it  is  impossible  to  deny  that 
we  have,  especially  in  South  America,  different  elements  of  civilisation, 
which  without  any  doubt  have  come  from  Asia  and  Melanesia.  We  have, 
for  instance,  the  'Sling-Bow'  whose  singular  Asiatic-American  distribu- 
tion is  well  known.  Is  it  possible  that  such  a  complicated  instrumnnt  could 
have  been  invented  independently  in  .\sia  and  .\merica?  I  hardly  think 
so.  We  have  also  the  Blow-pipe,  the  big  Alarm-drum,  the  Pan-fiule  (or 
Mouth-organ),  the  star-headed  Bludgeon  or  'Morning-star'  Club,  the 
'Ikattic'  Tattooing-process,  the  Rope-  or  Suspension-Bridge,  etc. — all  of 
which  we  may  find  in  Asia,  Melanesia,  and  America."  * 

n  is  interesting  to  note  in  this  connexion  that  Prof.  W.  H.  Holmes,  of 
the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  has  recently  given  utterance  to  a  similar  pos- 
sibility:— 

'Criticism  in  Anthropos,  VII.  (1912),  pp.  505-506.  *  In  the  Journal  of  American  Folk- 
lore, Vol.  XXV  (1912)  pp.  24-42.  'Criticism  in  Anthropos  VII.  (1912).  pp.  1061-1062. 
"  Erland  Nordcnskjiild,  Une  Contribution  a  la  Connaissancc  dc  I'AnthropoReographie  de 
I'Amrrique,  in  Journalc  de  la  Socictc  des  Amcricanistes  de  Paris,  (Paris,  1912),  Tome  IX, 
pp.  24f.  See  also  Anthrop.  VI.  (1911),  pp.  1018(f.  for  opinions  of  Franz  Boas  and  W.  H, 
Rivers  on  the  same  subject. 


INTRODUCTION  LXI 

Application  op  the  Form-Criterion 

Prof.  Holmes  takes  the  following  suppositional  case: — "The  student 
examining  certain  collections  of  primitive  antiquities  discovers  that  a 
particular  form  of  chipped  flint  knife-blade  occurs  in  America  and  also  in 
the  Old  World,  and  explains  the  occurrence  by  the  oft-observed  fact  that 
with  a  given  state  of  culture,  given  needs,  and  given  materials,  men  of  all 
races  reach  kindred  results.  When,  however,  he  observes  that  the  blade 
of  the  knife  in  each  case  is  hooked  at  the  end,  keen  and  highly  specialised, 
he  wonders  how  such  correspondence  could  occur.  Pressing  his  inves- 
tigation further,  he  discovers  on  the  two  continents  other  knife-blades  of 
chipped  flint  with  curved  and  keen  point  and  identical  specialisation  to 
facilitate  hafting,  and  a  further  identical  elaboration  for  purposes  of 
embellishment,  and  he  begins  to  inquire  whether  the  people  concerned  in 
the  making  of  these  two  groups  of  artifacts  are  not  related  or  have  not  in 
some  way  come  in  close  contact.  His  interest  is  intensified  when  he 
observes  that  the  groups  of  closely  identical  blades  occur  in  two  trans- 
oceanic areas  at  points  of  nearest  approach,  and  also  not  in  any  case  in 
more  remote  localities  on  the  respective  continents,  and  he  is  astonished 
to  discover  further  that  the  two  areas  involved  are  connected  by  oceanic 
currents  and  trade  winds  by  means  of  which  sea-going  craft  could  make 
the  ocean  voyage  from  continent  to  continent  with  comparative  ease. 
Later  he  finds  that  other  objects  of  handicraft  belonging  to  these  adjacent 
areas  have  similar  correspondences,  and  his  previous  impressions  are 
decidedly  strengthened.  When  going  more  deeply  into  the  investigation, 
he  learns  that  similar  phenomena  occur  elsewhere,  that  in  numerous 
localities  on  the  shores  of  the  one  continent  the  culture  traces  have  close 
similarities  to  those  of  the  adjacent  transoceanic  areas,  and  no  such 
resemblances  elsewhere,  and  he  concludes  without  hesitation,  and  con- 
cludes safely,  that  contact  of  peoples  and  transfer  of  transoceanic  cultures 
have  taken  place,  not  only  at  one  but  at  many  points".'  This  is  only  an 
ideal  case,  but  Prof.  Holmes  then  mentions  the  peculiar  forms  of  axes, 
adzes,  gouges,  bannerstones,  ceramics,  pyramid-temples,  etc.  which  he 
compares  with  Old-World  models,  and  though  he  does  not  handle  the 
question  of  stratified  culture,  he  does  not  exclude  a  possible  migration  of 
"members  of  the  White,  the  Polynesian,  and  perhaps  even  the  Black 
races", — a  strong  admission,  though  it  falls  short  of  culture-cycles  as  such.* 

These  quotations  will  be  sufficient  to  show  that  "transmission"  is  begin- 
ning to  be  talked  about,  that  it  is  attracting  the  attention  of  high  author- 
ities. 


'W.  H.  Holmes,  in  the  American  Anthropologist,  Vol.  XIV,  No.  1.  (Jan-March.  1912). 
Reprint,  p.  33-34.  «  Ibid.  p.  36.  For  Pleistocene  connexions,  see  articles  by  Dall,  Gidley, 
Clark;  for  Neolithic  connexions  those  by  Hough,  Hagar,  et  al.  in  the  same  number. 


LXII  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Application-  of  the  Form-Criterion 

This  is  brouglit  out  with  unhesitating  force  in  a  very  recent  pubHca- 
tion  of  Prof.  Gudmund  Hatt,  tiie  Danish  expert  of  Copenhagen.  In  liis 
analysis  of  the  distribution  of  various  types  of  arctic  footwear,  etc.  he 
finds  it  difTicull  to  believe  that  this  can  be  explained  without  transmission. 

"Some  ethnologists  like  to  imagine  local  and  independent  origins  for 
cultural  phenomena.  Others  have  a  natural  dislike  for  independent  origins 
and  prefer  to  search  for  cultural  centers  and  the  ways  and  roads  of  cul- 
tural transmission.  The  present  writer  belongs  to  the  latter  class.  This 
may  perhaps  to  some  extent  be  a  matter  of  personal  taste.  Cultural  phe- 
nomena of  striking  similarity  may  develop  independently  in  different 
areas.  But  when  we  find  a  certain  cultural  element  distributed  over  a  con- 
tinuous area,  we  have  a  right  and  the  obligation  to  search  for  a  center  of 
origin.  11  is  and  always  has  been  much  easier  to  borrow  an  idea  from 
one's  neighbors  than  to  originate  a  new  idea,  and  transmission  of  cultural 
elements,  uhich  in  all  ages  has  taken  place  in  a  great  manij  different  ways, 
is  and  has  been  one  of  the  greatest  promoters  of  cultural  development".' 

Applying  this  to  the  Asiatic-American  province,  he  says: — 
"My  study  of  arctic  clothing,  the  results  of  which  have  been  published 
in  my  book  Arktiske  Skinddragter,  has  strengthened  the  opinion  that  Nor- 
thern Asia  has  been  the  scene  of  a  great  development  of  clothing  types." 

1.  Clothing  developed  from  the  poncho  type. 

2.  Clothing  developed  from  the  loose  mantle  (originally  a  simple 
deerskin). 

3.  Trousers  developed  from  leggings  (with  triangular  genital  cloth). 

4.  Trousers  developed  from  breechdoth  (passing  between  the  legs). 

5.  Boots  and  shoes  developed  from  stocking  and  sandal  ("sandal- 
boots"). 

6.  Moccasins  and  boots  developed  from  moccasins  ("moccasin- 
boots"). 

The  author  then  distinguishes  two  large  cultural  iraves,  which  in  pre- 
historic times  swept  over  the  norlliern  regions.  The  first  he  calls  tlie 
"Coast"-  or  "Eskimo-culture",  which  was  without  snow-shoes,  the  sec- 
ond the  "Inland"-  or  "Tungusic-culture",  extending  from  Lapland  to 
Labrador,  and  which  brought  with  it  that  most  valuable  possession  of 
arctic  races.  The  conical  lodge  and  the  birch-bark  canoe  are  also  men- 
tioned in  this  connexion  as  well  as  the  reindeer  nomadism,  but  these  are 
evidently  far  more  ancient  than  the  writer  would  seem  to  imply,  though 
they  may  have  reached  northern  Asia  at  a  comparatively  late  epoch.  In 
any  case,  it  is  noteworthy  tiiat  one  of  our  greatest  authorities  on  pre- 
historic footwear  should  be  tracing  our  highest  arctic  culture  to  two 
independent  waves  originating  in  .\sia. 

»  Gudmund  Hatt,  Moccasins  and  their  relation  to  arctic  footwear,  Memoirs  of  the  Am. 
Anthropol.  Assoc.  Vol.  III.  No.  3  (July-Scpt.  1916)  p.  246ff. 


INTRODUCTION  LXIII 

Parallelism  with  the  Mental  Development 
Among  English  writers  the  idea  of  a  mental  parallelism  is  for  the  first 
time  prominently  defended  by  Dr.  W.  H.  Rivers,  who  in  a  lecture  delivered 
before  the  British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  calls  atten- 
tion to  "The  Ethnological  Analysis  of  Culture"  as  a  new  field  of  research.'" 
He  says  "It  was  through  the  combined  study  of  social  forms  and  of  lan- 
guage that  I  was  led  to  see  that  the  change  I  had  traced  (between  different 
systems  of  blood-relation)  was  not  a  spontaneous  evolution,  but  one  which 
had  taken  place  under  the  influence  of  a  blending  of  peoples.  The  com- 
bined morphological  and  linguistic  study  of  systems  of  relationship  has  led 
me  to  recognise  that  a  definite  course  of  social  development  had  taken 
place  in  an  aboriginal  society  under  the  influence  of  an  immigrant  people". 

.  .  .  "Further  study  made  it  clear  that  those  I  have  called  the  immigrant 
people,  though  possessing  these  features  in  common,  (totemism,  class- 
system),  had  reached  Melanesia  at  different  times  and  with  decided  differ- 
ences of  culture".^' 

"In  recent  speculation  the  idea  of  mmm  is  coming  to  be  regarded  as 
having  been  the  basis  of  religious  ideas  and  practice,  preceding  animism 
as  the  earliest  form  of  religion.  ...  If  I  am  right  in  my  analysis  of 
Oceanic  culture,  the  Melanesian  concept  of  inana  is  not  a  suitable  basis  for 
these  speculations.  It  is  certain  that  the  word  mana  belongs  to  the  culture 
of  the  immigrants  into  Melanesia,  and  not  to  that  of  the  aborigines.'^ 
.  .  .  The  evidence  certainly  does  not  support  the  view  that  the  concept  of 
mana  is  more  primitive  than  animism,  for  the  immigrants  were  already 
in  a  very  advanced  stage  of  animistic  religion,  a  cult  of  the  dead  being 
certainly  one  of  the  most  definite  of  their  religious  institutions"."  Mana 
and  animism  are  therefore  looked  upon  as  concomitant  and  later  develop- 
ments in  religious  history. 

"I  have  tried  to  indicate  that  evolutionary  speculation  can  have  no  firm 
basis  unless  there  has  been  a  previous  analysis  of  cultures  and  civilisa- 
tions now  spread  over  the  earth's  surface.  Without  such  an  analysis  it  is 
impossible  to  say  ivhether  an  institution  or  belief  possessed  by  a  people 
who  seem  simple  and  primitive  may  not  really  be  the  product  of  a  relatively 
advanced  culture  forming  but  one  element  of  a  complexity  which  at  first 
sight  seems  simple  and  homogeneous".^* 

This  is  the  first  estimate  as  far  as  I  know  (in  English)  of  the  religious 
value  of  the  Kulturkreis,  totemism  and  animism  being  regarded  as  dis- 
tinctly later  phenomena,  and  this  purely  from  the  ethnological  or  cultural 
data.'' 

'"W.  H.  Rivers,  The  Ethnological  Analysis  of  Culture,  in  "Science"  Vol.  XXXIV, 
(1911)  pp.  385-397.  ^  Ibid.  p.  389.  i=  Ibid.  p.  390.  "  jbid.  p.  390.  ' Mb.  p.  392.  i' Comp. 
Elliot  Smith,  The  Evolution  of  Man,  (Smiths.  Rep.  1912-13.  p.  553-554),  Rev.  John  M. 
Cooper,  DD.,  The  Higher  Culture  of  Early  Man  (Eccles.  Review,  Sept.  1914,)  pp.  259-283 
(an  able  article). 


LXIV  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Parallexism  with  the  Mental  Development 

Still  more  clear  is  the  voice  of  Dr.  F.  Boas,  admittedly  one  of  the  great- 
est authorities  on  North-American  folk-lore  and  comparative  mythology' : — 

"Our  considerations  make  it  probable  that  the  wide  differences  between 
the  manifestations  of  the  human  mind  in  various  stages  of  culture  may 
be  due  almost  entirely  to  the  form  of  individual  experience,  which  is 
determined  by  the  geographical  and  social  environment  of  the  mdiiidual. 
It  would  seem  that,  in  different  races,  the  organisation  of  the  mind  is  on 
the  whole  alike,  and  that  the  varieties  of  mind  in  different  races  do  not 
exceed,  perhaps  not  even  reach,  the  amount  of  normal  individual  variation 
in  each  race.  It  has  been  indicated  that,  notwithstanding  this  similarity 
in  the  form  of  individual  mental  processes,  the  expression  of  mental 
activity  of  a  community  tends  to  show  a  characteristic  historic  develop- 
ment. From  a  comparative  study  of  these  changes  among  the  races  of 
man  is  derived  our  theory  of  the  general  development  of  hwnan  culture. 
But  the  development  of  culture  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  develop- 
ment of  7nind.  Culture  is  an  expression  of  the  achievements  of  the  mind, 
and  shows  the  cumulative  effects  of  the  activities  of  many  minds.  But  it 
is  not  an  expression  of  the  organisation  of  the  minds  constituting  the 
community,  whicli  may  in  no  way  difTer  from  the  minds  of  a  community 
occupying  a  much  more  advanced  stage  of  culture"."  Boas  thus  empha- 
sises the  psychological  unity  of  the  human  race,  while  he  admits  that 
culture  is  an  index  of  its  collective  manifestation;  implying  a  collective 
progress,  a  "unified"  development. 

Speaking  of  its  expression  in  terms  of  a  dominant  mytholog)',  he 
says : — 

"Perhaps  the  objection  may  be  raised  to  my  argument,  that  ihe  similar- 
ities of  mythologies  are  not  only  due  to  borrowing,  but  also  to  the  fact  that 
under  similar  conditions  which  prevail  in  a  limited  area,  the  human  mind 
creates  similar  products.  While  there  is  a  certain  truth  in  this  argument 
so  far  as  elementary  forms  of  human  thought  are  concerned,  it  seems  quite 
incredible  that  the  same  complex  theory  should  originate  twice  in  a 
limited  territory.  The  very  complexity  of  the  tales  and  their  gradual 
dwindling  down  to  which  I  have  referred  above,  cannot  possibly  be 
explained  by  any  other  method  than  that  of  dissemination.  Wherever 
geographical  continuity  of  the  area  of  distribution  of  a  complex  ethnic 
phenomenon  is  found,  the  laws  of  probability  exclude  the  theory  that  in 
this  continuous  area  the  complex  phenomenon  has  arisen  independently 
in  various  places,  but  compels  us  to  assume  that  in  its  present  complex 
form  its  distribution  is  due  to  dissemination,  while  its  composing  elements 
may  have  arisen  here  or  there"." 


"Journal  of  American  Folk-lore,  Vol.  XIV  p.  11.    "Ibidem.  Vol.  IX.  p.  1-11. 


INTRODUCTION  LXV 

Parallelism  with  the  Mental  Development 

Coming  to  the  native  North  American  mythology  and  its  relation  to 
the  Old  World  groups,  the  same  author  makes  the  following  characteristic 
summary : — 

"These  considerations  lead  me  to  the  following  conclusions,  upon  which 
I  desire  to  lay  stress  The  analysis  of  one  definite  mythology  of  North 
America  shows  that  in  it  are  embodied  elements  from  all  over  the  con- 
tinent, the  greater  number  belonging  to  neighboring  districts,  while  many 
others  belong  to  distant  areas,  or,  in  other  words,  that  dissemination  of 
tales  has  taken  place  all  over  the  continent.  In  most  cases  we  can  dis- 
cover the  channels  through  which  the  tale  flowed,  and  we  recognise  that  in 
each  and  every  mythology  of  North  America  we  must  expect  to  find 
numerous  foreign  elements.  And  this  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  similar- 
ities of  culture  on  our  continent  are  always  more  likely  due  to  diffusion 
than  to  independent  development.  When  we  turn  to  the  Old  World,  we 
know  that  there  also  diffusion  has  taken  place  through  the  whole  area, 
from  Western  Europe  to  the  islands  of  Japan,  and  from  Indonesia  to 
Siberia,  and  to  Northern  and  Eastern  Africa.  In  the  light  of  the  similar- 
ities of  inventions  and  myths,  we  must  even  extend  this  area  along  the 
Northern  Pacific  coast  of  America  as  far  south  as  Columbia  River.  These 
are  facts  that  cannot  be  disputed".^'     (The  italics  are  ours). 

From  the  greatest  specialist  on  South-American  mythology  we  are  now 
assured  that  these  similarities  do  not  stop  here,  but  extend  far  into  the 
Cordilleran  region,  the  southern  continent  being  by  no  means  isolated. 

"It  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  certain  proposition",  says  Paul  Ehren- 
reich,  "that  the  legends  of  both  halves  of  the  New  World  are  organically 
interrelated.  A  whole  number  of  South-American  myths,  legends,  and 
fairy-tales  are  to  be  looked  upon  as  the  relics  of  a  very  ancient  layer  of 
tradition  covering  the  whole  of  the  New  World.  On  the  other  hand,  a 
younger  peregrination  and  infiltration  of  mythical  elements  and  motives, 
a  corresponding  uniformity  of  combinations,  and  even  a  complete  set  of 
well-rounded  hero-stories,  are  demonstrably  of  northern,  probably  of 
pacific  coast,  origin,  and  can  be  traced  at  least  in  part  into  the  Eastern 
Hemisphere.  Old-World  mythology, — this  may  be  affirmed  with  cer- 
tainty— ,  is  much  more  copiously  represented  in  America  than  has  been 
heretofore  supposed.  This  is  not  confined  to  the  north-western  region, 
which  forms  almost  a  mythological  province  with  certain  portions  of 
Eastern  Asia,  but  stretches  with  its  numerous  otTshoots  far  into  the  South- 
American  region"." 

•^Journal  of  American  Folk-lore,  Vol.  IX,  p.  1-11.  Ibidem,  p.  10.  These  quotations 
may  also  be  found  in  W.  I.  Thomas,  Source-Book,  (Chicago,  1912),  pp.  155,  308,  313.  '^  P. 
Ehrenreich,  Siidamerikanische  Mythologie  (1905),  p,  97-98.  Comp.  idem,  p.  100,  for  ural- 
altaic  and  East-Indian  connexions. 


LXVI  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Parallelism  with  the  Mental  Develupment 

Still  more  recently  Prof.  G.  Elliot  Smith,  of  Manchester  University, 
England,  has  expressed  his  opinion  in  such  clear  and  forcible  language 
that  we  cannot  help  feeling  there  must  be  something  back  of  the  scheme. 

In  a  current  article  in  "Science"  he  voices  his  conviction  that  "those 
whose  minds  are  still  sulTiciently  alert  to  be  no  longer  blinded  by  the  out- 
worn dogmas  of  Bastian  and  Tylor  will  be  led  to  accept  the  views  which 
I  have  sketched  as  the  only  possible  interpretation  of  the  facts" — "The 
writings  of  Graebner,  Frobenius,  Ankermann,  Foy,  Schmidt,  and 
Montadon,  were  quite  unknown  to  me  when  my  conclusions  were  first 
formulated;  their  views  and  mine  have  nothing  in  common  except  that 
both  repudiate  the  speculations  and  the  antiquated  psychology  which  for 
far  too  long  have  been  permitted  to  hide  the  truth".  Here  are  some  of  his 
"facts": — 

"We  are  now  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  earliest  literatures  of 
Eg>-pt,  Babylonia,  and  India,  to  know  that  the  association  of  the  eagle  or 
hawk  with  all  tiiese  varied  phenomena  was  not  due  to  the  reasons  Mr. 
Brinfon  gives, —  (natural  instinct).  The  mingling  of  eagle-people  with 
sun-people  and  the  association  of  the  latter  with  serpent-people  and  with 
the  worshippers  of  Osiris  (the  controller  of  water)  was  the  beginning  of 
the  cmnplex  blending  of  the  symbol  of  the  sun,  the  serpent,  the  eagle,  and 
the  water.  In  the  Babylonian  thunder-bird  further  attributes  were  added, 
and  others  again  in  India,  the  far  East,  and  America".  "The  Ainerican 
thunder-bird  and  the  winged  snake  with  deer's  antlers  certainly  came 
from  the  Old  World".  "We  can  trace  the  association  of  the  deer  with 
control  of  the  waters  from  Babylonia  along  the  whole  Asiatic  littoral, 
watching  the  symbolism  gradually  increase  in  richness  and  complexity 
as,  in  its  passage  from  west  to  east,  it  blends  with  a  variety  of  other 
elements,  until  eventually  it  emerges  in  the  Chinese  dragon,  which  it  sup- 
plies with  antlers".  "In  the  light  of  the  complex  history  and  the  scores 
of  wholly  chance  circumstances  tiiat  contributed  to  the  making  up  of  this 
Asiatic  wonder-beast,  is  it  at  all  credible  that  the  .Mgonkin  and  Iroquois 
serpent  with  wings  and  deer's  horns  is  an  independent  invention?" 

He  concludes  by  citing  Prof.  Hopkins  as  having  "proved  up  to  the 
hilt"  the  Asiatic,  and  more  especially  the  Indian,  derivation  of  many  of 
the  religious  ideas  of  the  American  Iroquois,  and  believes  that  "in  the 
light  of  our  present  knowledge  it  is  now  possible  to  refer  to  its  original 
source  the  germ  of  a  very  large  number  of  elements  in  the  pre-Columbian 
civilisation  of  America".^" 


'"  G.  Elliot  Smith,  The  Origin  of  the  Pre-Columbian  Civilisation  in  America,   (Science, 
Vol.  XV.  March,  1917),  p.  241ff. 


INTRODUCTION  LXVII 

Parallelism  with  the  Mental  Development 

As  all  these  writers  are  dealing  with  comparatively  advanced,  stone-  or 
bronze-age  peoples, — whether  in  Asia,  Melanesia,  or  America — ,  it  will 
stand  to  reason  that  if  a  convergence  of  material  and  mental  phenomena 
be  admitted  for  the  earliest  ages  of  man,  as  is  strikingly  illustrated  by  the 
earliest  phenomena  of  negrito  culture,  such  a  convergence,  if  not  a  genetic 
interdependence,  must,  in  view  of  the  above  testimonies,  be  also  admitted 
for  the  higher  peoples,  and  thus  the  idea  of  broad  units  of  culture,  extend- 
ing in  almost  unbroken  continuity  from  the  earliest  times  is,  to  say  the 
least,  powerfully  suggested, — admitted  even  by  the  supposed  advocates  of 
spontaneous  development. 

Combined  evidence  for  a  "stratified"  development. 

We  are  now  in  position  to  appreciate  this  subject  in  its  proper  per- 
spective. It  is  true  that  the  above  extracts  are  only  broad  statements,  show- 
ing the  general  homogeneity  and  interdependence  of  cultural  or  myth- 
ological phenomena  over  certain  wide  areas.  They  do  not  of  themselves 
demonstrate  the  further  claim  that  this  development  has  taken  place  in 
certain  well-defined  and  progressive  periods.  If  now  we  turn  to  the 
detailed  evidence  as  given  in  the  preceding  summary,  we  shall  find  I  think 
that  the  combined  material  is  sufficienthj  iveighty  and  sufficiently  well- 
tested  to  merit  the  serious  consideration  of  a  scientific  mind.  What  was 
there  shown  to  be  solidly  evidenced, — whether  from  the  archaeological,  eth- 
nological, or  mythological  point  of  view — ,  is  now  seen  tp  be  endorsed  in 
its  main  outlines  by  the  voice  of  authorities,  who  are  not  as  yet  identified 
with  any  definite  "scheme"  of  development,  but  who  see  in  its  general 
tendencies  a  movement  in  the  right  direction,  and  whose  more  specific 
utterances  appear  to  lend  it  a  powerful  corroboration.  If  Boas  and  Norden- 
skjold  make  out  such  a  strong  case  for  a  mythological  or  cultural  "prov- 
ince" in  their  respective  departments,  if  Ehrenreich  is  prepared  to 
stake  his  reputation  on  certain  successive  waves  of  Asiatic  and  Pan- 
American  traditions  binding  together  whole  continents  in  a  common 
inheritance  of  folk-lore,  it  is  surely  time  to  turn  to  the  period-scheme  with 
renewed  zest,  and  to  see  how  beautifully  these  conclusions  accord  with 
what  culture-specialists  by  profession  have  discovered  by  more  detailed 
examination. 

These  opinions  strongly  corroborate  the  Period-system, 

of  this  there  can  be  no  doubt,  and  its  further  confirmation  must,  as  I  have 
said,  be  sought  in  the  continual  application  of  the  schedule  to  definite  and 
detailed  instances,  from  which  its  importance  and  its  truth  may  be  the 
more  completely  tested. 


LXVIII  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

Preliminary  Conclusions 

As  to  my  own  position  in  the  matter,  I  wish  to  say  once  and  for  all, 
that  I  do  not  regard  the  above  evidence  as  sufTiciently  exhaustive  in  all 
its  parts  to  be  able  to  serve  as  the  only  foundation  upon  which  the  stately 
structure  of  a  religious  system  is  to  be  reared.  Even  if  it  be  allowed, 
as  indeed  it  must,  that  most  of  the  ethnological  data  are  substantially 
accurate,  their  higher  interpretation  in  terms  of  a  corresponding  myth- 
ologj-  is  not  always  beyond  criticism,  and  we  cannot  always  be  sure  that 
a  given  instrument,  such  as  the  'bull-roarer',  has  always  served  the  same 
magical  purpose  and  no  other,  (Compare  the  modern  'whirly-gig'  or 
'buzzing'-(oy).  Then  again  it  is  risky  in  the  present  slate  of  our  knowledge 
to  speak  of  all  culture  as  having  been  derived  from  Asia,  even  if  we  include 
Eurasia  and  Australasia.  Though  the  evidence  points  strongly  in  this 
direction,  the  time  has  not  yet  come  to  speak  with  certainty  of  'Auslro- 
Asiatic  waves  of  inlluonce'  as  excluding  all  native  or  autochthonous  devel- 
opments. The  Arctic  (and  Antarctic)  problem  is  one  that  is  still  to  be 
worked  out  in  many  of  its  details,  and  may  yet  modify  a  universal  theory 
of  transmission.  These  and  other  uncertainties  have  made  me  hesitate  to 
give  full  sanction  to  a  theory  which  is  still  dividing  the  attention  of  the 
learned  world,  but  whicii  will  require  many  years  of  patient  labor  and 
investigation  to  be  verified  in  all  its  details,  that  is,  as  a  rigid  transmission- 
system. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  would  be  foolish  not  to  recognise  the  important 
services  that  the  system  may  render  to  the  religious  student  in  all  those 
matters  which  seem  to  be  well-established.    These  are: — 

(1)  The  extreme  simplicity  of  the  primaeval  area  (a)  in  the  nomadic 
manner  of  life,  (b)  in  the  rudimentary  arts  and  industries,  (c)  in  the 
primitive  social  state  (d)  in  the  general  absence  of  totemism  and  of 
"nature-atnnily"  theories  (e)  in  the  personal  and  anthropomorphic  myth- 
ology which  makes  man  (and  God?)  the  first  and  most  direct  object  of 
apprehension,  (see  above  pp.  V-XV.  p.  XLIII). 

(2)  The  intrusion  of  a  later  and  far  more  complicated  culture  in  which 
all  these  elements  have  become  dominated  by  a  totemic,  cosmic,  or  astral 
mythology, — though  the  fundamental  features  of  (1)  are  still  to  be  traced. 

(3)  The  existence  of  a  slill  later  and  strongly  animistic  belt,  in  which 
the  primitive  elements  re-appear  as  deities,  but  without  the  totemic 
relation. 

As  a  broad  system,  therefore,  the  above  schedule  may  be  safely  fol- 
lowed, (even  down  to  the  transitional  stages),  but  its  complete  endorse- 
ment can  only  be  attained  by  a  detailed  examination  of  each  individual 
area."' 

2' Further  opinions  on  this  subject  in  "Mitteilungen  der  .\nthropologischen  Gesellschaft  in 
Wien"  Vol.  42  (1912)  pp.  (102-125)  Discussion  by  leading  experts. 


INTRODUCTION  LXIX 

APPLICATION 

From  these  conclusions  it  is  evident  that  the  culture-notion  admits  of 
valuable  applications.  Where  in  former  times  people  saw  nothing  but 
the  casual  and  the  haphazard,  there  now  reigns  the  dominion  of  law,  an 
orderly  succession  of  different  social  and  mental  complexities  which  cor- 
respond to  different  "ages"  or  "stages"  of  belief.  To  take  but  one  illus- 
tration,— the  Australian  Continent.  Until  recently  there  has  been  no  dis- 
tinction made  between  North,  South,  East,  or  West,  except  on  the  a  priori 
grounds  that  this  or  that  social  system  must  have  been  the  more  primitive 
one.  The  whole  continent  was  looked  upon  as  a  homogeneous  unit,  with- 
out any  differentiations  either  as  to  physique,  language,  weapons,  imple- 
ments, industries,  and  other  details.  With  the  help  of  a  more  powerful 
method,  it  is  now  possible  to  separate  at  least  five  different  layers  or  epochs 
of  culture  with  nearly  the  same  precision  as  that  with  which  the  geologist 
discovers  layers  or  stratifications  in  the  earth's  crust.   Thus,  for  instance : — 

(1)  There  is  a  Tasmanian  under-current,  which  is  'archaic'  or  nearly 
so.  This  forms  the  basis  of  a  large  portion  of  the  South-Eastern  maritime 
belt. 

(2)  There  is  a  'Boomerang' -layer,  which  has  been  pushed  into  the 
far  South-East  and  in  which  magic  and  a  lunar  mythology  become  promi- 
nent. 

(3)  There  is  the  Totem-culture,  which,  advancing  from  the  North- 
west, has  taken  possession  of  the  center,  and  given  a  solar  turn  to  the 
preceding. 

(4)  The  Two-Class  or  'Phratraic'  culture  has  invaded  the  continent 
from  the  North-East,  advanced  to  the  center,  and  driven  the  former  into 
the  background; 

(5)  and  finally  there  is  a  Neolithic  wave,  which,  originating  (vaguely) 
in  Eurasia  has  travelled  via  India  and  Indonesia  into  Oceania,  but  has 
affected  the  continent  chiefly  on  the  Northern  and  Eastern  border,  though 
its  influence  can  be  felt  in  other  sections  (Mana,  strong  Animism). 

Now  the  value  of  these  generalisations  is  apparent.  With  their  help 
it  is  possible  to  dissect  any  given  mythology  into  its  component  parts,  and 
to  determine  the  earlier  and  the  later  elements  of  the  mythology  with  some 
degree  of  accuracy.  It  is  true,  of  course,  that  these  elements  are  sometimes 
confused  and  difficult  to  disentangle,  but  when  we  have  ninety-nine  per- 
cent of  totemism  in  one  area  to  only  one  percent  in  the  other,  it  will  stand 
to  reason  that  the  elements  that  make  up  the  totemistic  complex, — such  as 
sun,  moon,  stars,  plants,  animals,  in  their  vital  relation  to  man, — must  be 
first  removed  in  order  to  reveal  the  pre-totemic  mythology  in  all  its  purity. 
In  this  way  many  of  the  Australian  areas  can  be  successfully  "expurgated." 


LXX  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

In  the  following  study  it  is  therefore  taken  for  granted  that  the  culture- 
scheme  above  indicated  is  now  appreciated  at  its  proper  value.  This  does 
not  mean  that  the  question  of  cultural  origins  or  mythological  propaga- 
tion is  thereby  settled.  Quite  the  contrary.  It  simply  adirms  that  there 
is  good  evidence  to  show  that  the  items  enumerated  under  each  section  are 
sufficiently  well-tested  to  serve,  broadly  speaking,  as  the  basis  for  a  classi- 
fication, in  which  the  elements  of  time,  race,  industry,  and  higher  beliefs 
form  as  it  were  a  "unity",  whether  by  convergence  or  by  actual  physical 
transmission.  That  this  is  really  the  case  can  of  course  only  be  brought 
to  a  positive  proof  by  a  far  wider  analysis  than  the  one  we  have  just 
attempted.  It  is  only  through  repeated  applications  and  verifications  in 
individual  cases  that  a  proposed  "system"  passes  over  into  a  demonstrated 
fact.  This  was  the  method  by  which  astronomers  discovered  the  "Ring" 
of  256 (?)  asteroids,  where  before  they  suspected  nothing  but  an  acci- 
dental display  of  meteoric  phenomena.  It  is  time  alone  that  can  bring 
forth  complete  certainties,  whether  in  the  field  of  cosmologj-  or  of 
sociology. 

The  treatment  is  as  follows: — The  material  is  arranged  according  to 
theological  headings, — God,  Creation,  Paradise,  etc. — and  is  handled  under 
a  double  aspect, —  {[) Direct  Analysis: — Here  are  given  the  statistics  for 
each  area,  with  the  chief  points  of  criticism  and  their  suggested  solutions, 
(very  briefiy).  Then  (2)  Combined  or  Comparative  Analysis: — (a)  of 
Antiquity,  (of  the  areas  examined),  (b)  of  Sources,  (native  or  imported), 
(c)  of  Interpretation,  (by  combination  of  sources), — followed  by  criticism 
and  counter-criticism  of  recent  authors,  and  conclusion.  It  has  been  found 
more  serviceable  to  separate  the  direct  from  the  comparative  analysis  for 
the  simple  reason  that  it  is  quite  impossible  to  estimate  this  problem  in  its 
true  proportions  without  a  clear  understanding  (1)  of  Iho  precise  "state  of 
the  question"  for  each  area,  (2)  of  the  identities,  similarities,  and  inter- 
dependencies  of  religious  ideas,  which  can  only  be  discovered  by  a  detailed 
comparison  and  collation  of  all  the  sources  and  their  location  in  a  definite 
"system"  of  primitive  belief.  In  this  manner  it  is  hoped  that  the  treatment 
will  gain  in  clearness  and  focus  the  attention  of  the  student  upon  the  main 
point  at  issue; — the  accumulation  of  evidence  for  the  social  and  religious 
solidarity  of  man  during  tiie  earliest  epoch  of  his  evolution  that  is  at 
present  known  to  us.  The  other  alternative, — that  of  bringing  the  entire 
religious  system  before  the  reader  in  a  single  glance,  offers  too  much 
material  to  be  easily  digested.  The  individual  picture  will  be  given  first, 
tlie  universal  picture  will  be  reserved  for  our  concluding  chapter. 


INTRODUCTION  LXXI 

SUMMARY 

The  main  results  of  this  introductory  survey  are  therefore  as  follows- 

(1)  Primitive  man  belongs  to  the  torrid  zone,  and  more  especially  to 
the^Oceanic  regions  of  the  Old  World.    Isolated  survivals  may  exist  else- 

(2)  The  combined  evidence  of  the  biological,  ethnological,^  and 
sociological  data  establishes  a  strong  presumption,  that  the  proto- 
rnelanoid^oi  the  far  East  are  in  many  respects  the  nearest  approach  to 
the  primitive  type. 

i^i  ,Pi^  ™^^"'  "'^*  *^'^  ^^^^  primitive  was  probably  a  composite - 
an  i(ka  fornix,  from  which  the  three  main  divisions  of  humanity  have 
issued,  leaving  the  existing  sub-forms  {negrito,  vedda.,  proto-malay)  as 
its  germinal  vestiges.  ^ 

(4)  We  are  therefore  justified  in  looking  to  the  latter  as  the  earliest 
existing  representatives  of  the  race;-as  the  "protomorphic"  group. 
_  (5)  On  no  account  can  the  primitive  type  be  derived  from  any  exist- 
ing anthropoids,  as  the  morphological  traits  of  these  peoples  show  a  strik- 
ing divergence  from  any  of  the  simian  types,  as  well  as  an  equally  strong 
convergence  into  an  unknown  type,  which  cannot  now  be  reconstructed 
browZnn  '^''^'  however,  points  to  a  relatively  symmetrical,  high- 

(6)  The  mentality  of  primitives  is  far  higher  than  w*s  formerly  sus- 
pected.  There  is  no  essential  difference  between  man  recent,  glacial  or 
pre-glacial,  nor  is  there  a  shred  of  evidence  for  the  "hojno  alalus''  or 
speechless  man.  In  every  case  we  have  a  "homo  sapiens"  endowed  with 
different  degrees  of  mental  facility,  depending  upon  the  complexity  of  his 
needs  and  environment.  In  this  respect  the  above  races  compare  favor- 
ably with  the  higher  peoples. 

(7)  The  morality  of  primitives  has  recently  been  placed  in  a  far  more 
favorable  light.  There  is  considerable  evidence  to  prove  that  the  institu- 
tion of  monogamy  is  very  generally  recognised  by  the  lowest  races  of  man 
that  are  known  to  us.  Among  the  East-Indian  primitives  this  is  especially 
the  case.  Furthermore,  there  is  a  very  general  absence,  or  at  least  a  rarity 
of  gross  crime,  whether  as  theft,  murder,  infanticide,  cannibalism  or 
human  sacrifice.  On  the  contrary,  the  lessons  of  honesty,  charity  kindli- 
ness and  generosity  are  strongly  inculcated  from  the  tenderest  years  and 
social  and  domestic  relations  reveal  a  simple,  but  attractive  picture. 

(8)  These  statistics  are  sufpcient  to  show  that  the  supposed  incapacity 
of  primitive  man  to  be  the  recipient  or  the  bearer  of  a  relatively  high  order 
of  theological  truth  is  ipso  facto  an  untenablet  proposition.  It  is  further 
contradicted  by  the  reports  from  the  missionary  field,  which  show  that 
the  despised  primitive  is  as  receptive  of  supernatural  doctrines  and  as 
retentive  of  them,  as  any  of  his  more  favored  or  "civilised"  brethren. 


LXXII  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

SUMMARY 

(9)  In  the  analysis  of  any  given  mythology,  however,  it  is  necessary 
to  distinguish  the  original  from  the  imported  elements. 

(10)  This  can  only  be  accomplished  by  an  ethnological  and  myth- 
ological analysis  of  culture,  from  which  it  may  be  shown  that  certain 
groups  of  ideas  go  hand  in  hand  with  certain  definite  stages  of  culture, 
and  are  characteristic  of  certain  definite  periods  of  human  development. 

(H)  A  preliminary  analysis  of  three  wide  epochs  of  humanity  has 
revealed  the  fact  that  the  institution  known  as  tolemism  is  confined  to  a 
certain  group  of  races,  which  are  higher  than  any  of  the  above  primitives, 
and  lower  than  the  full  neolithic  and  civilised  races  of  antiquity. 

(12)  A  further  investigation  has  disclosed  with  some  probability  the 
existence  of  two  intermediate  layers,  in  which  magic  and  spiritism  respec- 
tively claim  an  important  element  in  the  religious  belief. 

(13)  //  therefore  magic  and  totemism,  spiritism  and  animism,  can  be 
proved  to  be  absent  from  the  earliest  belt,  it  will  stand  to  reason  that  they 
are  all  later  developments  in  religious  history,  and  by  a  similar  process  of 
exclusion  it  may  be  proved  that  they  follow  one  another  in  the  order 
indicated,  or  at  least  are  characteristic  of  their  respective  cultures. 

(14)  Such  a  proof  has  been  roughly  outlined  in  the  above  analysis, 
but  it  presents  the  results  of  professional  researcii,  rather  than  the  research 
itself.    It  is  a  broad  summary  of  what  has  already  been  discovered. 

(15)  Detailed  proof  will  be  found  in  the  following  study,  in  which 
each  of  the  above  statements  will  be  made  good  by  a  rigid  examination 
of  the  cultural  and  mythological  data  for  each  successive  or  typical  region. 

(16)  But  without  a  preliminary  schedule  it  is  quite  impossible  to 
understand  the  bearings  of  this  subject  on  the  religious  problem  as  such. 

(17)  In  its  broader  tendencies  the  system  is  receiving  the  support  of 
many  notable  experts,  and  is  attracting  the  attention  of  all  scholars. 

(18)  Independently  of  all  theories,  however,  the  facts  will  be  able  to 
speak  for  themselves,  and  should  therefore  merit  our  primary  attention. 

I  have  thought  it  useful  to  summarise  once  more  the  main  points  of 
our  present  contention,  in  order  that  the  exact  position  of  the  stcUus  quaes- 
tionis  may  the  more  easily  be  recognised.  We  will  now  proceed  to  the 
examination  of  tlie  religious  material  as  such, — beginning  with  the  lowest 
aborigines  of  Oceania,  and  concluding  with  the  highest  culture-peoples 
of  North  and  South  America. 


PREHISTORIC    RELIGION 


CHAPTER    THE    FIRST 
DE    DEO    UNO 


The  Savage  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being 
in  its  origin  and  development 


— Direct  Analysis — 


THE  OLDEST  SYMBOL  OF  THE  HUMAN  RACE 
THE  ALL-FATHER  SIGN 

AS     BECONSTBCCTED     FROM     THE     EABLrEST     EXISTING     PICTOORAPHS     AND     COMBINED 
WITH    ATTESTED    LIGHT-    AND    8PIRIT-ST3IBOL8    AND    WITH    THE    CREATION-     OR    BENE- 
DICTION-SIGNS. 


HATEKIALS,    SOIRCES    AND   PICTOGRAPHIC   INTERPRETATIONS   IN    THE    FOLLOWING 

PLATES,    AND    CO.MPABE 

TH.    DANZEL,    DIE    ANFANOE    DER    SCHRITT     (LEIPZIG,    1910)     PI.    I-XII.      J.    ASHTON,    THE 

HISTORY    OF    THE     CROSS     (LONDON,     18»e).      T.     WILSON,    THE    SWASTIKA     (WASinNGTON, 

1894).     W.   HOFFMAN,  THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  WRITING    (NEW  YORK,   1898)    P.   11«   FF. 

EVOLU  -ri  ON 

(mopfman) 


GOD  1 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(A,  1)  KARI — Peninsular  Region,  Malakka.    Semang  Negrito,  Prov.  of 

Perak 

There  is  a  deity  worshipped  by  the  aborigines  of  Malakka  who  seems 
to  possess  the  qualities  of  a  supreme  Being.  His  name  is  Kari,  (Thunder), 
and  is  described  by  the  natives  in  the  following  terms : — ' 

He  is  of  supernatural  size  and  of  fiery  breath,  but  is  now  invisible.  He 
has  always  existed,  even  before  the  creation.  He  knows  all  things,  at  least 
all  things  that  concern  man.  He  can  do  all  things.  His  will  is  irresistible. 
He  has  made  all  things,  excepting  the  earth  and  the  body  of  man.  These 
were  made  by  Pie,  a  subordinate  being  or  demiurge.  He  is  angered  by 
the  commission  of  sin,  but  shows  pity  for' man,  and  is  moved  by  the  plead- 
ings of  Pie  on  man's  behalf.  He  is  the  supreme  Judge  of  souls  and  the 
Master  of  life  and  death.  He  requires  at  times  a  sacrifice  of  blood,  with  a 
definite  ritual, — human  blood-aspersion — ,  accompanied  by  the  burning 
of  incense,  (benzoine),  and  the  formula, — "Blood!  I  throw  you  up  to 
Heaven!" 

Three  questions  suggest  themselves  with  regard  to  these  data: — 

(1)  Are  the  Semang  the  real  aborigines  of  the  land?  (2)  Can  the 
testimony  of  the  reporters  be  trusted?  Is  not  the  wording  rather  advanced 
and  somewhat  suggestive  of  foreign  influence?  (3)  May  not  the  supreme 
figure  be  a  glorified  hero,  a  mythological  ancestor? 

Let  us  consider  these  points  one  by  one. 

(1)  The  racial  antiquity  of  the  negritos  in  general  has  already  been 
vindicated  in  the  preceding  pages.  In  the  present  instance  there  are  spe- 
cial reasons  for  believing  that  the  Semang  are  among  the  earliest  inhabit- 
ants of  Malakka.  In  the  first  place,  they  inhabit  the  interior  of  the  country, 
and  are  surrounded  by  taller  and  more  powerful  races, — Malayan,  Indone- 
sian, etc. — which  shows  that  they  were  not  the  invaders  but  the  invaded, 
the  true  aborigines  of  the  land.  Then  again  the  three  peninsular  races  form 
three  gradations  of  culture,  in  which  the  Semang  occupy  the  lowest  rung 
of  the  ladder.  None  of  these  peoples  make  celts,  but  are  living  in  an  age 
of  wood,  bone,  and  bamboo.^  All  their  industries  and  habits  of  life  are  on 
the  same  primitive  level  of  crudeness,  and  their  language  cannot  be  iden- 
tified with  any  known  dialect,  but  is  rather  a  decrepid  survival  of  the 
aboriginal  Ocean-tongue,  spoken  long  before  the  Malayans  and  other  races 
had  invaded  the  archipelago.^  All  this  shows  that  we  are  dealing  with  an 
aboriginal  people. 


'  Points  taken  from  W.  W.  Skeat,  Pagan  Races  of  the  Malay  Peninsula,  (London,  1906), 
Vol.  II.  pp.  177-178,  199-205,  founded  partly  on  H.  Vaughan-Stevens,  Materialien  ztir 
Kenntniss  der  wilden  Stamme  auf  der  Halbinsel  Malakka.  (Berlin,  1894),  Vol.  III.  pp.  107-109, 
117,  132ff.  Cf.  R.  Martin,  Die  Inlandstamme  der  Malaischen  Halbinsel,  (Jena.  1905)  pp. 
932-987.  W.  Schmidt,  Pygmienvolker  (Stuttgart,  1910),  p.  219ff.  =  Skeat,  1.  c,  I,  53-54, 
242-254,  494-496.    ^  Skeat,  II.  p.  379ff. 


2  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(2)  With  regard  to  the  sources,  the  testimony  of  Vaughan-Stevens  is 
now  generally  accepted.  The  fact  that  most  of  his  details  have  been  veri- 
fied,—blood-charms,  burial-bamboos,  wind-spirits,  and  much  mythological 
matter, — "establishes",  in  the  words  of  Skeat,  "a  presumption  in  favor  c? 
his  general  accuracy".*  This  is  further  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  in 
the  neighboring  Andaman  Islands  a  very  similar  deity  has  been  inde- 
pendently verified  by  Man  and  Portman,  and  the  picture  of  a  "Thunder- 
God"  "of  fiery  breath,  surrounded  by  Wind-  or  Sky-spirits  is  rather  too 
specific,  with  all  its  details,  to  have  been  arbitrarily  invented.  It  is  a 
forcible  reminder  of  the  Thunder-Gods  of  Soulh-East  Australia  and  other 
primitive  regions,  where  we  have  abundant  evidence  for  its  authenticity. 
It  may  therefore  be  presumed  in  default  of  evidence  to  the  contrary,  that  the 
sources  are  trustworthy. 

As  to  the  native  origin  of  the  belief,  we  must  remember  that  a  striking 
similarity  of  belief  among  widely-separated  aborigines  points  to  a  com- 
mon internal,  indigenous  source.  But  apart  from  this,  an  imported  religion 
can  hardly  be  admitted  in  the  present  instance  for  the  following  reasons : — 

First: — There  are  no  traces  of  Hindoo  or  Western-Asiatic  influences. 
Brahminism,  with  its  strong  metempsychosis-doctrine,  finds  little  support 
among  these  simple  people,  much  less  the  pantheism  that  accompanies  it. 
The  supreme  Being  is  simply  the  Sky-Lord,  who  hurls  His  shafts  in  the 
thunder-storm,  and  to  whom  the  soul  returns  at  the  hour  of  death."  His 
Wind-spirits  are  the  executioners  of  His  will,  not  the  high  and  mighty 
divinities  of  Western  Asia,  ever  contending  for  supremacy,  challenging 
His  authority. 

Second: — There  are  no  traces  of  Christian  or  Islamic  influences. 
Needless  to  say,  the  absence  of  Christological  notions  excludes  the  former, 
while  the  worship  of  Allah,  with  its  distinctive  rites  and  ceremonies,  has 
little  in  common  with  the  simple  invocation  of  Kari  for  protection  from 
lightning.  Could  the  Moslems  have  introduced  this  faith  without  intro- 
ducing some  at  least  of  the  Moslem  practices,  more  especially  the  general 
custom  of  circumcision?  There  is  nothing  exactly  analogous  to  the 
human  Blood-throwing  of  the  Negritos  among  any  of  the  civilised  races 
of  the  Peninsula.* 

Fitially: — The  name  Kari  cannot  be  derived  from  any  known  Malayan 
or  Austroasiatic  tongue,  which  shows  that  the  name  at  least  could  not 
have  been  borrowed.  The  secrecy  of  the  cult  is  also  heavily  against  impor- 
tation.'' 

If  then  Kari  is  both  pre-Islamic  and  pre-Brahministic  in  concept,  and 
pre-Austro-asiatic  in  name,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  He  is  a  native 
divinity. 


'  Skcat,  II.  211.    » Ibid.  II.  209.    •  Ibid.  II.  204.    '  Schmidt,  1.  c.  228-229. 


GOD  3 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

^■J\  With  regard  to  interpretation,  the  theory  of  a  "glorified  hero"  is 
fhtTicult  to  maintain,  for  there  is  positively  no  ancestor-worship  or  cult  of 
the  dead.  Moreover  the  qualities  assigned  to  Him  can  hardly  be  applied 
to  spirits  or  saints.  "He  knows  all  things.  He  has  made  all  things,  He  can 
do  all  things.  It  is  true  that  we  have  a  possible  ancestor,  but  more  likelv 
a  Mediator,  in  Pie.  He  helps  to  create,  and  is  appeased  by  sacrifice '  There 
are  also  numerous  Wind-,  or  SkY.spirHs,-Se7itiu,  Chini,  Tappern,  Min- 
ang,  etc.  These,  however,  play  a  very  subordinate  role,  they  are  all  the 
servants  of  Kari,  and  to  none,  as  far  as  we  know,  is  a  regular  sacrifice 
olered.  But  as  to  magic  and  animism,  spirit  and  ancestor-worship  the 
following  points  should  be  considered  in  greater  detail  :— 

The  magical  combs  and  mystical  bamboos  serve  as  protections  against 
disease.    As  such  they  might  be  interpreted  as  charms  or  amulets     But 
the  important  point  is,  that  although  they  serve  the  purpose  of  apparent 
safeguards,"  they  are  brought  into  close  relation  with  Kan  and  Pie  from 
whom  in  fact  they  derive  all  their  efficacy.    It  is.  through  the  divinity  that 
n  J^l^o^'"  ''  ^o^'^^^-'"    This  is  more  especially  the  case  with  the  so- 
called    Blood-Charm"  in  which  human  blood  is  drawn  from  the  shin-bone 
mixed  with  a  little  water,  and  thrown  in  a  bamboo-cylinder  up  to  Heaven  — 
with  the  exclamation:— "5/oorf./  /  throw  you  up  to  Heaven!  I  draw  blood, 
I  draw  curdled  blood!  Blood!  I  throw  you  up  to  the  sun!",  or  words  1o 
that  effect,  the  invocation  being  repeated  each  time  that  the  liquid  is 
thrown  up,  until  all  is  finished."    The  purpose  of  this  strange  rite  is  to 
avert  the  thunderbolts  of  the  Almighty,  not  merely  to  placate  the  "angry 
skies,    as  some  have  suggested.    This  is  proved  by  the  fact,  that  Kari  the 
Thunder-God,  has  Himself  instituted  the  rite,  that  He  is  its  direct  object 
The  practice  of  throwing  blood  up  to  the  skies",  says  Skeat,  "is  a  Semang 
sacrifice  addressed  to  Kari",''  and  the  moral  and  personal  nature  of  this 
sacrifice  is  also  attested  by  Vaughan-Stevens :    "Kari  Himself  makes  no 
use  of  the  blood  thus  sacrificed,  but  is  pacified  by  this  sign  of  His  children's 
repentance  and  ceases  to  hurl  His  thunderbolts,  and  continue  His  com- 
plaints of  their  misdeeds  to  their  creator-demiurge.  Pie,  at  least  until  they 
again  give  Him  occasion  to  do  so"."    Thus  the  supposed  "thunder-charm" 
IS  in  reality  an  atonement-sacrifice  to  the  supreme  divinity,  a  beautiful 
ceremony,  and  suggestive  of  some  symbolic  meaning.    It  shows  that 
Heaven  can  only  be  regained  by  the  shedding  of  blood,  by  a  human  "life"- 
sacrifice,  though  the  ceremony  is  of  course  only  mystical,  strictly  symbolic. 
This  and  the  analogous  practices  connected  with  the  "magic  flower"  are  in 
fact  among  the  earliest  forms  of  the  Sadaka  at  present  known  to  us,— the 
offering  of  the  most  precious  substances,  solid  or  liquid,  to  the  Creator. 


describe'dhv°^«;w  V-4^ff  ifii-    'J^'^-J^--  ^^'  212-  214,  217.    lo  See  the  Bamboo-patterns 
MKaS   '"  stf^^Ks""'"  ifr  m  "^ThM"°^^  '''  ^'^"'-  '^P'  M^h-ban.boo.  No. 


4  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

In  like  manner  the  Birth-  and  Burial-bamboos  are  better  described  as 
"sacramentals"  than  as  wonder-working  charms.  The  former  sanctifies 
the  marriage-bond  very  much  as  a  wedding-ring  does  among  ourselves," 
while  the  latter  conducts  the  dying  soul  directly  to  the  judgment-seat  of 
Kari?"  This  judgment-seat  is  vividly  depicted  in  the  famous  Myth- 
Bamboo,  No.  1.  which,  however  crude  in  execution,  brings  out  the 
supreme  position  of  the  Thunder-God  in  a  manner  that  is  quite  unmis- 
takable.'»  It  shows  that  all  these  bamboos  have  an  inner  moral  relation 
to  a  personal  deity. 

If  then  the  objection  be  raised  that  the  alleged  "divinity"  is  shrouded 
in  magic,  that  there  little  personal  worship  connected  with  this  belief,  the 
answer  is  that  the  conclusion  is  altogether  too  premature,  that  it  is  not 
founded  on  a  careful  analysis  of  facts.  If  but  few  formal  prayers  have  so 
far  been  authenticated,  it  is  owing  to  our  meagre  knowledge  as  yet  of  the 
interior  lives  of  these  people,  to  their  extreme  reticence  with  regard  to 
things  sacred,  and  to  the  fact  that  they  express  their  feelings  and  yearnings 
for  the  divine  in  actions  rather  than  words,  though  informal  cries  for  help 
and  protection  are  attested  in  this  or  that  instance.  The  above  practices 
show  clearly  that  Kari  is  worshipped,  both  by  word  and  action,  and  this 
proves  that  He  is  a  Person,  not  a  mere  force  or  nature-power. 

But  if  magic  is  practically  nil,  spirit-  and  ancestor-worship  is  still  less 
in  evidence.  The  medicine-man  is  still  identified  with  the  tribal  chief,  an 
early  custom,'^  and  he  casts  out  not  "demons"  of  disease,  but  the  dis- 
ease itself,  which  shows  that  the  idea  of  demoniacal  possession  is  not 
yet  fully  present  to  the  mind  of  these  savages.''  Then  again  the 
practice  of  spirit-feeding  is  quite  unknown, — there  is  no  fear  of  any 
occult  ancestor  returning  to  life  in  the  shape  of  a  ghost,  of  requiring 
propitiation.  Authorities  are  strong  on  this  point.  "The  Semang  religion 
shows  remarkably  few  traces  demon-worship,  very  little  fear  of  ghosts, 
and  still  less  of  any  sort  of  animistic  beliefs"."  Vaughan-Stevens  declares 
in  fact  that  they  do  not  believe  in  ancestor-spirits  at  all,  an  opinion  which 
is  at  least  worth  quoting.^" 

From  these  data  it  may  be  concluded  that  Ka7i  is  a  transcendent  Per- 
sonality, that  "He  possesses  all  the  essential  attributes  of  a  Supreme 
Being".^'  There  is  here  a  minimum  of  crime,  no  human  life-sacrifice,  and 
no  cannibalism.  Conjugal  fidelity  is  strict,  and  the  natives  are  in  many 
respects  "vastly  superior  to  the  races  by  whom  they  are  likely  to  be 
absorbed".  Though  this  is  doubtless  an  exaggerated  estimate,  it  will 
probably  be  admitted  that  in  some  of  its  more  fundamental  features  the 
moral  condition  of  the  natives  is  not  overdrawn." 


•«  Skeat,  1.  c.  I.  458-459.  "  Ibid.  I.  460.  '«  Ibid.  I.  44S-454.  >■  Ibid.  II.  196.  "Ibid.  II. 
200,229.  "Ibid  II.  181.  »<>  Ibid.  II.  181.  "  Schmidt,  1.  c.  p.  225.  "  Skeat,  1.  c.  I.  524,  and 
compare  the  extracts  given  above,  p.  XXXVIII. 


GOD  5 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

If  further  evidence  be  desired  on  this  subject,  we  might  call  attention 
to  a  few  points  in  the  mythology  and  legends  of  the  Malakkan  Negritos 
which  throw  an  interesting  sidelight  on  the  nature  of  these  beliefs. 

The  statement  that  Kari  made  all  things  is  in  itself  a  vague  proposition 
unless  some  details  are  given  as  to  how  He  made  them,  to  what  extent  this 
action  was  a  personal  and  direct  process.  Now,  not  only  is  Pie  clearly  a 
subordinate  being,  but  Kari  produces  the  entire  universe  by  His  word,  as 
it  is  distinctly  stated  that  He  "commanded"  Pie  to  complete  the  work." 
This  takes  place  in  successive  periods,  during  which  Sky  and  Wind-spirits, 
Heaven,  Earth,  and  Underworld,  are  all  pictured  as  the  result  of  a  divine 
action,  symbolised  by  the  powerful  metaphor,— "His  Breath"."  Moreover 
He  has  prepared  a  Paradise  for  man,  known  as  the  "Island  of  Fruits"  or 
the  "Rising  Land"  where  He  stations  the  first  human  couple,  Ayer  and 
Tanah,  meaning  "Water"  and  "Earth",  a  suggestive  nomenclature." 
Though  Pie  produces  the  body  of  ma.n— Kan  inspires  the  soul  of  man 
directly,— "A'ari  Himself  gave  them  souls".^''  These  grow  on  the  Paradise- 
Tree,  and  are  sent  out  by  Him  to  the  womb  of  the  expectant  mother  in  the 
form  of  the  "Soul-Bird,"— here  the  Argus-Pheasant—,  which  bird  is  then 
reUgiously  eaten  by  the  mother  as  a  sacred  obligation."  There  are  also 
distinct  echoes  of  a  state  of  primitive  innocence  and  immortality,  during 
which  man  offered  up  the  first-fruits  of  the  earth  to  His  Creator,  which  we 
may  regard  as  the  earliest  form  of  the  Paradisaic  Sacrifice,— ihe  command 
to  abstain  from  certain  fruits,— the  Palm,  the  Banana(?)— ,  during  certain 
seasons,  and  this  under  penalty  of  death.  The  common  Malakkan  tradi- 
tion has  it  that  originally  men  were  destined  to  live  forever,— "there  was 
no  pain  or  sickness  there"—,  but  that  through  the  growing  wickedness  and 
disobedience  of  man,— evidently  connected  in  some  way  with  the  breach 
of  a  divine  command,— Afari  decreed  their  death,  and  it  was  only  through 
the  intercession  of  Pie,  the  "mediator",  that  the  entire  race  was  not 
extinguished.^^  "Let  men  die  like  the  Banaim,  and  leave  their  offspring 
behind",  runs  the  Mantra  legend,  and  stories  of  a  great  Deluge  are  also  in 
circulation.^^  Nevertheless  there  is  still  hope.  At  death  each  soul  is 
brought  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Kari,  and,  according  to  its  merits,  is 
cither  condemned  to  a  boiling  lake,  or  admitted  to  the  joys  of  Kari's  Fruit- 
Paradise.'" 

These  items  make  it  more  clear  than  ever  that  what  we  have  here  is  not 
a  loose  bundle  of  nature-myths,  but  a  pure  theology,  with  a  personal  God  in 
the  center.  It  is  the  story  of  a  heavenly  Father,  of  an  exacting  Judge,  even 
if  the  phantastic  forms  under  which  He  appears  are  equally  good  evidence 
that  we  are  here  in  presence  of  a  simple-minded  and  strongly  anthropo- 
morphic mythology. 


"Skeat,    II.    211.    "idem,    II.    207,    212.    2' Idem,     II.    207,    336.     2«  Idem,    II.    211. 
'-'  Idem,  II.  2I5ff.     zs  idem,  II.  211,  292.     "  Idem,  II.  336ff.     30  idem,  II.  209. 


6  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

As  this  is  one  of  the  earliest  and  possibly  purest  regions  of  Negrito 
culture,— being  paralleled  only  by  certain  sections  of  Central  Africa  and 
possibly  Tasmania,— it  may  not  be  amiss  to  call  attention  to  the  main 
points  of  this  controversy  in  so  far  as  they  affect  the  question  of  Negrito 
beliefs  in  general,  and  of  which  this  is  a  good  average  specimen. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  main  objection  to  the  authenticity  of  these 
beliefs  is  that  the  races  in  question  are  not  primitive,  that  their  ideas  are 
probably  borrowed,  and  that,  even  if  native,  they  fall  short  of  being  Iheistic, 
they  are  too  much  mixed  up  with  magical  and  other  obscure  practices  to 
be  of  any  theological  value.  As  to  the  first  point,— enough  evidence  has 
surely  been  given  to  show  that  of  all  the  known  peoples  these  are  the  lowest 
and  least  developed  exemplars  of  the  human  family  and  in  this  case  they 
are  unquestionably  the  aborigines  of  the  land.  As  to  a  borrowing  from 
outside  sources,  anything  like  a  recent  borrowing  from  high  cultures  is 
very  generally  ruled  out,— there  are  no  traces  of  any  such  influence,— 
though  in  some  few  cases  the  cast  and  color  of  the  mythology,  with  a 
slightly  higher  grade  of  industry,  may  demand  some  contact  with  a  more 
advanced  wave  of  civilisation,  but  this  only  in  extremely  remote  times. 
Such  influences  may  conceivably  affect  the  form  and  even  the  content  of 
the  legends,  they  may  even  obscure  and  obliterate  the  original  picture,— 
but  of  this  in  the  present  instance  there  is  hardly  a  sign.  The  Malakkan 
Negritos  are  among  the  least  contaminated,  and  their  mythology  can  be' 
left  to  stand  as  it  is.  It  shows  no  traces  of  importation  from  any  source 
other  than  that  of  the  common  Oceanic  tradition,  which  we  iiave  every 
reason  to  believe  embodies  the  most  ancient  and  unadulterated  tradition 
of  the  human  race, — speaking  of  course  relatively,  as  far  as  our  present 
sources  of  knowledge  can  carry  us.  Finally,  the  picture  presented  by  the 
supreme  Divinity  is  anthropomorphic  and  undeniably  childlike,  but  this  is 
all  in  favor  of  llis  personal  character  and  His  remote  antiquity.  Nay  more, 
the  supposed  "magical"  practices  resolve  themselves  into  the  use  of  certain 
articles,  (bamboos,  etc.),  which  are  believed  to  be  sacred,  and  to  protect 
the  wearer  from  harm,  not  by  their  own  hidden  virtue,  but  by  the  fact 
that  the  Divinity  has  ordained  them,  that  He  alone  operates  through  them. 
They  are  in  a  certain  sense  "sacramentals".  Thus  magic  in  the  absolute 
sense  can  hardly  be  said  to  exist,  and  the  absence  of  any  animistic  or 
spiritistic  beliefs,  makes  the  picture  of  a  "Supreme  Person,"  tower  head 
and  shoulders  above  all  wind-spirits  and  demiurges,  however  sacred, — a 
transcendent  Being.  With  this  the  social  and  ethical  data  are  in  striking 
accord. 


THE  AGE  OF  BAMBOOS 
AND  OF  STRAIGHT-LINE  PATTERNS 

FAC-SIMILE  OF  A  "CHARM-TUBE" 

AS  ISED  BY  THE  ABORIOINES  OF  MAI-AKK.*   AND   FOIND   IN    SIMILAR  FORM   OVER  LAROB 

SECnOMS   OF  THE   EQIATORIAL   BELT,   \»1IEKE    -f    OR    X    IS   FINDAMENTAL   FOR   M.\N    OB 

SIPER-MAN    (GOD). 


ANTU-TO-BRUWA-TO-AMTU 


X 


ABU  —  TA-T>ENG 


PLF-TO-KARI  -TO-SNA 


SUAH-TA-TAE U  TA-BUAV) 


CHAWA-TD  AHTU-  CH  ARAWA 


ADI<--nJABANg-TO-AD>»i; 


L 


AvSA  -  ASAPA  ~  ASAVl 

illll![nl!iilijfc^ 

TAMAH  -BANGUN 


SITPOSED  INTERPRETATION 
"THE  FATHER  ON  HIGH— WITH  HIH  SKY-  AND  WTND-SPIRIT8— JIDGES  MANKIND  WITH 
THINDEB  AND  LIGHTNINCi— IN  THE  GARDEN  OF  FRMTS — 111.1. ED  WITH  WILD  .\NIMAI.S — 
PROTECTED  BY  Gl  .\RI)IAN  SPIRITS— ANI>  RISING  IN  SPLENDOR  Ol  T  OF  THE  EASTERN 
SEA."  SEE  MYTH-BAMBOO  NO.  1.  SKE.\T-BLAODEN,  PA<iAN  RACER  OF  THE  MAL.VY 
PBMIMBLXA,  (LONDON,  1906),  VOL.  1.  P.  448-484,  AND  CO.MPARE  THE  DEIGNS  AND  PATTERNS 
ON  THE  FOLLOWING  PLATES  AND  THE  CONTEXT  OF  THE  MYTHOLOOY. 


GOD  7 

OCEANIC  PRIMITVE  FORM 

(A,  2)  PENG— The  Senoi-Sakai  Tribes  of  Malakka.    Prov.  op  Perak  and 

Selangor. 

Adjoining  these  wild  jungle-folk,  and  in  some  cases  amalgamating 
with  them,  we  find  an  equally  crude  people,  the  Sakai  or  Senoi,  among 
whom  the  deity  Peng,  (Father,  Master),  occupies  a  very  similar  position, 
to  wit — 

He  is  of  supernatural  size  and  invisible.  He  is  immortal.  He  seems 
to  be  omniscient,  as  He  invariably  knows  when  men  do  wrong.  Though 
not  definitely  mentioned  as  Creator,  He  presides  over  the  existing  universe, 
having  the  power  of  life  and  death  over  the  human  race  and  the  spiritual 
world  alike.  He  appears  as  the  champion  of  man  against  both  demons  and 
wild  beasts.  He  is  angered  by  the  commission  of  certain  acts,  but  may  also 
show  mercy.  He  is  the  supreme  and  final  Judge  of  souls,  which  are 
cleansed  and  prepared  for  Him  by  a  mother-mediator, — Lanxjut — ,  who 
washes  their  souls  in  a  purifying  water.  His  punishments  are  inflicted  by 
means  of  His  agents,  the  demons,  but  man  is  described  as  appealing  to 
Him  for  help  in  difficulties.  He  requires  a  sacrifice  of  blood,  fruits,  and 
incense,  which,  though  apparently  directed  to  "spirits",  are  indirectly 
offered  to  Him  as  a  prophylactic  sacrifice, — "Accept  this  boicl  of  blood  we 
offer!"  * 

With  regard  to  the  ethnic  position  of  the  Sakai  and  the  authenticity  of 
this  belief,  the  following  points  should  be  noted : — 

(1)  These  people  share  with  the  negritos  the  honor  of  belonging  to 
the  earliest  groups  of  mankind  that  we  know  of.  Though  of  taller  stature, 
they  are  characterised  by  a  social  and  industrial  culture  almost  equally 
low.  With  them  they  form  the  background  of  the  pre-Malayan  popula- 
tion of  the  peninsula,  and  as  such  are  entitled  to  be  called  the  joint- 
aborigines  of  Central  Malakka.  But  though  Semang  and  Sakai  are 
intimately  inter-related,  this  relation  is  more  striking  on  the  cultural  than 
on  the  physical  side.  For  although  their  wild  life  and  crude  industry  is 
almost  equally  undeveloped,  there  are  reasons  for  believing  that  the  long 
wavy  hair  of  the  Sakai-Toala-Vedda  group  is  nearer  to  the  supposed  foetus- 
type  of  the  real  primitive  than  the  short  beady  curls  of  the  negrito,  even 
though  their  stature  be  slightly  higher.  This  makes  the  study  of  the  above 
races  a  most  interesting  one.  In  looking  into  the  face  of  a  Senoi,  we  feel 
irresistibly  that  the  traditional  picture  of  the  father  of  humanity  has  been 
brought  perceptibly  nearer,  that  we  are  in  presence  of  something  noble, 
something  comparatively  dignified. 


1  Points  taken  from  Skeat,  Pagan  Races,  Vol.  II.  pp.  179,  234ff.  Comp.  Vaughan-Stevens, 
op.  cit.  II.  131ff.  Martin,  op.  cit.  p.  984-985.  Dr.  Paul  Sarasin,  "Uber  religiose  Vorstellungen 
bei  den  niedrigsten  Menschenformen",  II.  International  Congress  of  Religions  (Basle,  1904) 
pp.  124-140,  emphasising  high  morality  but  "obscure"(  ?)  religious  beliefs,  (cult  of  the  dead). 


8  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FX)RM 

(2)  According  to  Skeat  "an  analysis  of  the  character  of  the  Sakai 
'God',  (Tuhan,  Pinnan,  Peng),  shows  that  he  occupies  very  much  the 
same  place  in  the  Sakai  cosmogony  as  is  occupied  by  Kari  and  Pie  in  that 
of  the  Semang",  and  "that  the  real  difficulty  in  treating  Semang  and  Sakai 
religion  will  be  to  discover  their  points  of  difference".^  If  this  is  correct, — 
and  the  main  traits  of  the  mythology  seem  to  bear  it  out — ,  the  above 
remarks  on  the  native  origin  of  the  Semang  beliefs  apply  with  equal  force 
to  the  Sakai,  they  embody  in  substance  the  pre-Malayic  and  pre-Brahmin- 
istic  belief,  and  the  student  is  therefore  referred  to  chief  points -above 
enumerated,  with  a  discussion  of  the  sources.  Like  Kari,  Peng  is  a 
supreme  Sky-Lord,  he  is  surrounded  by  a  multitude  of  sky,  wind,  or  earth- 
spirits,  he  is  certainly  the  ruler  if  not  the  creator  of  man,  and  good  and 
bad  alike  return  to  him  as  their  judge,  the  office  of  Lanyut  being  paralleled 
to  some  extent  by  that  of  Pie,  the  supposed  mediator.  This  together  with 
the  existence  of  very  similar  if  not  identical  practices,  the  use  of  "bam- 
boos" with  cryptic  allegorical  inscriptions,  the  consecration  of  birth,  life, 
and  death,  by  equally  distinctive  ceremonies,  the  general  absence  of  totem- 
ism,  and  still  more  of  any  strongly  Islamic  or  Hindoo  rites,  among  which 
circumcision,  polygamy,  organised  asceticism,  elaborate  pilgrimages  and 
the  like,  form  an  important  if  not  an  essential  constituent, — all  this  shows 
that  the  religion  of  the  aborigines  could  hardly  have  been  borrowed  from 
the  latter  in  globo,  even  if  some  few  features  might  have  filtered  through 
in  this  or  that  particular  instance. 

We  are  therefore  justified  in  treating  the  main  body  of  this  tradition 
as  substantially  indigenous,  a  consideration  which  gathers  additional 
strength  when  we  consider  that  the  linguistic  evidence  tends  to  support  it. 
For  it  is  precisely  in  the  all-important  matter  of  the  name  of  the  divinity 
that  an  outside  borrowing  becomes  difficult  to  maintain.  For  if  Tuhan  is 
suspiciously  Malayan,  and  Pirman  is  evidently  the  Arabic  Firman,  the 
designation  of  Peng  as  the  "High  Father"  of  the  Sakai  seems  to  be  peculiar 
to  this  lower  stratum  of  the  population  and  to  re-echo  the  earliest  designa- 
tions for  fatherhood  that  we  know  of, — Pa,  Papa,  Papang,  Pang,  Peng, 
etc., — an  inversion  or  reduplication  of  the  still  more  primitive  Ap  (Ab), 
Apa  (Aba),  Apu  (Abu),  which  is  the  universal  root  for  "father"  in  all  ages. 
This  and  the  general  coherence  of  the  mythologj',  revealing  many  non- 
Malayan  as  well  as  non-negrito  expressions,  points  to  a  parallel,  indepen- 
dent, prehistoric  tradition.  It  will  gain  additional  force  when  we  consider 
that  the  identical  expression,  Peng,  (Pen-ya-lo7ig),  is  found  also  in  Borneo 
and  other  portions  of  the  Indian  archipelago.' 


•  Skeat,  op.  cit.  pp.  178,  195.  »  The  term  "Peng"  is  old-Malayan  for  "father"  and  may  be 
recognised  in  the  expressions  penghulu,  penglim,  penyalong,  etc.  for  "Chief".  See  Blagden, 
apud  Skeat,  Vol.  II.  p.  557  (for  peng),  P-  598  (for  pa,  abu,  &c). 


GOD  9 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

r.JV    '^^/IJ^'"  ^"^'T^  increasingly  clear  the  moment  the  beliefs  and 
practices  of  these  people  are  studied  in  their  native  dress. 

Thus  Pen^  is  said  to  live  in  the  high  heavens,  where  he  is  servea  by 

Iri     '?'"     r^  ^^l^'  ^'""^''  ^'^'^*^^^'  G^^"^y  ^««2/«^  the  "Mother^ 
Long-breasts  ,  whose  ofTice  of  purifier  has  been  mentioned  above     That 

tZ  Z  f  Pf ?u ?in''"^'  ''l^^'^  ^y  "i"^  ^1«"«  ^^y  be  certainly  inferred 
from  the  fact  that  Peng  is  able  to  annihilate  them,  and  can  also  increase 
their  numbers  but  nobody  else  can  kill  them",-an  evident  proof  ^ 
omnipotence.  These  beings  are  partly  helpful,  partly  malignant,  but  no 
demon,  not  even  the  tiger-spirit,  is  allowed  to  afflict  them  without  His  ver- 
mission,~an  important  point,  more  especially  as  these  visitations  are 
«w/.  T^t'  ^  P""ishment  for  wrong-doing,  for  rebellion  against  His 
iaws.  That  these  laws  may  be  distantly  connected  with  a  first-fruit  taboo 
is  suggested  by  the  paradise-legend  and  the  modern  custom  of  still  reserv- 
ing certain  fruits  on  certain  occasions.  There  is  in  fact  an  "Island  of 
Fruits  prepared  by  Peng  for  the  first  couple,  Ba-lut  and  Wa-lut,  where 
man  and  beast  lived  on  fruits  alone,  and  every  tree  and  plant  bore  sweet 
and  wholesome  fruit",  but  in  the  sequel  the  power  of  the  apes  and  demons 
proved  too  strong,  half  the  trees  were  turned  sour,  and  Peng  ordered  them 
to  slay  the  wild  beasts  for  food  and  taught  them  the  art  of  hunting  and 
the  use  of  the  so-called  "bamboos"." 

Now  these  "Charm-Bamboos",  whether  for  birth,  marriage  or  burial 
are  here  distinctly  traced  to  Peng  as  their  originating  source;  it  is  the 
Father-God  that  has  instituted  the  sacred  rites,  the  famous  "Seven- 
Bamboo  actually  containing  the  marks  of  his  celestial  hands  imprinted 
or  incised  on  the  surface."  Their  function  is  to  avert  disease,  to  dispel  the 
harmful  demons,  to  procure  supernatural  favors  at  least  negatively  bv 
warding  off  contrary  evils.  "Accept  this  bowl  of  blood  we  offerr'-such 
IS  the  oblation  formula  among  the  Blandas  or  mi.ved-blood  Sakai  ^  and  the 
throwing-up  of  the  blood  (or  water),  the  burning  of  incense  (in  a  cocoa- 
nut-shel  ),  the  numerous  lustrations,  petitions,  and  votive-ordeals  that 
frequently  accompany  this  rite  reveal  a  strong  sense  of  religious  depen- 
dence, and  are  none  the  less  theistic  because  their  primary  object  seems  to 
be  to  expel  the  demons.  For  it  is  only  by  the  power  of  Peng  that  the 
demons  exist;  he  has  willed  their  expulsion,  and  their  suppression  means 
his  glorification,  an  indirect  act  of  worship.  If,  then,  the  sacrifice  is  seem- 
ingly transferred  to  the  "devil,"  we  have  good  reasons  for  believing  that 
It  18  precisely  this  mixture  of  blood  with  the  more  advanced  peninsular 
tribes  which  is  directly  responsible  for  this  largely  negative  cult » 


47-;*  f^fh  ?R  "\"-  PP-  ?^''  2f  •  ,y,'*<=™'  ?■  ZJ^'  Vaughan-Stevens,  III.  128ff.    •  Skeat.  I. 
475.  II.  235  (Bamboo  markings).    '  Skeat,  II.  297.    »  Idem,  II.  241-289.  -^k^i,  i. 


10  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

Again,  it  is  the  sugar-palm  and  the  cocoa-nut,  and  the  areca-palm  that 
figure  as  the  most  important  "life-giving"  trees,  their  fruits  and  juices 
possess  the  power  of  healing  all  diseases,  and  it  is  through  the  application 
of  their  leaves  to  the  sick  and  dying  that  the  most  important  cures  are 
worked,  the  areca-leaf  being  regarded  as  specially  efficacious.*  These  and 
the  celebrated  love-plant,  the  chinduai,  whose  delicate  blossom  is  crushed 
in  water  and  oil  and  then  consumed  by  the  patient,  are  remotely  connected 
in  the  popular  belief  with  the  days  of  man's  innocence,  their  efficacy 
depending  in  each  case  on  the  will  of  the  Almighty,  for  "if  Peng  intends 
a  man  to  be  injured,  there  is  no  remedy  against  it".'"  It  is  the  "World 
Eagle"  that  protects  the  secret  of  life,  the  big  Dragon  that  overwhelms  the 
earth  with  a  deluge  of  water,  and  at  death  the  soul  is  washed  by  Mother 
Lanyut  in  the  purgatorial  waters  and  conducted  over  the  Paradise-bridge, 
where  if  irredeemable  it  will  fall  into  a  boiling  lake,  if  righteous  and 
repentant,  it  will  pass  over  to  the  "Island  of  Fruit-Trees".  Here  they  wait 
till  Peng  sends  them  a  friend  of  the  same  sex,  to  show  them  the  way  to  the 
"Husks  of  the  Clouds"." 

Throughout  the  analogy  with  the  Semang-system  is  apparent,  the 
wording  and  sequence  of  events  is  very  similar,  though  a  few  names  and 
items  seem  to  postulate  an  independent  tradition.  But  if  magic  and 
demonism  appear  to  be  more  pronounced,  we  must  remember  that  Malayan 
shamanism  is  rampant  throughout  the  peninsula,  that  it  must  have 
afTected  these  tribes  in  particular  instances,  but  that  the  wording  and 
content  of  the  mythology  and  most  of  the  native  customs  are  as  underivable 
from  Malayan  as  from  supposed  Christian  (!)  sources.  Where  is  the  evi- 
dence of  any  such  influence? 

Finally,  the  moral  nature  of  this  divinity  may  be  inferred  from  the 
character  of  the  natives  as  we  actually  find  them.  "They  are  a  most 
peaceful  race,  affectionate  and  faithful  both  to  their  family  and  friends, 
and  never  make  war  on  each  other  or  go  in  for  any  sort  of  inter-tribal 
fighting"  (Skoal).  "They  are  most  kind  and  simple-hearted,  always  anxious 
to  assist  any  white  man  that  happened  to  be  in  want  of  assistance.  In 
their  natural  state  they  are  given  neither  to  lying  nor  cheating"  (Hale). 
"Thanks  to  their  honesty,  they  can  do  without  police"  (De  Morgan). 
"Murder  is  exceedingly  rare,  theft  equally  rare"  (Idem).  "Divorce,  though 
permitted,  was  extremely  rare"  (Lias).  "The  punishment  for  adultery 
was  death"  (Maxwell).  "None  of  these  races  are  cannibals,  and  there  is 
no  proof  at  all  nf  past  cannibalism". '= 


»  Skeat,  op.  cit.  II.  257ff.    '<>  Idem,  II.  261,  256.    "  Idem,  II.  235-240.    '=  Idem,  I.  pp.  527- 
529,  giving  the  combined  evidence,  also  I.  501.  II.  285. 


GOD  11 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(A,  3)  TUHAN — The  Mantra-Jakuns  op  Malakka — ,  Prov.  op  Selangor 

As  the  last  of  the  pagan  peninsular  races  the  "savage  Malays"  of 
southern  Malakka  deserve  at  least  a  passing  notice.  Of  their  native 
divinity, — Tuhan  di  Bawah — ,  a  few  important  facts  may  be  gathered : — 

This  being  is  a  "Lord  of  the  Underworld"  and  a  creator  of  the  earth 
and  man.  He  seems  to  be  omniscient  and  all-powerful,  as  he  knows  the 
actions  of  man  and  is  capable  of  destroying  him.  He  is  guardian  of 
human  destiny  and  to  some  extent  a  divine  judge.  He  has  a  son  or 
demiurge,  To  Entah,  to  whom  he  has  entrusted  the  care  of  the  race.  He 
has  appointed  certain  sacrificial  observances,  chiefly  against  demons, 
among  which  the  blood-throwing  ceremony  is  still  practiced  among  a 
section  of  the  aborigines. 

A  few  remarks  on  the  nature  of  these  beliefs  will  be  sufTicient. 

(1)  The  Jakuns  are  the  earliest  sleek-haired  brachicephalic  race  that 
we  know  of.  Together  with  the  Semang-Sakai  they  belong  to  the  lowest 
group  of  pygmoidals  in  existence,  and  are  undoubtedly  the  fore-runners  of 
the  historic  Malayan  family.  Their  arts  and  industries,  though  con- 
siderably above  the  negrito  average,  are  yet  sufficiently  undeveloped  to 
merit  the  title  of  "pre-lithic",  and  their  distinctive  weapon  is  the  bamboo- 
gun  or  "blowpipe",  which  they  have  distributed  over  large  portions  of  the 
Indian  archipelago.  Thus  they  form  the  third  member  of  the  aboriginal 
group,  and  should  be  judged  accordingly.^ 

This  makes  a  borrowing  of  religious  ideas  on  the  face  of  it  unlikely, 
and  is  out  of  harmony  with  the  tone  of  the  mythology,  which  shows  many 
more  analogies  with  the  preceding  than  with  the  civilised  Islamic  system. 
"Tuhan  di  Bawah  has  made  the  earth,  and  lives  beneath  it  (sic).  He  dwells 
beneath  the  land  of  Nayek  and  by  his  power  supports  all  above  him.  He 
is  the  Father  of  Ayer  and  Tanah,  the  parents  of  the  race,  who  came  from 
a  place  called  'Rising  Land'  in  the  sky,  which  sky  was  'originally  very 
near  low  and  near  to  the  earth'.  Here  there  was  no  death  but  an  abun- 
dance of  fruits,  and  Tuhan,  seeing  that  mankind  multiplied  too  rapidly 
(through  eating  the  fruit),  turned  half  of  them  into  trees.  The  pleadings  of 
Tu  Entah  "The  Lord  knows  who"  are  of  no  avail, — "Let  men  die  like  the 
banana" — is  Tuhan's  verdict.  In  the  sequel  To  Entah  arranges  the  climate, 
fixes  the  divisions  of  time,  makes  the  earth  habitable,  and  saves  the  race 
from  the  deluge.  At  death  the  soul  is  judged  by  Tuhan,  and  the  good  are 
carried  to  Tuhan's  Fruit-Island.^. 


•Skeat,  op.  cit.  I.  66,  304ff.  =  Idem,  II.  290-376,  esp.  319-348  (on  the  Mantra),  founded 
partly  on  D.  F.  Hervey,  The  Mantra  Traditions,  J.  R.  A.  S.  No.  10,  p.  189ff.  &  H.  Borie,  Notice 
sur  les  Mantras,  transl.  by  P.  Bourien.  in  Transactions  of  Ethnological  Soc'-'—  of  London, 
vol.  III.  p.  72fr. 


12  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

In  the  parallel  tradition  of  the  Benua,  it  is  Pirman  (Master),  who  made 
the  world  and  everything  that  is  visible.  He  dwells  in  the  sky  and  is 
himself  invisible,  and  can  only  be  approached  through  the  mediumship  of 
Jewa-Jewa.  All  spirits  derive  their  power  from  Ilim.^  Among  the  Besisi, 
again,  it  is  Tuhan  to  whom  they  pray  to  rcleas3  their  moon-ancestors  from 
Island  of  Fruits,  and  Gaffer  "Engkoh"  (or  Jongkoh)  who  is  the  guardian 
of  Paradise.  Here  again  we  have  the  Chinduai,  or  Love-Plant,  as  well  as 
the  "Yearning  Bamboo",  the  sacred  Cocopalm,  and  other  distinctively 
native  touches.*  Throughout  the  wording  of  the  creation-legends,  with 
their  apes  and  tortoises,  their  solar  and  stellar-myths,  their  rising-lands 
and  fruit-palaces,  their  numerous  guardians,  and  above  all  their  almost 
universal  mediators  or  "saviors",  makes  a  derivation  from  Mussulman 
sources  impossible  to  maintain,  even  if  individual  expressions, — Tuhan, 
Pirman,  etc.,  may  be  linguistically  traced  to  outside  influences.  In  every 
case  the  "Lord-Master"  is  intimately  interwoven  with  the  rest  of  the  folk- 
lore; they  form  an  indivisible  unit.  "The  Mantra",  says  Skeat,  "have  not 
to  any  great  extent  acquired  any  of  the  Malayan  ideas  respecting  the  form 
of  the  earth,  the  motion  of  the  sun,  etc."  "The  Malays"  (like  Mr.  Logan) 
"were  not  aware,  either  that  the  Benua  believed  in  God,  or  that  the 
magician's  power  was  considered  to  be  derived  from  Him  and  entirely 
dependent  on  His  pleasure"." 

On  the  contrary,  it  is  far  more  likely  that  the  natives  have  borrowed 
many  of  their  superstitious  practices  (as  well  as  their  less-pleasing 
morals)  from  the  Malays,  their  Poyangism,  their  sacrificial  "trays",  their 
developed  magic,  finding  its  duplicate  in  the  Islamic  shamanism  of  the 
day,  while  the  theistic  part  of  the  belief,  with  a  savior-demiurge,  grows 
more  and  more  pronounced  the  more  we  penetrate  into  the  more  isolated 
sections  of  this  region, — the  "thunder-fruit"  and  the  "father-mother"-god 
being  most  conspicuous  among  the  orang-utan  or  "wild  men  of  the 
woods",  as  we  have  seen.  On  the  other  hand,  the  expression  "Lord  of  the 
Underworld"  marks  a  decided  degeneration,  and  reveals  with  some  force 
the  contact  with  demonism,  with  the  ghost-god, — only  to  be  expected. 
This  is  further  illustrated  by  the  ethical  data.  For  although  "crimes  are 
very  rare",  "theft  unknown",  "cannibalism  unheard  of",  polygamy  and 
idivorce  have  eaten  their  way  into  the  social  fabric,  though  even  here  "I 
do  not  remember  a  single  case  in  which  a  Besisi  had  more  than  one  wife". 
The  general  decency  of  these  people,  even  if  occasionally  marred  by  con- 
trary examples,  is  an  argument  in  favor  of  their  simple  if  crude  religious 
beliefs.* 


»J.  R.  Logan,  The  Orang-Benua  of  Johor,  Journ.  Ind.  Archipel.  Vol.  I.  p.  283flF.  Cp. 
Skeat,  II.  349.  ♦  G.  C.  Bellamy  etc.  apud  Skeat,  II.  298-319.  »  Skeat,  II.  319,  353.  •Idem, 
I.  512.  II.  76,  285. 


GOD  13 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 
(B)  PULUGA— Andaman  Islands  MiNcorr  Negrito,  (South  Andaman) 
Adjacent  to  the  coast  of  Malakka,  in  the  Andaman  Islands,  there  is  a 
deity  worshipped  who  is  described  in  very  similar  terms.     His  name  is 
Puluga,  (Thunder).    Of  Him  it  is  said:—' 

Though  His  appearance  is  like  fire,  He  is  now-a-days  invisible  He 
was  never  born  and  is  immortal.  By  Him  the  world  and  all  objects, 
animate  and  inanimate  were  created,  excepting  only  the  powers  of  evil 
He  IS  regarded  as  omniscient  while  it  is  day,  knowing  even  the  thoughts 
of  men  s  hearts.  He  is  angered  by  the  commission  of  certain  sins,-false- 
hood,  theft  grave  assault,  murder,  wax-burning,_while  to  those  in  pain 
or  distress  He  is  pitiful,  and  sometimes  deigns  to  afford  relief.  He  is  the 
Judge  from  whom  each  soul  receives  sentence  after  death,  and  is  said  to 
a^ect  their  course  of  action  in  life.  He  has  instituted  a  sacrifice,-the 
offering-up  of  the  first-fruits  of  the  season,-which  is  implied  by  the  com- 
mand not  to  partake  of  the  said  fruits  during  a  portion  of  the  rainy  season. 
Ihe  penalty  for  this  in  remote  times  was  said  to  be  death,— the  deluge 

The  following  difiiculties  might  suggest  themselves  with  regard  to  this 
subject.  (1)  The  antiquity  of  this  region  is  not  incontestable,  the 
industries  are  somewhat  advanced.  (2)  The  sources  are  scanty  and  Indo- 
Malayan  influences  not  impossible.  (3)  The  picture  is  tarnished  by  two 
defects  which  seem  to  be  serious,  to  wit:-There  is  strong  anthropomor- 
phism; Puluga  eats  and  drinks,  has  wife  and  family,  knows  things  "while 
it  IS  day",  gives  way  to  anger,  etc.  There  is  also  an  incipient  dualism-  The 
spirits  of  evil  are  apparently  self-created,  and  Puluga  is  powerless  to 
control  them,-they  seem  eternal.  (4)  Puluga  is  in  no  sense  divine  but 
rather  a  female  spider  or  possibly  a  lizard,  without  cult  and  without 
sacrifice. 

These  difficulties  are  more  apparent  than  real,  but  as  they  seem  to  be 
of  considerable  weight,  the  following  considerations  may  not  be  out  of 
place:— (I)  The  Andamanese  belong  to  the  Archaic  belt,  of  purely  Negrito 
stock  (p.  VI).  As  such  they  are  real  primitives,  even  if  some"  of  their 
industries  are  slightly  above  the  Negrito  level,— painting,  pottery  canoe- 
building.  These  exist  only  in  rudimentary  form  and  are  believed  to  be 
for  the  most  part  indigenous.  The  natives  cannot  work  stone,  but  employ 
chips  and  flakes  in  the  natural  state.'  The  supposed  palaeoliths  found  in 
the  kitchen-middens  are  really  quartz-eoliths,  and  the  "celts  of  tertiary 
sandstone"  the  rudest  of  scrapers.' 


don  te^  f5  «oTr-  M  v^P  T''*  °TS-^'  inhabitants  of  the  Andaman  Islands  (Lon- 
(&\l^.'?iiO^'^?-f^-  ^  Yi  ^c:°u"'^"'  ^  ^''^°^  °f  °"''  Relations  with  the  Andamanese, 
(Calcutta,  899)  Vol.  I.  p  44-45  Schmidt,  1.  c  p.  193-219.  '  Man,  1.  c.  p.  160ff.  a  Man  p 
161.  Stohczka,  Notes  on  the  Kjokken-Moddings  of  the  And   Isld^ 


14  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(2)  The  convergence  between  the  testimony  of  Man  and  Portman,  a 
testimony  paralleled  by  Skeat  and  Vaughan-Stevens  in  Mdaysia,  is  a 
strong  argument  for  its  authenticity.  A  "Thunder-God",  "of  fiery 
breath",  and  surrounded  by  Wind-  or  Sky-spirits,  agrees  too  closely  with 
what  has  been  found  in  other  Negrito  areas  to  have  been  invented  or  bor- 
rowed. We  cannot  of  course  exclude  all  outside  influences.  But  that 
these  influences  must  have  been  extremely  remote,  is  evident  from  the  fact 
that  there  are  not  the  smallest  vestiges  of  any  such  influence  as  having 
proceeded  from  any  of  the  higher  cultures,  whether  of  historic  or  pre- 
historic times.  Thus  Puluga  is  pre-Islamic,  because  there  has  never  been 
the  shadow  of  Mussulman  influence  in  the  islands  and  the  entire  myth- 
ology' and  practice  of  the  Andamanese  excludes  it.  He  is  pre-Christian, 
because  it  is  inconceivable  that  any  missionaries  could  have  landed  among 
the  people  without  leaving  some  impress  of  a  Christian  sotoriology  on 
their  minds  or  in  their  language, — and  this  is  here  notoriously  absent. 
He  is  pre-Brahministic,  because  pantheism  and  metempsychosis  agrees 
very  ill  with  the  simple  personal  position  of  Puluga  and  His  direct  lord- 
ship over  His  creatures,  who  return  directly  to  Him  as  their  Judge.  He 
is  pre-Shaministic  because  there  are  not  the  least  traces  of  spirit-  or  ances- 
tor-worship in  any  part  of  the  islands,  and  the  figure  of  Puluga  is  supreme, 
singular,  and  unique,  not  sharing  His  authority  with  any  other  gods  or 
demigods  of  Asiatic  or  Indian  fame,  even  though  the  wicked  spirits  are 
eternally  opposed  to  Him.  Thus  it  is  next  to  certain  that  the  idea  of 
divinity  could  not  have  been  borrowed  from  any  of  the  Central  or  West- 
ern-Asiatic religions.  Both  Man  and  Portman  bear  witness  to  this.  "It 
is  extremely  improbable  that  their  legends  were  the  result  of  the  teaching 
of  missionaries"  says  Man,*  and  he  calls  attention  to  the  want  of  any 
tradition,  to  the  absence  of  any  traces,  and  to  the  existence  of  parallel 
cases  elsewhere.  Similarly  Portman; — "The  anthropological  professors 
are  very  anxious  to  prove  that  the  Andamanese  must  have  derived  their 
word  for,  and  their  idea  of,  a  Deity  from  some  of  the  more  civilised  nations, 
etc.,  but  I  cannot  agree  with  it," »  and  he  points  to  the  immense  antiquity 
of  the  race,  to  their  seclusion  and  innate  conservatism,  and  the  absence 
of  any  vestiges,  cultural,  linguistic,  or  otherwise.  As  the  greatest  authority 
on  Andamanese  history,  these  words  are  significant.  They  show  that  peo- 
ple of  unprejudiced  minds  and  of  considerable  erudition  have  openly 
acknowledged  the  existence  of  native  divinities  independently  of  "civilised" 
sources,  even  though  their  physical  and  moral  attributes  may  seem 
astoundingly  high. 


«  Man,  1.  c.  p.  88-89.    »  Portman,  A  History,  Vol.  I.  p.  45. 


GOD  ,5 


OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 
ff   i?'„„?"'  "'"''='!"'  «"""«  anliquity  of  Ihis  cull  seems  unqueslionabk 
nnue„"o     inThfea  f;  T'   '"f'^'   ""'=   """''•''•   ">■"   -"-   -^i  «' 

&„,tra:taT= -i-s  .Ts  srjx- ~ 

mythobgy  which,  we  have  every  reason  to  believe,  is  a  LTr  accreUon 
affects  the  form  rather  than  the  content  of  the   egends  but  U  haTmod  Sfd 

a  h^:^^h:^t?^-^f^t.:::s^^  ^si^th^ 

sins  of  men   Puluga's  "wife  and  family",  and  the  expression  "to  know 
things  while  It  is  day"  reveals  the  inroads  of  an  undoubedly  later  cS 

g  nr^lt'a^dT  ' 'kn  '''  "5/1^°  'T""'''''  '''  "'^"^^'"-^  figures  and  at 
generally  said  to    know  all  things"  without  qualification;  they  have  no 

connexion   with    day   and   night   themes;   with   the   revolution    of   the 

heavens.    Moreover  the  description  of  Puluga's  wife  and  famiJv  as  the 

mother  eel  with  black  daughters  and  white  sons"  is  believedbbe  a  lunar 

the  spider  in  certain  sections  of  these  islands,  shows  without  a  quesUon 

Z         ril  P.'"'""^  '''^  ^^^*  ^'  has  come  in  contact  with  'he  typical 
theme  of  the  Boomerang  culture,  the  "Spider-Moon"  ^^ 

xr^^fn  *^'f-f-  '\"''y'  ^h*"  intrusion  of  later  notions,  with  or  without  the 
moon-mohf  is  clearly  revealed  by  the  ethnological  dkta,  and  this  no  do^M 

2uoTTV':  *'^  ''?  '''''  *'"  ''''  ^P'^"^  ^-^  h-«-e  independent  0 
Puluga,  the  first  and  only  case  of  dualism  among  the  entire  Negrito  cycle 
But  even  if  the  report  be  left  to  stand  as  it  does.  The  spirits  of  efi  though 
elf-created,  are  powerless  to  create,  they  have  no  theistic  attribu  es  and 
though  greatly  feared,  they  are  neither  obeyed  nor  in  any  sense  worshipped 
or  appeased.    Puluga  is  in  this  respect  a  unique  Being 

If  then  a  later  wave  of  culture  has  made  some  inroads,  it  cannot  be 

Chauga-ta,  or  Bone-necklace,  are  employed  in  the  hope  of  averting  or 
curing  Illness.  After  recovery  no  ceremonies  of  purification  take  plafeV 
The    dreamers    are  not  a  fixed  cast,  but  must  earn  their  reputation".^ 


'  Ma?"''c  p.^29.°^-  ''*•  ^-  ^-    ^''°  ^"'^'"'<^''  Pygm^nvQlker,  p.  211-212,    r  y^^^^  j.  ,.  p.  pj. 


16  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

As  to  animism  and  spirit-worship,  no  organised  worstiip  of  ancestors 
or  of  the  forces  of  nature  can  be  said  to  exist.  "There  is  no  trace  to  be 
found  of  the  worship  of  trees,  stones,  or  other  objects,  and  it  is  a  mistake 
to  suppose  that  they  adore  or  invoke  the  celestial  bodies".'  Altogether,  it 
seems  more  natural  to  suppose  that  Puhiga  is  a  primeval  Heaven-God, 
whose  voice  is  the  thunder,  and  whose  shafts  the  lightning,  but  whose 
image  has  been  obscured  in  parts  by  the  intrusion  of  a  somewhat  later 
phase  of  belief. 

(4)  Tliis  phase  can  be  traced  throughout  the  secondary,  more 
advanced  Oceanic  region,  and  down  into  the  heart  of  South-America, — 
Central  Brazil.  It  consists  in  bringing  the  supreme  figure  into  connexion 
with  the  waxing  and  waning  moon,  and  identifying  Him  in  some  way 
with  the  spider,  the  lizard,  or  some  other  mysterious  animal.  Thus 
Amaka,  Quat-Marawa,  Daranniliin,  and  Kamiishiyii  are  all  spinning 
spiders  surrounded  by  a  strong  lunar  mythology,  (q.  v.).  and  they  one 
and  all  belong  to  a  slightly  higher  stage  of  culture,  compared  with  the 
Malakkan,  Tasmanian.  and  Central-African  divinities,  where  this  theme 
is  conspicuous  by  its  absence.  This  is  a  clear  proof  that  they  are  a  later 
development,  that  the  original  Heaven-God  has  no  connection  with  animal 
or  astral  symbols.  Now  this  is  precisely  the  case  in  the  Andaman  Islands. 
Puluga,  the  personal  Heaven-God,  rules  supreme  in  South-Andaman,  even 
if  His  picture  is  slightly  tarnished  by  sexual  and  unworthy  themes.  But 
in  the  neighboring  North  and  Little  Andamans  we  find  Biliku,  the  female 
spider,  and  Oluqa,  the  female  lizard,  both  usurping  the  position  of  the 
Thunder-God.  Now  these  are  precisely  the  areas  that  are  more  advanced, 
where  we  have  reasons  to  suspect  an  outside  infiuence.  (Bark-cincture, 
Round-house,  Communal-dwelling.  Platform-couches,  Out-rigged  Canoes, 
&c).  This  has  robbed  the  North  and  Little  Andamanese  of  the  clear  notion 
of  a  Creator,  but  has  left  Piiluga  in  exclusive  possession  of  the  center, — a 
supreme,  personal  Being,  worshipped  in  the  best  sense,  by  the  sacrifice 
of  obedience  and  of  the  first-fruits  of  the  earth. 

Such  is  the  true  picture  of  Puluga,  which  has  forced  Mr.  Man  to 
exclaim:  "It  is  from  regard  to  the  fact  that  their  beliefs  approximate  so 
closely  to  the  true  Faith  concerning  the  Deity  that  I  have  adopted  the  Eng- 
lish method  of  spelling  all  equivalents  of  'God'  with  an  initial  capital". 
This  agrees  with  the  ethical  data.  The  marriage-tie  is  strict,  and  there  is 
a  notable  absence  of  gross  crime,  infanticide,  cannibalism,  or  human 
sacrifice. 


"Man,  1.  c.  p.  95.  '"Compare  A.  R.  Brown,  in  "Folk-Lore"  (Sept.  1909).  pp.  257-271. 
"  See  Man.  pp.  XXIV,  30.  Portman,  1.  c.  I.  13,  40.  45-46.  II.  721-726,  825-826.  Also  B.  KIoss. 
In  the  Andamans  and  Nicobars,  (New  York,  1903),  pp.  28-43.  Schmidt,  1.  c.  pp.  204-210, 
(lexical  analysis).    "  Man,  p.  90,  note.  Cp.  Portman,  I.  44, 


GOD  17 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

Yet  even  with  these  concessions  it  may  still  be  objected  that  the  absence 
of  any  distinct  cult  of  the  alleged  divinity,  of  any  personal  invocations  of 
his  name,  of  any  cries  for  help,  protection,  and  the  like,  makes  it  increas- 
ingly doubtful  whether  he  can  be  regarded  as  in  anv  sense  a  living  per- 
sona divinity.  This  is  a  plausible  objection,  but  I  have  already  called 
attention  to  the  fact  that  observations  of  this  nature  are  extremely  difficult 
to  make  by  reason  of  the  shyness  and  timidity  of  the  natives  and  their 
reserve  on  all  matters  of  a  private  and  religious  nature.  It  is  even 
remarkable  that  enough  should  have  leaked  out  of  their  beliefs  to  supply 
two  white  men  with  the  skeleton  at  least  of  a  religious  creed.  That  this 
IS  the  sum-total  of  all  their  beliefs  and  practices  seems  hardly  credible 
even  though  formal  prayers  in  our  modern  sense  are  largely  at  a  discount' 
nor  should  we  expect  to  find  them.  But  apart  from  our  ignorance  of  the 
interior  side  of  the  religion,  the  numerous  legends  and  some  of  the  prac- 
tices of  the  Andamanese  leave  no  room  for  doubt  that  Puluga  is  a  real 
force  and  power  in  their  lives. 

Thus  the  Creation-legends  speak  of  Puluga's  Sky-Palace  where  he 
reigns  with  his  numerous  family,  with  the  Moroviii  or  Sky-spirits,  and 
with  his  only  son,  Pichor,  a  kind  of  mediator  or  archangel.    As  in  Malakka 
he  IS  the  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  of  the  seas  and  the  underworld  and 
even  the  bad  spirits  are  forced  to  acknowledge  his  sway.    Here  also  he  has 
prepared  a  Paradise  for  man  at  Wotaemi,  a  locality  in  South  Andaman 
Island.    Into  this  Garden  of  Pleasure  he  places  the  first  man  and  woman 
Tomo  and  Chana,  and  here  he  instructs  them  in  the  arts  and  industries  of 
life,  and  supplies  them  with  the  power  of  speech.     But  what  is  more 
important,  he  shows  them  all  the  different  fruit-trees  of  the  jungle   and 
in  doing  this  he  commands  them  not  to  partake  of  certain  fruits  during 
the  rainy  season.    Here  we  have  the  Paradisaic  Sacrifice  in  clear  outline,— 
the  idea  of  abstention  from  an  otherwise  legitimate  gratification    the 
offering  up  of  the  first  fruits  of  the  garden.    Furthermore,  it  is  distinctly 
stated  (hat  death  and  misery  came  upon  man  through  disobeying  the 
divine  command,  through  eating  the  forbidden  fruit.    Men  became  more 
and  more  violent,  they  grew  more  and  more  remiss  in  observing  the  laws 
of  Puluga,  until  finally  he  sends  a  great  Flood  and  destroys  them  all 
except  a  favored  few  who  repeople  the  earth  from  Wotaemi.    That  is  why 
the  First-fruit  sacrifice  is  offered  up  to  this  day.    In  the  meantime  those 
who  have  kept  his  commandments  pass  over  the  Paradise-bridge  to  live 
forever  with  Puluga  in  his  Sky-Palace." 


'^D«t3ils  and  items  will  be  found  in  ^^an.  op.  cit.  pp.  90-106: 


18  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

If  then  it  is  still  insisted  that  we  have  no  means  of  proving  a  personal 
worship,  we  answer  that  the  mythologj'  of  the  Andamanese  clearly 
implies  such  a  worship,  that  the  best  proof  for  the  cult  of  a  divine  Being 
is  afforded  partly  by  the  position  He  occupies  in  the  popular  mind,  partly 
by  the  degree  in  which  His  laws  are  obeyed  and  are  a  controlling  force  in 
the  customs  and  habits  of  the  people.  Now  the  above  legends  show  with 
considerable  force  that  Puluga  is  not  a  mere  myth,  nor  is  he  an  ancestor 
or  a  glorified  hero,  however  exalted,  but  that  he  is  looked  upon  as  a 
Creator,  a  Ruler,  a  Judge,  a  Lawgiver,  with  whom  his  people  have  been 
and  are  still  in  close  communion, — he  is  still  ruling  over  them,  he  is  their 
Father.  This  consciousness  of  a  supernatural  being  need  not  express 
itself  in  words  so  much  as  in  acts, — the  best  form  of  worship,  even  if  the 
word,  of  which  we  know  so  little,  helps  to  make  it  more  personal,  more 
direct. 

How  then  is  this  worship  expressed  in  practice,  what  form  does  it  take? 
It  shows  itself  among  other  things  in  the  high  tone  of  morality  that  is 
here  apparently  in  vogue,  in  the  general  security  of  human  life,  in  the 
unity  and  stability  of  the  married  tie,  in  the  absence  of  all  the  more  brutal 
and  unnatural  practices  that  so  often  disfigure  the  lives  of  many  of  the 
nature-peoples,  and  finally  in  the  delicate  care  that  is  taken  of  the  old,  the 
sick,  and  the  afflicted,  who  invariably  fair  better  than  their  more  fortunate 
brethren.  In  so  far  as  these  practices  can  be  proved  to  be  in  force,  they 
argue  for  a  high  grade  of  belief,  or,  at  least,  they  prove  that  such  a  belief 
brings  forth  good  fruits,  that  it  is  practical,  that  the  divinity  is  commen- 
surate to  produce  the  result.  But  if  these  phenomena  be  put  down  as  mere 
"nature-religion",  common-sense  philosophy,  and  the  like,  so  much  belter 
for  the  common-sense  philosophy,  especially  as  it  leads  to  a  Creator  of  all, 
or  seems  at  least  to  accompany  Him.  A  simple  theism  is  here  reflected  in 
the  simple  lives  of  a  simple  people." 

But  if  a  complete  act  of  religion  demands  some  external  manifestation, 
some  visible  acknowledgment  of  the  Creator's  dominion  over  His  creatures, 
surely  the  first-fruit  sacrifice  is  such  an  act.  By  fasting  and  abstinence 
man  offers  to  the  Giver  of  all  that  which  he  prizes  most  dearly,  his  moans 
of  subsistence.  He  then  consumes  the  very  object  he  has  sacrificed  as  a 
token  of  union, — as  a  pledge  that  he  and  his  Father  are  one,  are  reconciled. 
Surely  this  is  a  "worship",  and  one  of  the  highest  kind.  It  need  not  be 
clothed  in  words,  it  speaks  for  itself. 


'*  Further  particulars  on  this  subject  in  Man,  op.  cit.  pp.  24,  43,  45,  67ff.    Also  Portman, 
op.  cit.  I.  p.  42ff. 


THE  AGE  OF  BAMBOOS 

AND  OF  STRAIGHT-LINE  PATTERNS 

THE  GREAT  MASTER 

OTTLIN'E-DRAWrNGS  MADE  BY  THE  VEDDA8  ON  ROCKS,  AND  DOUBTLESS  ORIOINAXLT  OK 

BAS1B008,    TO    EXPRESS    THE    IDEA     OF     HEADSinP,     MALE     OR     FEMALE,     AXD     THENCZ 

APPLIED  ALSO  TO  THE  SUPREME  8KT-BEENO. 


AT»  PA  -AM  rv\i> 

KA^ose-WANN^YA 

KANBE-BAMDARA- MAKAPPA 

SUS-Kl    JBA3-KI,  ADIISA  ATAKGEtJA    AT 
3ARUWAK   qe-NA    Pl^VBINA    ATAK  qE>4A 

TbOPA  AMPvAAT  APPAT    ENDE    KtYAVA 

■TATnEB-MOTHEB"  (SUFEB-MAN  OB  WOMAH).  "GREAT  MASTER",  "MIOHTT  Hl'NTEB". 
"BVSn-KI,  BASH-BU!  GO  AND  BRING  THE  BOW.  THE  AXE,  AND  THE  FIRE8TICK,  AND  TELL 
TOIB  MOTHER  AND  FATHER  TO  COME"    (GBTNER^VL  FORMULA  FOR  THE  HUNTINO  PARTY). 

COM8CLT   C.   O.   SELIGMAN,   THE   VEDDA8,    (CAMBRrDCE,    I9I1),    PL.    LTl-LX    (FOB    DESIONB), 
AND  PP.  tit,  lee*.  8M  FT.   (FOB  LEXICOLOGY),  IJt  FF.    (FOR  BELIEFS). 


GOD  19 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 
(B,  2)  KANDE-YAKA— The  Veddas,— Southern  India,  Ceylon 

Among  the  Forest- Veddas  of  the  interior  of  Ceylon  there  is  a  cult  of  a 
personal  being  known  as  Kande-Yaka  or  "Great  Spirit",  who  seems  to 
stand  very  high  in  the  minds  of  the  natives,  even  if  his  creative-power  is 
not  clearly  provable. 

He  is  pictured  as  an  "ideal  hunter",— a  helpful  and  benevolent  being, 
who  was  once  upon  earth  and  taught  them  all  they  know.  Apparently 
He  was  without  beginning  and  is  certainly  without  end,  as  He  still  hears 
the  petitions  of  his  children,  and  is  in  some  sense  omniscient.  All  things 
are  subject  to  Him,  and  nothing  in  heaven  and  earth  happens  without  his 
permission,  all  spirits  acknowledging  Him  as  the  "Lord  of  the  Dead". 
He  requires  a  sacrifice  of  first-fruits  and  animals,  accompanied  by  the 
burning  of  incense,  during  which  He  is  invoked  as  Kande-Wanniya,  or 
"Great  Master",  and  is  petitioned  for  temporal  and  spiritual  favors.^ 

On  this  subject  a  few  concise  statements  will  be  sufficient. 

The  Veddas  are  the  last  vestiges  of  a  pre-palaeolithic  race  in  India.* 
Though  generally  free  from  foreign  influence,  they  were  at  an  early  period 
invaded  by  settlers  from  the  Ganges  valley,  who  intermarried  with  them 
and  became  the  Sinhalese  of  the  present  day,  with  a  later  infusion  of 
Tamil  blood.  This  explains  the  fact  that  many  of  the  Veddas  are  decidedly 
advanced, — with  kingship  and  nobility — ,  and  this  must  be  taken  into 
account  in  every  attempt  to  reconstruct  their  early  religion.  Among  the 
Forest  Veddas  or  Hennebeddas,  however,  we  meet  with  very  primitive 
traits,  which  leads  us  to  expect  that  here  at  least  the  old  Vedda  beliefs 
should  appear  in  their  purest  form. 

That  there  are  such  beliefs  is  now  unquestionable,  but  as  to  their 
nature,  there  is  still  great  obscurity.  Dr.  Seligman  confirms  the  reports  of 
the  two  Sarasins  that  there  is  a  pronounced  worship  of  ancestors  and  cult 
of  the  dead.  Nay  more,  he  speaks  of  a  "Lord  of  the  Dead",  Kande  Yaka, 
who  may  be  no  more  than  a  great  yaka,  or  departed  spirit  or  tribal  chief, 
but  whose  rather  unique  position  as  the  "Lord"  of  the  lesser  spirits  and 
the  object  of  invocation  at  the  I'a/co-sacrifice  for  protection  from  evil  and 
success  in  hunting  seems  to  reflect  many  of  the  negrito  practices  in  this 
regard.  I  would  like  to  state  briefly  why  I  regard  this  being  as  originally 
more  than  a  tribal  hunter,  a  mere  weather-doctor.  It  is  true  that  the 
absence  of  any  creation-legends  makes  this  "mighty  hunter"  of  the  Veddas 
a  rather  weak  figure.  But  when  we  consider  the  intimate  relation  between 
religious  belief  and  public  and  private  morals,  we  are  inclined  to  suspend 
a  hasty  verdict  on  this  subject  and  to  look  upon  him  as  the  relic  of  a  better 
and  purer  state  of  religious  consciousness,  and  this  for  the  following 
reasons : — 


1  Points  taken  from  C.  G.  Seligman,  The  Veddas,  (Cambridge,  1911),  pp.  30,  132ff.  Comp. 
Sarasin,  Religiose  Vorstellungen  bei  den  niedrigsten  Menschenformen,  1.  c.  supra,  p.  124ff. 
'Seligman,  op.  cit.  p.  20  (quartz-eoliths),  pp.  81  (family-life),  p.  ol8ff.  (arts  and  industries). 


20  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(1)  He  is  not  described  as  having  any  human  ancestors,  and  He  is 
unmarried. 

(2)  He  is  immortal,  He  is  above  all  spirits,  and  He  has  supreme 
command. 

(3)  He  listens  to  prayer  for  favors  that  are  beyond  finite  power  to 
bestow. 

(4)  He  controls  rain,  wind,  and  seasons,  implying  some  notion  of 
transcendence. 

(5)  He  is  the  guardian  of  the  moral  conscience,  which  is  here  con- 
spicuously high,  forbidding  any  needless  aggression,  violence,  adultery,  etc. 

In  illustration,  take  the  following  invocations  at  the  Kirikoraha  cere- 
monies, in  which  the  sacred  cocoanut  is  offered  to  Kande  Yaka: — 

"King  of  the  hills,  who  continues  to  go  from  hill  to  hill,  cause  rain!" 

"It  is  the  Great  Master,  {Kande  Wanniya),  whose  place  is  on  the  crest  of 
this  hill,  who  continues  to  go  unto  this  hill.  The  Great  Master  of  the  high- 
est place  of  the  hill,  who  continues  to  cause  this  rain  of  great  drops,  drops 
from  a  dense  cloud,  makes  out  footprint  by  footprint  of  excellent  sambar 
deer.'"  "Long  life!  Long  life!  To  the  Great  Master,  to  the  great  God  of  the 
chief  place  of  the  hill,  ivho  has  become  the  Chief  of  the  group  of  the  sixty- 
seven  of  the  hill!"  "Today,  grant  your  divine  favor  to  the  beautiful  cooked 
food  of  this  offering  which  I  give!  May  it  seem  good  to  you  to  arrange  it 
at  the  point  of  the  arrow,  etc.   Long  life!  Long  life!"^ 

The  sixty-seven  here  referred  to  are  nearly  all  bandaras  or  deified  chiefs, 
and  the  fact  that  none  of  these  7iae  ijakas  or  departed  spirits  are  addressed 
in  precisely  the  same  strain  as  the  foregoing,  that  none  are  described  as 
the  causes  of  natural  phenomena  or  as  having  anything  like  the  same 
prominence, — this  in  my  opinion  should  make  us  hesitate  in  putting  down 
Kande-Yaka  as  a  mere  ghost-god.  Without  doubt  the  ancestor-cult  is 
strongly  developed  in  this  region,  spirit-feeding  is  only  too  common, — 
both  doubtless  inherited  from  the  hybrid  Sinhalese — ,  for  it  is  precisely 
among  the  Hennebeddas  and  their  more  primitive  kin  that  the  simple 
picture  of  an  all-bestowing  Mahappa  or  Great  Father  looms  up  in  clearer 
perspective,  comparatively  free  from  the  polytheistic  superstructure. 
Finally,  the  fact  that  "no  reverence  is  paid  to  heavenly  bodies",*  that  there 
is  "no  worship  of  sun  or  moon",  together  with  the  high  morality  of  the 
natives  and  their  strictly  monogamous  life,"  renders  the  theory  of  a  purely 
ancestral  god  more  and  more  difficult  to  maintain.  The  Veddas  are  a 
beautiful,  peace-loving,  gentle-mannered,  and  highly  moral  race,  and  it 
seems  difficult  to  account  for  all  the  above  facts  without  assuming  some 
consciousness,  however  bedimmed  in  parts,  of  a  quasi-supernatural 
I'ower. 


»  Seligman,  op.  cit.  pp.  284-286  (Texts  and  Translations  by  H.  Parker,  slightly  amended 
in  parts),    ♦Seligman,  1.  c.  p.  144.    »  Seligman,  1.  c.  p.  81flf. 


GOD  21 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(C,  1)  ANITO— Phillipine  Negritos,  North  and  South  Luzon 

The  material  on  the  Philippine  rehgion  is  unfortunately  rather  scat- 
tered. There  is  however  a  great  supernatural  Being  who  is  generally 
described  as  Anito  in  South  Luzon,  though  He  goes  by  the  name  of 
"Maker"  or  "Creator"  in  other  parts,  and  of  whom  the  following  informa- 
tion may  be  gathered  from  different  sources : — ^ 

He  appears  to  dwell  in  a  huge  rock,  but  is  otherwise  invisible,  a  spirit 
He  knows  all  things,  at  least  all  things  that  concern  man,  He  sees  their 
actions  at  all  times.  He  can  do  all  things.  He  is  above  all  other  spirits, 
and  is  greatly  feared.  He  has  evidently  created  all  things,  and  as  sucb 
He  IS  the  Lord  of  all  spirits,  though  in  what  relation  we  are  not  informed. 
He  punishes  the  wrongdoing  of  man  by  sending  diseases,  and  is  therefore 
in  some  sense  the  guardian  of  the  moral  order,  and  probably  the  supreme 
Judge  of  mankind  as  a  consequence.  He  is  invoked  on  certain  occasions, 
as  at  weddings,  when  He  is  prayed  to  in  low  tones:  '■Praise  to  the  Supreme 
Being,  our  Maker!"  He  has  instituted  a  sacrifice,— deer-sacrifice,  banana- 
sacrifice,— which,  though  sometimes  offered  to  the  minor  spirits,  is  at 
least  in  one  instance  offered  only  to  the  supreme  Spirit,  to  Him  directly, 
with  the  invocation  :—'T/iw  for  Thee!"— a.  thanksgiving  after  the  chase. 

Against  the  authenticity  of  this  belief  it  might  be  urged  :— 

(1)  Neither  the  antiquity  of  the  regions  nor  the  genuineness  of  the 
sources  are  beyond  challenge.  (2)  The  feeding  of  the  spirits  of  the  dead 
is  a  common  practice,  and  the  medicine-man  plies  a  large  and  lucrative 
traffic.  There  are  elaborate  exorcism-rites  with  dances  and  manipulations. 
Such  practices  seem  to  point  to  an  advanced  spirit-worship,  or  demonism. 

A  brief  consideration  of  these  points  will  be  sufficient. 

(1)  The  Phihppine  Negritos  are  pure  only  in  South  Luzon,  (Zambales, 
Bataan)  and  in  portions  of  the  islands  of  Alabat,  Panay,  Negros,  and 
Mindanao.  These  are  generally  known  as  Aetas,  and  are  on  the  lowest 
level  of  culture.^  In  all  other  regions,  and  more  especially  in  North  Luzon, 
they  are  strongly  saturated  with  Malayan  blood,  and  have  adopted  a  higher 
type  of  civilisation,  together  with  many  evil  practices  of  a  later  age,— 
cannibalism  and  head-hunting.  It  is  therefore  all-important  to  note  that 
the  regions  examined  are  with  one  exception  the  most  primitive  in  the 
islands,  and  that  all  ethnologists  look  upon  the  Aetas  as  the  aborigines  of 
the  land, 


r  XT^-.A,-  ^^^^'  ^^^  Negritos  of  Zambales,  (Manila,  1904)  p.  65.  F.  Blumentritt,  Negritos 
of  North  Luzon,  in  Globus,  XLV,  (1884),  p.  75,  quoting  Fr.  Villaverde,  OP.  Steen  A  Bille 
Keise  der  Corvette  Galathea,  (Copenhagen,  1852)  Vol.  I.  p.  452,  quoting  Father  Estevan  Mena. 
(Alabat  Aetas).    2  Reed,  1.  c.  p.  17-23. 


22  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

As  to  the  sources,  there  can  hardly  be  any  doubt  as  to  their  genuine- 
ness, but  there  may  be  some  complaint  of  their  content,  of  the  fact  that  so 
little  has  been  reported.  The  testimony  of  three  independent  witnesses, — 
two  of  them  Catholic  priests, — and  these  from  three  different  areas,  must 
surely  carry  some  weight,  though  the  poverty  of  the  material  reported  is 
somewhat  disappointing.  We  must  remember,  however,  that  this  task  is 
a  very  difTicult  one,  and  although  the  reports  have  come  to  us  only  in 
fragments,  they  are  nevertheless  precious,  indispensable  fragments. 

(2)  This  means  that  for  two  very  primitive  areas, — Zambales  and 
Alabat, — we  find  the  distinct  outlines  of  a  divinity,  who,  however  mys- 
terious His  nature,  is  recognised  as  an  Over-Lord,  a  supreme  Spirit,  nay, 
even  as  a  Creator.  This  idea  extends  also  into  the  third  area, — North 
Luzon, — though  here  the  reports  are  equally  fragmentary.  It  shows,  how- 
ever, that  the  idea  is  continuous,  not  confined  to  any  one  section  of  the 
island  group.  On  the  other  hand,  it  must  also  be  admitted,  that  as  nearly 
all  these  populations  have  come  in  contact  with  a  later  Indonesian  wave  of 
culture,  as  many  of  them  have  advanced  to  ranch-life,  substantial  houses, 
use  of  higher  musical  instruments,  &c.,  the  existence  of  spiritism  in  some 
form  or  another  is  a  correspondingly  prominent  feature.  We  know  that 
cast-priesthoods  and  professional  medicine-men  are  admittedly  later 
elements,  the  Shamanism  of  Western  Asia  finding  practically  no  response 
among  the  Negritos  in  their  purest  state,  as  witness  its  general  absence  in 
Malakka,  the  Andaman  Islands,  Central  Africa,  and  probably  Tasmania. 
Votive-offerings  and  spirit-feeding  are  quite  unknown  in  these  sections, 
or  exist  only  as  sporadic  phenomena.  But  even  in  the  Philippines  there 
are  signs  that  the  Shamanistic  wave  has  but  little  affected  the  purest  and 
least  advanced  section  of  the  aborigines,  for  it  is  precisely  from  Alabat 
and  South  Luzon, — areas  of  least  contamination, — that  the  reports  of  a 
supreme  personal  Divinity  come  to  us  in  their  strongest  if  simplest  form. 

It  may  therefore  be  concluded,  that  although  spirit-worship  has  invaded 
these  populalions  in  parts,  it  has  not  succeeded  in  dethroning  a  personal 
Creator  in  the  oldest  region,  a  Being  worshipped  by  prayer  and  sacrifice. 
The  very  simplicity  of  this  nomadic  cult,  without  temple,  hierarchy,  or 
circumcision-rite,  is  a  guarantee  of  its  non-Malayan  origin,  of  its  remote 
antiquity.  Here  also  the  moral  statistics  are  comparatively  high.  For 
although  degeneracy  has  set  in  among  the  half-breeds  of  North-Luzon,  the 
pure  Aetas  are  a  peaceable  race,  and  lead  simple,  upright  and  virtuous 
lives.' 


•Reed,  1.  c.  p.  61fl.  Comp.  A.  B.  Meyer,  Die  Philippinen,   (Dresden,  1899),  Vol.   III.  p 
33flf.  J.  Montano,  Voyage  aux  Philippines,  (Paris,  1898"),  p.  71.  Schmidt,  1.  c.  142ff. 


GOD  23 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

But  if  the  direct  reports  of  a  supreme  divinity  in  this  region  are  dis- 
appointingly brief,  there  are  several  points  connected  with  the  social  and 
religious  practices  of  these  people  that  deserve  to  be  considered  in  greater 
detail,  as  they  may  help  to  shed  some  valuable  light  on  nature  of  the  belief 
and  the  power  it  has  to  enforce  the  moral  law  by  sanctions  more  or  less 
rigorous. 

(C,  2)  The  Negritos  of  Zambales 

In  the  Zambales  region,  which  is  best  known  to  us,  and  where  the 
natives  are  still  living  the  half-naked  life  of  the  deer-hunter  which  is  con- 
tent with  the  frail  and  collapsible  windshelter,  there  are  interesting 
customs  at  the  end  of  the  chase  which  deserve  to  be  noticed.  Col.  Reed 
has  described  the  ceremony  in  a  few  forcible  words.  "A  bed  of  green 
rushes  or  cane  is  made  on  which  the  animal  is  placed  and  skinned.  This 
done,  the  head  man  of  the  party,  or  the  most  important  man  present,  takes 
a  small  part  of  the  entrails  or  heart,  cuts  it  into  fine  bits  and  scatters  the 
pieces  in  all  directions,  at  the  same  time  chanting  in  a  monotone  a  few 
words  which  mean  'Spirits,  we  thank  you  for  this  successful  hunt!  Here 
is  your  share  of  the  spoils!'  This  is  done  to  feed  and  appease  the  spirits 
which  the  Negritos  believe  inhabit  all  places,  and  the  ceremony  is  never 
neglected".*  It  is  a  pity  that  this  reporter  has  not  supplied  us  with  more 
information  as  to  the  nature  of  these  spirits,  whether  good  or  evil,  helpful 
or  malevolent.  He  says  indeed  that  "all  adverse  circumstances,  sickness, 
failure  of  crops,  unsuccessful  hunts,  are  attributed  to  them,  and  that  so 
long  as  things  go  well,  the  spirits  are  not  much  considered"."  But  even 
good  spirits,  and  the  supreme  Being  himself,  are  not  always  heeded  in  such 
cases,  and  it  appears  that  these  spirits  are  not  demons,  but  dead  ancestors, 
which,  with  the  hunting  formula  mentioned  above,  is  an  important  point 
in  favor  of  their  benevolence.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  author  goes  on  to  say 
that  "there  is  a  huge  black  bowlder,  which  the  Negritos  believe  to  be  the 
home  of  One  powerful  Spirit,  and  that  the  spirits  of  all  who  die  enter  this 
one  Spirit,  called  Anito,  who  has  his  abiding  place  in  this  rock.  No 
Negrito  ever  passes  this  rock  without  leaving  a  banana,  or  some  other 
article  of  food.  If  they  do,  bad  luck  or  accident  is  sure  to  attend  the  trip".' 
This  has  the  suspicious  ring  of  the  "Creator"  of  the  Alabats,  and  is  in  any 
case  an  interesting  find.  But  more  than  all,  this  Banana-sacrifice  to  Anito 
is  a  forcible  reminder  of  the  Paradisaic  or  First-fruit  sacrifice  of  the 
Andamanese,  and  the  exclamation  "This  for  Thee!"  might  well  be  applied 
in  this  place.' 


*  Reed,  Negritos  of  Zambales,  p.  48.    '  Reed,  1.  c.  p.  65.    »  Reed,  1.  c.  p.  65.    '  Taken  from 
Fr.  Villaverde's  report  of  the  Negritos  of  North  Luzon  (above). 


24  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

In  connection  with  tiiis  ceremony,  Col.  Reed  tells  us  that  the  present 
governor  of  Zambales,  Senor  Lesaca,  once  passed  this  rock,  and  for  amuse- 
ment, and  greatly  to  the  horror  of  the  Negritos  with  him — ,  spurned  it 
by  kicking  it  with  his  foot  and  eating  part  of  a  banana  and  throwing  the 
rest  in  the  opposite  direction.  The  Negritos  were  much  concerned  and  said 
that  something  would  happen  to  him,  and,  sure  enough,  before  he  had  gone 
far,  he  got  an  arrow  through  both  legs  from  savage  Negritos  along  the 
frail  who  could  have  known  nothing  of  the  occurrence.  Of  course  this 
only  strengthened  the  belief.* 

This  incident  is  given  for  what  it  is  worth,  but  it  shows  that  there  was 
something  peculiarly  sacred  to  these  people  in  the  mysterious  rock,  in 
which  the  Great  Ainto  was  believed  to  be  present,  and  where,  as  upon  a 
gigantic  altar,  they  placed  the  sacred  Banana  with  the  evident  hope  of 
securing  some  favor,  of  imploring  His  mercy.  For  Anito  has  a  direct 
control  of  human  life,  He  is  the  Master  of  human  destiny.  "Disease  is 
considered  the  punishment  for  wrong-doing,  the  more  serious  diseases 
coming  from  the  supreme  Anito,  the  lesser  ones  from  the  lesser  anitos. 
If  smallpox  visits  a  rancheria,  it  is  because  someone  has  cut  down  a  tree 
or  killed  an  animal  belonging  to  a  spirit  which  has  invoked  the  aid  of  the 
supreme  Spirit  in  inflicting  a  more  severe  punishment  than  it  can  do 
alone"."  This  also  implies  that  Anito  listens  to  prayer,  that  He  is  invoked 
by  His  needy  ones,  for  if  the  dead  can  obtain  favors,  so  surely  can  the 
living.  Moreover  it  is  distinctly  stated  that  the  dead  return  to  Anito,  they 
do  not  pass  into  lower  animals,  which  is  one  more  proof  that  we  are  deal- 
ing with  a  strong  personality,  with  a  direct  Judge. 

It  is  also  worth  noting  that  here  too  the  so-called  "Magic  Comb"  is  in 
use,  together  with  other  "charm-tubes"  of  the  variety  that  we  have  already 
certified  for  Malakka.  In  so  far  as  these  articles  are  brought  into  con- 
nexion with  the  divinity,  they  obtain  a  "sacred"  character  analogous  to 
the  Malakkan  tubes  (q.  v.).  But  in  the  absence  of  any  clear  proof  to  this 
effect  and  the  far  greater  development  of  spiritism,  we  have  reasons  to 
suspect  that  most  of  these  objects  are  mere  "good-luck"  amulets,  harmless 
enough  in  their  way,  but  of  no  definite  religious  import.'" 

Such  in  brief  is  the  picture  of  Atiito, — a  being  who  is  evidently  trans- 
cendent, but  of  whose  inner  nature  we  are  still  left  in  the  dark.  It  is 
here  in  the  Philippines  that  the  pure,  "unshaved"  Negrito  is  seen  at  his 
best." 


"Reed,  1.  c.  p.  6S.    "Reed,  ibidem.    '"Reed,  1.  c.  pp.  37-38.    "See  Reed's  photographs, 
where  the  original  pompadour-type  may  be  clearly  distinguished. 


THE  AGE  OF  BAMBOOS 
AND  OF  STRAIGHT- LINE  PATTERNS 

THE  SPIRIT  FATHER  IN  HEAVEN 

AS  8YMBOLICA1.LY  DEPICTED   IN   BLOWPIPE-PATTERNS.   ALTAR-POSTS,   BAMBOO   DLIiDEMS 

AND    SO-CALLED    "TOTEM-POLES".    AMONG    THE    ORANG-IKIT    AND     ORANG-KENTA.    THE 

ABORIGINAL  DAYAK8  OF  BORNEO 


SYMBOLIC 
ALTAB-CBOBS 


^^ 


T^SK  OF  UFC 


fH-f-H-HJ 

CO  R  O  N  CT 


•PEN-  >A-  LON<T 


AKTU-APU-ANTU 


A-BA-UKsa     _ 

Amgti—   AMAKA 


+: 


+ 


+t+ 


BALI -BAU- BALI 


ANTU  PEMXA-ANTU 


A»»U  -KAYA>N 


SI-JIBOLIC 
ALTAR-CBOSS 


&»(4 


TREH  OF  LIFE 
KAYU--c4eU 

C0B.0  NET 


PEN-  yA-uois»a 


PRIMITIVE  INTERPRETATION 
'TATHKB  OF   SPIRITS    ABOVE— HOLY.    HOLY.    HOLY.— GIARDIAN    SPIRIT    OF   THE    TREE    OF 

LIFE." 

THE  NIMEBOVS  CROSSES  AND  TREE   PATTERNS  CAN  ONLY  BE   EXPLAINED  AS  A   DISTANT 
SYMBOLISM   THE    FRITT— ^AND    FATHER-OOD-TIIEME    OF    THE    ABORIGINES.     SEE    II.    LINO- 
ROTH,    THE    NATIVES    OF    SARAWAK    AND    BRITISH    NORTH    BORNEO,    n.    39.     I8».       H08E- 
McDOCOALL,  THE  PAGAN  TRIBES  OF  BORNEO.    (LONTWN,   l»l«),  PL.   146,  157. 


GOD  25 

OCEANIC  PRIMITH^E  FORM 

(D,  1)  AMAKA— The  Forest  Da  yaks  of  Central  Borneo 

Among  the  wild  inhabitants  of  the  interior  of  Borneo  there  is  a  belief 
in  a  mysterious  being,  variously  known  as  Amei,  Balingo,  or  Bali  Penya- 
long,  of  whom  the  following  information  may  be  gathered:—' 

He  is  the  supreme  Governor  of  the  world  and  the  Master  of  human 
destiny.  He  sees  and  knows  all  things,  at  least  in  so  far  as  they  concern 
the  human  race.  He  is  a  good  being,  both  helpful  and  benevolent,  and  is 
evidently  their  Judge,  as  He-  has  supreme  control  over  human  life.  He  is 
a  Thunder-God  and  a  "Father  in  Heaven",  to  whom  they  have  access  in 
all  their  needs.  He  has  a  female  partner,  Doh  Penyalong,  who  is  a  special 
patroness  of  women,  a  "Mother-Mediator".  He  has  instituted  their  sacred 
rites  and  observances,  among  which  the  throwing  up  of  blood  and  the 
offering  up  of  the  sacred  blossom  of  the  betel-palm  are  the  most  distinc- 
tive, with  the  simple  'm\ocdi[ion:—Ama-ka!—Bcdi-Penya-long!—"Our 
Father  in  Heaven!" 

A  few  preliminary  remarks  on  this  subject  will  be  necessary. 

The  wild  "Punans",  or  "Bakatans",  are  grouped  in  small  communities 
and  inhabit  the  dense  jungle  at  the  head- waters  of  the  principal  rivers  of 
Borneo.  They  are  a  slender  race,  of  moderate  height,  and  paler  in  color 
than  most  tribes.  They  do  not  cultivate  the  soil,  but  live  on  whatever  they 
can  find  in  the  jungle.  Leaf-hut,  firestick,  scarcity  of  clothing,  absence 
of  a  higher  stone  or  metallic  industry,  all  these  are  aboriginal  symptoms 
which,  together  with  their  bamboo  implements  and  blowpipes,  connect 
them  with  the  central  Malakkan  and  also  with  the  Philippine  region.  They 
may  therefore  be  classed  as  "primitives"  in  the  best  sense,  and  are  more- 
over a  genial  and  attractive  race,  which  makes  their  study  a  doubly  inter- 
esting one. 

Unfortunately  there  are  only  two  white  men  that  have  supplied  us 
with  any  exact  details  of  their  religious  beliefs,  and  even  these  are  con- 
fined to  the  barest  essentials,  though  they  furnish  a  sufficient  basis  for 
drawing  conclusions  of  considerable  value  when  coupled  with  the  remain- 
ing data,  the  discoveries  of  Dr.  Nieuwenhuis  being  very  important. 

And  first,— as  to  the  name  of  the  divinity.  There  is  here  an  apparent 
discrepancy,  which  can  only  be  remedied  by  collating  all  the  designations 
for  divinity  both  here  and  among  the  neighboring  Kenyahs,  Kayans,  and 
Kalamantans.  From  this  it  will  appear  that  Aba  [Ama),  Abali  [Amaka], 
Bali,  Balingo  {Tamei,  Tamaka),  are  fundamental  for  this  region,  the  form' 
Amaka  extending,  as  we  shall  see,  far  into  the  xMolukkas,  to  the  Spice 
Islands. 


Vol.  I 


iH.  Ling  Roth,  The  Natives  of  Sarawak  and   British  North-Borneo,    (London    1896) 
«Aa    /?•  ,    •  Hidden,  Head-hunters,  black,  white,  and  brown,   (London,   1901)    p 

ia)tt.  (for  general  ethnology).  Charles  Hose  and  W.  McDougall,  The  Relation  between 
men  and  animals  in  Sarawak,  (J.  A.  L  London,  1901,  Vol.  XXXI.  pp.  173-213)  Idem  The 
Pagan  Tribes  of  Borneo,  (London,  1912),  Vol.  II.  pp.  1-19,  185-186.  (For  ethnolog^  and 
religious  beliefs).    For  the  work  of  Dr.  Nieuwenhuis,  see  below,  p   27 


26  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

Thus  the  name  reported  by  Hose  and  McDougall  as  Bali-lutong  can 
easily  be  dissected  into  more  primitive  elements,  in  which  the  roots  ab-ba- 
ling -long -lung  reappear  in  many  of  the  above  word-combinations,  signify- 
ing Father,  Master,  Heaven,  High,  Clouds,  etc.  In  this  manner  Aba-lingo 
is  probably  the  original  of  Balingo,  the  high  thunder-god  of  the  neighbor- 
ing Kenyas,  though  the  word  bali  has  also  a  secondary  technical  sense 
of  "spirit"  or  "soul",  terms  equally  well  known  to  the  wild  forest-folk. 

"The  Punans",  writes  Dr.  Hose,  "worship  the  Supreme  Being  (sic)  as 
the  Kenyas  do,  and  they  address  Him  as  Bali-lutong.  They  have  similar 
ideas  with  regard  to  the  soul  of  man  and  its  destination  after  death,  and 
like  all  other  peoples  they  believe  themselves  to  be  surrounded  by  spirits 
which  may  be  harmful  to  them.  Their  medicine-men  are  sometimes  called 
in  by  people  of  other  tribes  and  enjoy  a  high  reputation".^  Again, — "They 
pray  to  Bali-Peny along,  (evidently  the  same  being),  who  seems  to  be  the 
principal  object  of  their  trust.  This  being  is  probably  conceived  anthro- 
pomorphically — but  they  make  no  images  in  human  form,  and  we  do  not 
know  that  Bali-Penyalong  is  supposed  by  them  to  have  a  wife — their  rites 
involve  no  animal  sacrifices,  and  they  do  not  look  for  guidance  or  answer 
to  prayer  in  the  entrails  of  animals".  Moreover,  "the  term  bali  is  only 
applied  to  a  being  having  special  powers  of  the  sort  that  we  should  call 
supernatural",  "indeed  no  human  being  is  addressed  or  spoken  of  with 
the  title  bali".''  It  is  certainly  noteworthy  that  one  of  the  few  prayers  so 
far  recorded  should  be  addressed  directly  to  Him,  as  when  at  the  common 
sacrificial  ceremony  the  ritual  fires  are  lighted,  and  the  blossom  of  the 
Betel-Palm  is  solemnly  offered  to  the  Aba-lingo,  the  Bali-Penyalong,  the 
"Spirit-Father-in-Heaven".*  This  seems  to  reveal  an  extraordinary  power 
for  help,  for  neither  the  crocodile  nor  the  omen  bird  are  of  any  serious 
significance  in  this  ceremony,  as  I  shall  presently  show. 

"The  Punans  are  very  mild  savages,  they  are  7iot  head-hunters,  do 
not  keep  slaves,  are  generous  to  one  another,  and  moderately  truthful,  and 
probably  never  do  any  injury  by  making  a  false  statement.  They  are  a 
cheerful  and  bright  people,  who  are  very  fond  of  their  children  and  kind 
to  the  women".  "The  Bakatans  are  not  cannibals"."  This  is  an  attractive 
picture,  as  it  tends  to  reveal  a  moral,  peaceful,  and  truth-loving  God  as 
the  author  and  keeper  of  the  public  conscience.  But  it  is  impossible  to 
appreciate  this  subject  without  comparing  them  with  their  next-door 
neighbors,  the  Kenyas  and  Kayans. 


» Hose-McDougall.  Men  and  Animals,  p.  195.  'Idem,  Pagan  Tribes,  II.  186,  29,  121. 
♦Idem,  Men  and  Animals,  p.  196.  Pagan  Tribes,  II.  84,  189  (hatred  of  crocodiles).  »  Had- 
don,  op.  cit.  p.  320-321.  Brooke,  apud  Ling-Roth,  op.  cit.  I.  17.  Compare  Hose,  Pagan  Tribes, 
I.  175  (no  cannibalism),  II.  180  (innocent  of  vices,  primitive  family  life). 


GOD  27 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

Of  these  the  Kenyahs  are  the  nearest  blood-relations  of  the  Bakatans, 
and  the  lowest  in  point  of  culture,  which  makes  it  probable  that  they 
embody  a  very  similar  belief.  Here  Balingo  is  distinctly  the  god  of 
thunder,  and  Bali  Penyalong  is  "the  supreme  Being  to  whom  the  Kenyahs 
pray  for  guidance  in  important  undertakings,  while  the  women  pray  to 
Doh  Penyalong,  his  wife".'  But  the  most  distinctive  feature  is  the  cult  of 
the  Hawk,  an  omen-bird,  which  is  never  killed  or  eaten,  but  is  ofTered  in 
sacrifice  to  Bali-Peny along,  with  the  words : — "0  Spirit  of  this  bird  Ask 
Bali  Penyalong  to  take  away  all  sickness  from  us  and  to  keep  us  from  all 
harm!" '' — accompanied  by  the  flame  and  smoke  of  the  ritual  fires  and  the 
sprinkling  of  the  worshippers  and  the  image  of  Bali  Penyalong  with  the 
blood  of  the  bird.  Here  the  "Blood-Brotherhood"  is  firmly  established, 
"when  each  of  the  two  men  drinks  or  smokes  in  a  cigarette  a  little  of  the 
other's  blood  drawn  with  a  bamboo  knife".  But  the  most  important  point 
in  this  ceremony  is  the  fact  that  the  omen-bird  is  not  in  itself  the  divinity, 
but  that  "they  look  upon  the  hawks  as  messengers  or  intermediaries 
between  themselves  and  Bali  Penyalong".^ 

Among  the  Kayans  we  find  the  same  fundamental  ideas,  but  somewhat 
differently  worded.  "Like  the  Kenyahs  they  worship  a  supreme  Being 
under  the  name  of  Laki  Tenangan,  or  'Grandfather  Tenangan',  and  the 
women  pray  to  Do  Tenangan,  his  wife".  Here  Laki  Neho  appears  under 
the  form  of  the  Hawk,  but  he  is  a  niediator  between  God  and  man,  as  is 
clear  from  the  sacrificial  rite,  in  which  fires  are  lighted,  k  hen  or  a  pig 
slaughtered,  and  an  egg  offered  to  him  with  the  invocation: — "This  is 
for  thee  to  eat!  Carry  my  message  directly  to  Laki  Tenangan,  that  I  may 
become  well,  and  may  train  my  children  in  the  patl\  of  right  living!"  " 

In  the  parallel  account  furnished  by  Dr.  Nieuwenhuis  it  is  Amei  Tingei 
(intensitive  Amaka,  Tamaka),  who  is  the  "High  Father"  of  the  Kayans, 
who  spins  the  world  out  like  a  spider,  who  made  the  first  human  pair, 
Adja  and  Djaja,  who  induces  a  rice-famine  in  the  earthly  Paradise,  who 
punishes  the  violations  of  the  moral  law,  who  is  an  all-knowing,  all- 
ruling  Spirit  or  Bruwa,  having  innumerable  spirits  under  His  sway.  Here 
also  the  hen  and  the  egg  are  sacrificed,  and  foods  are  wrapt  in  banana- 
leaves  and  liquids  offered  in  bamboo-cylinders  to  the  Great  To,  or  "Uni- 
versal Spirit".  At  death  the  good  are  carried  to  Apu  Lagan, — Amaka's 
place  of  heavenly  delights.  This  report,  furnished  by  an  eminent  scientific 
expert,  is  of  considerable  value,  as  it  tends  to  corroborate  the  findings  of 
less  professional  authors  and  to  supply  us  with  something  approaching  to 
a  native  story  of  world-origins.^* 


«Hose,  Men  and  Animals,  p.  ITS.  'Ibid.  p.  184-185.  sibid.  p.  177.  »rbid.  p.  189-190. 
»<>A.  W.  Nieuwenhuis,  In  Ccntraal  Borneo,  (2  Vols.  Leyden.  19CI0)  Vol.  I.  p.  139-141.  Idem, 
Quer  durch  Borneo,  (2  vols.  Leyden,  1904)  Vol.  I.  pp.  98-99,  100-103,  112-132.  (This  is  a 
short  English  version  of  the  original  Dutch  and  German  report).  For  the  Kalamantans,  see 
the  Bakatans  above,  &  Comp.  Hose,  p.  192. 


28  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

Now  in  collating  all  this  evidence  it  seems  to  be  clear  that  the  belief 
a  supreme  personal  Being  shines  through  the  different  mythologies  in  a 
manner  which  makes  it  quite  impossible  to  confound  Him  with  any  bird, 
beast,  or  tribal  ancestor,  however  sacred.  As  a  fact,  the  hawk  or  omen- 
bird  becomes  less  conspicuous  the  more  we  delve  into  the  jungle,  and  is 
quite  unimportant  among  the  Bakatans  or  lowest  aborigines  of  the  land. 
This  shows  that  divination,  with  all  the  animistic  practices  that  it  implies, 
shows  a  steady  decrease  the  more  we  penetrate  into  the  primitive  zone. 
The  simple  "Our  Father"  of  the  jungle-folk  has  little  or  no  connection 
with  the  omen-bird,  nor  is  the  "spirit"  of  a  pig,  or  any  other  animal 
invoked  in  order  to  obtain  mystic  communion  with  Him.  Again,  He  is 
sexless  and  wifeless.  His  female  "partner"  being  prominent  only  among 
the  Kenyahs  and  the  more  advanced  tribes,  while  the  general  absence  of 
nature  and  ancestor-worship  is  at  least  equally  striking. 

But  as  to  the  purity  and  authenticity  of  this  belief,  it  is  to  be  noted 
that  there  is  no  organised  totemism  among  any  of  the  natives,  least  of  all 
among  the  Bakatans.  "The  prevalence  of  the  beliefs  in  a  supreme  Being" 
says  Hose,  "tends  to  prevent  the  development  of  totemism.  and  we  can- 
not conclude  without  saying  something  as  to  the  possible  origin  of  this 
conception  of  a  beneficent  Being,  more  powerful  than  all  the  others,  who 
sends  guidance  and  warnings  by  the  omen-birds,  and  who  receives  and 
answers  prayers  carried  to  Him  by  the  souls  of  the  fowls  and  pigs.  It 
might  be  thought  that  this  concept  had  been  borrowed,  directly  or 
indirectly,  from  the  Malays.  But  we  do  not  think  that  view  is  tenable." 
And  the  autliors  emphasise  the  fact  that  this  is  a  living  belief  among  the 
wild  forest-men,  far  from  Malay  influence,  while  it  is  a  dead  one  the  Ibans 
or  Sea-Dayaks,  close  to  Malay  influence, — an  important  point,  and  one 
upon  which  Archdeacon  Perham  concurs."  Moreover — "It  is  doubtful 
whether  those  of  the  aboriginals  who  have  mixed  least  with  the  other 
peoples  pay  any  attention  to  the  omen-birds.  With  that  exception  there 
is  probably  no  wild  animal  of  the  jungle  that  the  Punans  do  not  kill  and 
eat"."  The  crocodile  is  shunned  and  avoided,  but  this  is  not  "totemism", 
for  which  reason  we  are  amply  justified  in  contending  for  a  pure  and 
lofty  cult  of  divinity.  Again, — "Highly  significant  as  against  other  Dayak 
tribes  is  the  complete  fidelity  to  the  marriage-tie  among  the  Bahau  (or 
wild  men  of  the  interior),  and  the  equality  of  conjugal  rights  between 
man  and  woman,  with  a  numerical  preponderance  of  the  latter,  argues 
for  a  degree  of  continence  and  sexual  self-control  that  is  surprising  among 
a  people  on  such  a  low  level  of  culture," 


"  Hose  and  McDouaall,  Men  and  Animals,  p.  202-212.  "  Ibid.  p.  195.  "  Nieuwenhuis,  In 
Centraal  Borneo,  Vol.  I.  p.  100.  (Translation  from  the  Dutch).  Comp.  also  P.  W.  Schmidt, 
Mythologie  der  Austronesischen  Volker,  (Vienna,  1910).  pp.  11,  12,  23ff.  for  further 
criticism. 


GOD  29 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(D,  2)  The  Toalas  and  Toradajas  of  Celebes 

These  conclusions  are  seen  to  be  still  further  corroborated  by  the  exist- 
ence of  a  common  form  Kalangi  as  the  designation  for  the  "Heavenly- 
One"  among  the  aborigines  of  Central  Celebes. 

For  the  Toalas,  or  "backwoodsmen",  religious  statistics  are  as  yet  very 
meagre.  The  authors  speak  vaguely  of  a  tree-cult  with  sacrifice,  which 
cannot  but  remind  us  of  the  betel-fruit  offerings  above."  Fortunately  the 
deficiency  can  be  supplied  in  part  by  the  neighboring  tribes. 

Among  the  Makassars  and  Buginese  of  Southern  Celebes  we  find  Adji- 
Patoto  as  the  "Ruler  of  Destiny",  with  whom  is  associated  Datu-Palinge 
as  the  "Creator"  of  the  world.  The  latter  is  a  female,  it  is  true,  but  Adji- 
Patoto  suggests  "Fatherhood",  while  Palinge  is  too  suspiciously  near 
Kalangi  not  to  reveal  the  fundamental  meaning  of  Pa-lingo  as  the  "Father- 
in-Heaven",  of  which  Ka-langi  as  the  "Chief"  or  Creator  of  Heaven  is  but 
a  variation.  Though  these  deities  are  apparently  married,  and  have  a 
divine  child, — Batara,  "the  Lord" — ,  who  descends  from  heaven  in  a 
bamboo  and  prepares  a  paradise  for  man — ,  there  is  evidence  to  show  that 
they  were  originally  free  from  the  sex-relation,  as  we  shall  presently  see.'" 

A  similar  tradition  is  preserved  by  the  Toradjas  of  the  interior,  among 
whom  I-lai  and  In-dara  figure  as  the  "Father-Mother"-God,  and  a  being 
called  Samoa  takes  the  place  of  the  demiurge.  The  latter  makes  two 
human  beings,  man  and  woman,  out  of  stone,  and  breathes  into  them  the 
breath  of  life.  He  conducts  them  to  a  high  mountain,  ofTefs  them  a  stone 
and  a  banana,  and  through  choosing  the  banana  they  have  lost  the  gift  of 
immortality.  Here  I-lai  is  the  common  Austronesian  I-laki,  or  I-langi, 
which  as  Yalangi  means  nothing  less  than  "I  am  in  Heaven"  (the  Great  "I 
AM"?),  and  where  the  phonetic  analogy  with  Kalangi  is  once  more 
apparent." 

But  as  to  Kalangi  himself,  He  forms  the  background  of  the  Minahassa 
traditions  of  Northern  Celebes.  Though  apparently  one  of  the  sons  of 
Lumimu'ut,  the  "Mother  Earth",  his  position  as  the  "Lord  of  Heaven"  and 
his  identification  with  Muntu'untu,  the  "Highest  One",  (the  mountain- 
peak),  "the  Great  Master,  who  has  made  heaven  and  earth,  and  is  acknowl- 
edged as  the  Lord  by  all  the  gods",  seems  to  reveal  a  distinct  notion 
of  transcendence.  Here  also  He  is  the  center  of  a  "tree-cult  with  sacrifice", 
He  is  prayed  to  by  gods  and  men,  and  He  is  the  Helper  of  man  and  the 
Ruler  of  human  destiny." 


"  p.  and  F.  Sarasin.  Materialien  zur  Kenntniss  der  Naturgeschichte  der  Insel  Celebes, 
(Wiesbaden,  1905)  Vol.  V.  Part  II.  p.  126.  "  g.  Wilken,  Het  Animisme  in  den  Indischen 
Archipel  (Leyden,  1885)  p.  232ff.  A.  C.  Kruyt,  Idem  (Hague,  1906)  p.  467ff.  i"  Kruyt,  1.  c.  p. 
469.  Also,  Mededeeligen  van  wege  het  Nederlandsche  Zendelingsgenootschap.  (1894)  p. 
339ff.     1'  Schwartz-Adriani,  Tontemboansche  Teksten,  (Leyden,  1907).  Vol.  II.  p.  337,  477 ff. 


30  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 
(D,  3)  The  Ceramese-Amboina  Group, — Southern  Molukkas 

Finally  we  have  the  mixed  Malayan  and  Papuan  populations  of  the 
eastern  Spice  Islands,  among  whom  we  find  the  same  mythological  con- 
cepts in  all  their  essentials. 

For  Geram  Frederik  Riedel  reports  of  a  Heaven-god,  Vpu  Langi,  and 
an  Earth-mother,  Upu  Tapene,  both  of  whom  are  invoked  on  solemn 
occasions.  The  natives  say  that  they  came  down  from  heaven,  others 
that  they  sprang  out  of  the  Nunu-lree,  a  species  of  fig,  which  was  planted 
on  the  mountain  summit  of  an  island  in  the  West.  The  same  tradition 
is  found  among  the  natives  of  Buru,  where  Ubun  Langi  and  Vbun  Sanane 
are  evidently  synonymous  with  the  above.  This  is  further  emphasized  by 
the  Amaka  Lanito  and  the  Inaka  Ume  of  the  Amboina-group.  the  col- 
lateral forms  Upu  Lanito  and  Upu  Ume  revealing  the  fact  that  Amaka  and 
Upu  {Apo,  etc)  are  identical  terms.  These  are  invoked  by  the  common 
expression  Aamina  Lanito,  "Father-Mother-Heaven",  which  shows  that 
both  are  equally  heavenly,  though  their  creative  power  is  here  no  longer 
as  vivid,  men  springing  out  of  the  Kanari-tree,  which  however  was 
planted  by  Amaka,  the  "Father"  of  All.  It  is  He  that  carries  on  a  con- 
tinual war  against  thunder  and  lightning,  and  who  lives  in  the  place 
where  Anin,  the  wind,  has  its  source, — showing  that  He  is  distinct  and 
above  the  creation  and  above  His  female  "mediator"." 


It  will  now  be  seen  with  what  right  we  have  identified  the  forms  Aba, 
Ama,  Apu,  Upu,  Amaka,  Tcmnaka,  as  the  original  designations  for  the 
divine  "Fatherhood"  throughout  the  central  Indonesian  zone.  Ab  or  Am 
is  one  of  the  earliest  roots  for  "father"  in  existence,  its  reduplicated  or 
syncopated  form  appearing  in  all  combinations  with  Ba,  Bu,  Pa,  Pu,  Ma, 
Mu,  such  as  Ba-lingo,  Pa-lingo,  Pu-lingo  (perhaps  Pu-luga?)  Ma-amba, 
Mu-untu,  Mu-lungu,  etc.  Ka  and  Ta  are  for  the  most  part  intensitive  or 
causative,  from  which  we  get  Ka-ri,  Ka-lingo,  Ka-langi,  Ama-ka,  Ta-ma-ka, 
etc.  signifying  "Great  Father",  "Creator",  and  so  on,  while  the  La,  Langi- 
series  is  fundamental  for  "Heaven",  "Clouds",  "Light",  etc.  which  in  com- 
bination with  the  Aba-noiion  reveals  Aba-Langi,  "Father  in  Heaven"  as 
the  universal  basic  form,  the  idea  of  "thunder"  being  a  secondary  notion 
expressive  of  power, — Ka,  Ta.  (Compare  also  Loica-Langi  of  the  Niassians). 
On  the  other  hand  Da,  Do,  Dara,  Djadja,  Chawah,  etc.  as  "Blood",  "Life", 
"Female  Principle",  is  always  subordinate  to  Adja,  Adji,  Adjam,  as  the 
male  "governor",  which  shows  that  Amaka-Balingo-Kalangi  is  essentially 
sexless." 


'•  Fr.  Riedel,  De  sluik-en  kroes-harigen  rassen  tusschen  Selebes  en  Papua,  ('s  Gravenhage, 
1886),  p.  160ff.  7,  Slff.  "Further  discussion  in  W.  Schmidt,  Austronesische  Mythologie, 
pp.  11,  23,  55,  68,  94ff 


GOD  31 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(E,  1)  ABUDA— The  Aru  Islanders, — Arafura  Bay,  New  Guinea 

In  crossing  the  Molukkas  we  have  already  entered  the  "black"  region, 
in  which  the  Papuan  type  begins  to  assume  the  ascendancy.  We  leave 
Indonesia  proper  and  enter  the  enormous  domain  of  Papuasia,  which 
extends  from  here  to  Tasmania  on  the  one  side,  and  to  Fiji  and  New 
Caledonia  on  the  other.  Of  the  aborigines  of  the  Aru  Islands  we  have  as 
yet  little  knowledge,  but  the  following  points  should  be  noted: — 

It  appears  that  they  worship  an  "Abuda"  or  "Father"-5ortoi,  "who 
lives  at  the  foundation,  under  these  islands",  and  to  whom  they  still  pray 
and  offer  wild  fruits.  Though  pictured  as  a  man,  as  the  ancestor  of  all 
the  frizzly-haired  Papuans,  he  seems  to  be  an  eternal  being,  to  whom  they 
have  continual  access  in  prayer.  This  is  suggested  by  the  fact  that  the 
astral  triad, — sun,  moon,  and  earth, — is  of  very  little  significance  in  this 
region,  being  entirely  eclipsed  by  Boitai,  the  "Lord"  of  the  Earth,  and 
Taidue,  the  "Lady"  of  the  Sea, — once  more  a  divine  couple.  That  the 
former  overshadows  the  latter,  and  is  a  supra-mundane  being,  may  be 
inferred  from  the  conjuration-formula,  in  which  He  is  invoked  in 
astronomical  language,  to  be  sure,  but  in  which  the  idea  of  a  single  divine 
personality  is  clearly  revealed,  to  wit,  "0  Moon,  Lord-Sun!  Thou  ivho 
seest  all  things  that  are  in  Heaven  and  Earth!"  An  inspection  of  His 
titles  will  show  that  the  position  of  sun,  moon,  and  earth,  etc.  in  Dyabu- 
laran,  Dyabu-vulan,  Dyabu-vava,  is  either  subordinate,  or,  what  is  more 
probable,  purely  descriptive  and  complementary,  being  a  triple  invoca- 
tion to  Boitai  as  the  "Lord  of  the  sun,  the  Lord  of  the  moon,  and  the  Lord 
of  the  earth," — a  suggestive  prayer.^  That  this  is  really  the  case  is  rendered 
increasingly  certain  by  the  testimony  of  Baron  Van  Hoevell,  who  dis- 
tinctly states  that  there  is  no  vestige  of  an  organised  sun-cult  on  the 
islands.^ 

I  am  prepared  to  admit,  however,  that  the  astral  mythology  has  made 
considerable  inroads  in  these  regions,  which  is  only  to  be  expected  from 
their  growing  contact  with  higher  cultures.  At  the  same  time  an  analysis 
of  Dyabu  reveals  once  more  the  two  roots  dya  and  abu,  the  former  of 
which  is  here  vaguely  "Lordship",  doubtless  a  later  addition  to  the  more 
primitive  abu  which  we  have  already  identified  as  the  "father"-root  in 
the  earliest  zone.  Boitai  is  therefore  an  abu,  and  in  his  triple  manifesta- 
tion He  is  in  fact  an  Abuda,  an  "Oldest  One",  a  "Life-giver",  which  is  sur- 
prising in  view  of  the  confused  racial  and  religious  character  of  these 


'  Fr.  Riedel,  De  sluik-en  kroes-harigen  rassen  tusschen  Selebes  en  Papua,  ('sGravenhage, 
Ind.  Taal-Land-en  Volkenkunde,  Vol.  XXXIII  (1890),  p.  82.  2  Comp.  W.  Schmidt.  Austron- 
esische  Mythologie,  p.  89ff.  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  these  references. 


32  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(E,  2)  The  Tapiros, — North-West  Netherlands  New  Guinea 

Of  the  newly  discovered  Tapiros  we  have  as  yet  no  definite  informa- 
tion. It  will  be  useful,  however,  to  call  attention  to  a  few  anthropological 
and  ethnological  data  which  may  serve  as  a  help  for  correctly  estimating 
their  religious  position.  The  following  is  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  H.  S.  Har- 
rison:— 

"In  the  case  of  the  Tapiro  of  New  Guinea  recently  discovered  by  Cap- 
tain Rawling  and  his  colleagues,  circumstances  prevented  anything  but  a 
preliminary  survey,  though  the  information  gained  is  sufficient  to  show 
that  they  fall  into  line  with  other  negritos  scattered  in  small  groups  over 
a  wide  but  discontinuous  area  of  the  earth's  surface.  .  .  .  Conspicuous 
among  the  physical  characters  of  the  Tapiro  are  the  low  stature,  the  woolly 
hair,  the  dark  skin,  and  the  broad  head.  To  use  the  language  of  science, 
they  are  ulotrichous  melanic  brachicephals  of  an  average  height  of  less 
than  five  feet.  The  same  definition  may  be  applied  to  certain  pygmy-tribes 
found  in  regions  not  far  distant,  and  also  in  Central  Africa.  The  former 
are  usually  called  Negritos,  and  the  latter  are  often  spoken  of  as  Negrillos. 
The  Negrito-group  has  hitherto  included  only  the  Andamanese  of  the 
Andaman  Islands,  the  Semang  of  parts  of  the  Malay  Peninsula,  and  the 
Aeta  of  the  Philippines.  To  these  must  now  be  added  the  negritos  of 
Dutch  New  Guinea,  for  which  the  only  native  name  is  that  of  Tapiro".' 

Speaking  of  their  social  and  religious  customs,  he  says — 

"We  have  no  information  as  to  the  manners  and  customs,  and  the 
social  or  tribal  organisation  of  the  Tapiro,  but  if  they  are  in  agreement 
with  other  pygmy  groups,  there  will  be  no  departure  from  the  prevailing 
simplicity.  Amongst  these,  totemism  and  clan-systcms  are  wanting  or 
rudimentary,  hereditary  chieftainship  is  apparently  unknown,  and  the 
social  groups  partake  of  the  nature  of  family  associations,  the  villages, 
if  such  exist,  being  always  small.  There  is  no  ancestor-cult  or  ceremonial 
spirit-worship,  but  in  some  cases  at  least  a  belief  in  supernatural  beings  is 
known  to  prevail,  and  there  may  even  be  recognition  of  a  supreme  deity. 
Monogamy  is  usual  and  women  are  not  ill-treated.  Death  appears  to  be 
regarded  as  a  natural  event,  and  not  as  the  result  of  witchcraft  or  sorcery, 
and  burial  of  the  dead  in  the  ground  is  customary,  though  platform  and 
tree-burial  are  occasionally  practiced  in  some  groups".* 

But  as  we  have  no  knowledge  of  the  Tapiro  beliefs  as  such,  we  are 
forced  to  turn  to  the  adjacent  areas  for  further  enlightenment. 


'  H.  S.  Harrison,  in  Rawling,  The  Land  of  the  New  Guinea  Pygmies,   (London,  1913) 
p.  266-267,  on  the  neRrito-question.     *  Ibid.,  p.  275. 


GOD  33 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 
(E,  3)  AWONA-KAWA— The  Karesau-Islanders  of  German  New  Guinea 

This  deficiency  can  now  be  supplied  by  the  Karesau-Islanders,  who 
inhabit  the  coast  region  directly  to  the  north-east,  on  the  German  side  of 
the  great  continental  divide,  known  as  the  Charles-Louis  range  or  the 
Victor-Emmanuel  mountains.  These  peoples  are  sufficiently  low  to  have 
been  the  bearers  of  an  aboriginal  Papuan  faith,  their  semi-nomadic  life 
and  loose  social  organisation  being  based  exclusively  on  "natural"  or  clan 
headmanship,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  approaches  nearest  to  the  primitive 
standard.  Organised  totemism  is  here  unknown,  and  spirit  and  ancestor- 
worship  at  a  minimum,  all  of  which  are  points  favorable  to  a  lofty  cult 
of  divinity. 

They  acknowledge  a  supreme  being  whom  they  call  Awona-kaiva  or 
Wonek'au,  who  lives  in  the  heavens  and  has  no  temples  or  sculptured 
representations.  In  this  He  is  distinguished  from  the  ancestor-spirits  who 
live  in  the  marea  or  spirit-house.  He  is  recognised  as  the  Maker  if  not 
the  Creator  of  all,  but  is  himself  an  invisible,  benevolent,  and  providential 
being,  who  is  very  powerful,  directs  the  destinies  of  man,  and  is  appealed  to 
in  all  important  undertakings.  At  the  end  of  the  initiation-ceremony  for 
youths — in  which  all,  including  women  and  children  assist—,  there  is  an 
offering  of  fruits  and  animals,  where,  with  eyes  raised  to  heaven,  He  is 
solemnly  invoked  in  the  following  strain:— "0  Wonekau!  Come  down, 
and  look  upon  my  wife,  my  children,  my  mother,  my  father,  my  sisters^ 
my  brothers,  my  aunts,  my  uncles,  my  cousins,  my  friends,  7ny 
fellow-beings!"  ° 

It  is  fortunate  that  in  this  case  we  have  the  direct  reports  of  a  very 
reliable  witness,  the  Rev.  Father  Schmidt,  S.  V.  D.,  who,  as  he  says,  was 
most  careful  not  to  suggest  anything  to  the  minds  of  the  natives,  but  let 
them  tell  their  own  story,  in  their  own  words,  and  in  their  own  way.  The 
following  conversation  with  one  of  the  aboriginals  is  certainly  interest- 
ing:— 

"Has  Wonekau  lived  in  heaven  for  a  long  time,  forever?"  "They 
haven't  told  me"  was  the  answer,  "but  I  am  forbidden  to  eat  the  casuar 
forever",  (as  long  as  time  lasts),  showing  that  the  idea  of  timeless  dura- 
tion was  not  absent.  "When  a  child  has  been  lost  in  the  back-woods,  the 
mother  runs  into  the  forest  and  shrieks  to  Wonekau  as  follows:— 0 
Wonekau!  Thou  art  good!  Go,  and  tell  the  whites,  that  my  child  must 
come  back!"— this  apropos  of  the  fact  that  the  child  had  left  the  maternal 
hearth,  and  gone  to  the  coast  to  live  with  the  whites.  "When  a  child  has 
arrived  at  the  sixth  or  eighth  year,  the  father  tells  him  all  about  Wonekau 
and  what  He  demands,  as  follows : — 


»  Anthropos,  II.  (1905)  p.  1029ff.    The  same  report  will  be  found,  supplemented  and  fa 
part  corrected  in  Austronesische  Mythologie,  p.  117-119. 


34  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

"They  are  not  to  steal  arrows,  cocoa-nuts,  or  other  things,  for  Wonekau 
sees  all  things,  though  He  cannot  be  seen  Himself.  But  if  people  do  steal, 
they  are  not  taken  by  Wonekau  into  His  palace  in  Heaven,  but  are  con- 
signed to  the  flames".  "Where  are  these  flames,  are  they  under  the 
earth?".  "I  don't  know".  When  strangers  are  amused  at  their  native 
customs,  they  answer:  "You  mustn't  laugh,  Wonekau  has  made  it  so". 
When  a  man  has  finished  a  difficult  piece  of  work,  they  say, — "That  comes 
from  Wonekau,  who  helped  him".  At  night  the  men  gather  together  on 
the  sea-shore,  and  one  tells  the  story  of  Wonekau  under  the  light  of  the 
stars: — "Men  and  fellow  beings!  We  are  in  existence!  (Just  think  of  it). 
Our  land  is  very  good.  The  Pleiades  and  the  stars  are  shining.  This  is  a 
great  year.  Wonekau,  He  is  very  good.  He  is  invisible.  He  makes  the 
Pleiades  and  the  stars!" — and  so  on. 

Further  evidence  of  the  moral  nature  of  this  being  is  furnished  by  the 
story  of  the  adulterer,  who,  after  being  warned  by  his  fellows  with  the 
words, — "Friend,  you  must  not  do  that,  no  one  may  steal  the  wife  of 
another,  you  must  give  back  the  woman",  is  finally  reproved  by  the  leader 
with  the  strong  allocution : — "Friend,  I  will  say  nothing  more  to  you.  The 
Lord  Wonekau  is  already  seeing  you". 

As  to  the  authenticity  of  this  belief,  its  native  origin,  it  seems  to  be 
fully  established,  partly  by  the  isolation  of  the  natives,  partly  by  the  phrase- 
ology of  the  legends.  I  have  suggested  Aivona-kawa  as  the  original 
of  Wonekau,  hitherto  regarded  as  irreducible.  This  would  give  the  mean- 
ing "Father  on  High",  which  accords  well  with  His  heavenly  character. 
But  what  is  more  important,  a  borrowing  from  Christian  sources  is 
directly  repudiated  by  the  natives  themselves.  Children  for  the  first  time 
trained  in  the  mission-school  of  Tumleo  involuntarily  exclaimed:  "Now 
it  comes  out  that  father  was  right  after  all.  You  boys  of  Dallmannhafen! 
Is  not  'Gott'  the  same  as  your  Wonekau  and  our  Woiiakau?"  A  more 
conspicuous  proof  of  the  originality  of  a  religious  system  could  hardly  be 
desired. 

Taking  it  all  together,  this  report  must  be  pronounced  as  one  of  the 
most  well-supported  and  epoch-making  in  the  entire  "black"  belt,  and  one 
of  which  our  Catholic  missionary  fathers  may  well  be  proud.  The  dis- 
covery of  a  monotheistic  and  monogamous  people  among  the  "barbarous 
and  bloodthirsty  Papuans",  is  one  of  the  many  surprises  to  which  we  are 
gradually  becoming  accustomed  in  other  regions.  It  is  still  too  early  to 
say  how  far  these  lofty  notions  extend  into  the  interior,  but  the  first  pillars 
of  the  bridge  have  been  constructed  connecting  the  Aru  Islands  with 
Dutch  and  German  New  GuinBa. 


GOD  35 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 
(E,  4)  CHIDIBEY— The  Mapulu  Negritos  op  British  New  Guinea 

Of  the  Mafulus  of  North-West  British  New  Guinea  a  few  interesting 
facts  have  been  collected  by  Mr.  Robert  W.  Williamson,  whose  valuable 
work  on  the  social  and  religious  condition  of  that  people  has  been  com- 
mended by  Prof.  A.  C.  Haddon,  of  Cambridge,  England.' 

They  know  of  a  semi-divine  being  called  Chi-di-bey,  who  "may  be  a 
man,  or  may  be  a  spirit,  (they  appear  to  be  vague  as  to  this),  who  has 
immense  power,  and  who  once  passed  through  their  country  in  a  direc- 
tion from  east  to  west.  Wherever  you  may  be,  if  you  speak  of  this  per- 
sonage, and  ask  to  be  told  in  what  direction  he  travelled,  they  always 
point  out  one  which  is  from  east  to  west.  They  believe  that  it  was  Chidibey 
who  taught  them  all  their  customs,  including  dancing  and  manufacture, 
and  that  he  ultimately  reached  and  remained  in  the  land  of  the  white  man, 
where  he  is  now  living,  and  that  the  superior  knowledge  of  the  white  man 
has  been  acquired  from  him.  One  of  the  Fathers  of  the  mission  was 
seriously  asked  by  a  native  whether  he  had  ever  seen  Chidibey  {I)  They 
seem  to  think  that  he  is  essentially  a  beneficent  being.  They  regret  his 
having  left  the  country,  but  they  have  no  doubt  as  to  this,  and  they  do  not 
regard  him  as  still  continuing  to  exercise  any  influence  over  them  and  their 
affairs,  have  no  ceremonies  or  observances  with  reference  to  him,  and  do 
not  address  to  him  any  supplications.  As  traces  of  his  passage  through 
their  country  they  will  show  you  certain  extraordinarily  shaped  rocks  and 
stones,  but  they  have  no  ceremonies  with  reference  to  these,  and  they  have 
no  feeu"  of  them".^ 

It  is  impossible  to  read  this  report  without  being  reminded  of  the  old 
negrito  Heaven-God,  who  is  without  fixed  habitation,  who  has  "immense 
power",  who  teaches  them  all  they  know,  who  is  a  benevolent  being,  who 
dwells  or  manifests  his  presence  on  certain  rocks.  (Comp.  Atiito  of  the 
Philippines).  This  agrees  well  with  the  primitive  culture  of  the  Mafulu, 
whose  crude  bamboo  industry  and  non-totemic  organisation  is  in  such 
contrast  to  the  perfected  stone  civilisation  of  the  Melanesians.  Neverthe- 
less, the  fact  that  many  of  them  are  of  mixed  Melanesian  blood  and  have 
naturally  borrowed  some  of  their  customs,  such  as  cannibalism  and  ghost- 
worship  (though  only  to  a  limited  extent),  this  will  explain  the  fact  that 
the  above  divinity  is  no  longer  untarnished,  he  has  lost  the  role  of  Creator, 
he  has  no  external  cult,  he  has  ceded  all  his  rights  to  the  more  popular 
"spirits",  who  are  the  controlling  power  of  Melanesian  religion.* 


•  R.  W.  Williamson,  The  Mafulu  Mountain  People  of  British  New  Guinea  (London,  1912). 
^Idem,  pp.  264-265.  *  Idem,  p.  266ff.  Note: — I  have  adopted  the  spelling  Chi-di-bey  as 
the  phonetic  equivalent  of  the  original  Tsi-di-be. 


THE  AGE  OF  BAMBOOS 

AND  OF  STRAIGHT- LINE  PATTERNS 

THE  FATHER  OF  ALL 

AS  SYMBOLISED  IN  THE  BARK  SHIELD-rNSCRlPTIONS  OF  THE  AfSTBALXAN  KAMILABCOI,  IK 

THE    ACSTBAiLiN    CAVE-DBAWIXCS.    AND    BY    THE    'LANO    OF    QVAT",    THE    CEBEMONOAI- 

HEAD-GEAR  OF  THE  BANKS-ISLANDERS.  CENTRAL  MELAN'ESIA 


••FA-FA  K<»" 

«        It         <      t     (      I 


I  t      I  «  11  t      « 

V  »         t       '           i  »  I  I 

1  «         t         ♦  •      I  t 

I  I         «        t         t  I  «  t 


3YAMEE    dUAJJOUN 


MuNGtftH  wiReeC?) 


f        I       t       « 
1      \       <       « 


\       1 


\        (        1 
t       1        « 


(       I       I      (        1       t 


r=^ 


+ 


SI  (i(iK,srKIJ    MIC.\NIN(i 

••MAY    I'ATHKK   UAIME    I'ROTECT    IS    HV    HIS   FIKKV    BREATH." 

SEE    K.    LANGLOH-I'ARKER.    THE    EIAIILAVI    TRIBE.    (LONDON.    190.1).    P.    80,    121    K.    HEl  LE. 

LEITKADEN     DEK     VOLKERKl  NDE,     <I.KlrZI<i.      191.').     I'i..     59.     AM)     H.     t  ODRINOTON.     THE 

.MELANESIANS,    (OXFORD,    1891).   I'.    101,    FROM    WlilrH    IT   BECO.MES   INCREASINOLV    EMOKNT 

THAT  TIIK   .SLMTLE   t'KOSK-SI(i\    HAS    A    ()r ASI-KF.I.IOIOI  S    NUi VIITCANrE. 


GOD  37 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(F)  Australia-Tasmania, — South  Eastern  Bext 

The  continent  of  Australia  ofTers  an  enormous  field  for  sociological 
study.  For  our  present  purposes,  however,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  treat  of 
those  tribes  only  that  are  racially,  ethnically,  and  linguistically  connected 
with  the  so-called  "primaeval"  area, — that  region  of  the  far  South-East 
that  faces  Tasmania  and  is  generally  credited  with  being  one  of  the  most 
primitive  haunts  of  man  in  existence.^  The  "High  Gods"  of  Australia  may 
be  conveniently  grouped  as  follows, — and  these  are  only  the  most 
important: — 

(a)  Baiame  of  the  Kamilaroi,  and  (b)  Nurrundere  of  the  Narrinyeri, — 
Darling  and  Murray-river  tribes.  Inland  Basin,  (c)  Bundjil  of  the  Kulin, 
and  (d)  Daramiilun  of  the  Yuin-Kuri,  South  Coast  (e)  Mungan-ngaua 
of  the  Kurnai, — Extreme  South,  Gippsland.  Let  us  consider  them  one  by 
one. 

(F)  (1)  BAIAME,— Kamilaroi,  New  South  Wales 

For  Baiame, — Great  One,  Creator? — the  following  information  is  to 
hand: — 

Baiame  is  eternal, — He  is  "very,  very  old,  but  never  older".=  Baiame 
knows  all  things, — He  is  "all-seeing  Spirit".'  Baiame  can  do  all  things, — 
"He  can  do  what  He  wishes".*  Baiame  has  made  all  things, — "He  who 
made  all  things  is  Baiame".'^  Baiame  rewards  the  good  and  punishes  the 
wicked  both  here  and  hereafter.®  Baiame  instils  reverence  and  fear  in  a 
manner  which  is  not  shared  by  any  other  being, — affection,  reverence, 
duty.^  To  Baiame  alone  prayers  are  offered  and  the  sacrifice  of  obedience, 
as  when  "Baiame,  Father  of  All!"  is  invoked  at  the  Bora,  or  Initiation- 
Rite.« 

All  this  savors  of  high  theism,  but  is  apparently  marred  by  the  fol- 
lowing defects  taken  from  different  points  of  view: — 

(1)  It  has  been  said  that  these  tribes  are  no  longer  "primitive"  and 
that  missionary  influence  is  not  improbable, — the  old  theory  of  importa- 
tion again.^  (2)  It  has  been  suggested  that  Baiame  is  nothing  but  a  deified 
hero,— the  leader  of  the  tribe, — who  has  been  invested  with  supernatural 
honors  in  order  to  magnify  the  tribe-consciousness, — the  theory  of 
apotheosis.^"  (3)  Baiame's  "wives",  "hunting-expeditions",  etc.,  are 
inconsistent  with  any  ideas  of  a  Supreme  Being,  however  rudimentary, — 
there  is  excessive  anthropomorphism."  It  is  therefore  on  the  face  of  it 
unlikely  that  this  picture  is  of  any  real  value. 


»A.  W.  Howitt,  The  Native  Tribes  of  South-East  Australia,  (London,  1904),  p.  24-33. 
2  McDonald,  in  Journ.  Anthrop.  Instit.  Vol.  VII.  p.  257.  ^  Langloh-Parker.  The  Euahlayi 
Tribe,  (London,  1905),  p.  79.  *  McDonald,  1.  c.  and  Archdeacon  Gunther,  cited  by  N.  W. 
Thomas  in  "Man",  (1905),  p.  46.  nv.  Ridley,  Kamilaroi,  (Sydney,  1866),  pp.  17,  136,  Cp. 
Parker,  1.  c.  p.  4-5.  <>  McDonald  and  Gunther,  loc.  cit.  supra.  '  Parker,  1.  c.  p.  9.  »  Parker, 
1.  c.  pp.  8-9  (prayer),  72  (address),  79-80  (Baiame-song,  untranslated).  » E.  B.  Tylor, 
Journ.  Anthrop.  Inst.  Vol.  XXI.  pp.  283-299  (Limits  of  savage  religion),  i"  Howitt,  1.  c. 
pp.  491,  500-501,  506-507.  (Exaggeration  of  human  attributes),  i' E.  S.  Hartland,  in  "Folk- 
lore", Dec.  1898.  (Denial  of  divine  attributes). 


38  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 
Let  us  see  to  what  extent  these  objections  are  justified. 

(1)  It  is  quite  true  that  none  of  these  Australian  tribes  are  strictly 
"primitive",  that  is  primitive  compared  with  the  pure  Negrito  and  the 
suggested  Tasmanian  type.  Their  culture  is  in  every  way  more  advanced, 
they  live  in  more  solid  structures,  and  have  discovered  the  art  of  making 
flint  implements  of  palaeolithic  and  even  neolithic  design.  They  have  an 
elaborate  totemic  system  with  four  matrimonial  classes, — an  institution 
which  is  quite  unknown  among  the  lowest  races  of  mankind.  Yet  with 
all  this,  there  are  clear  traces  or  survivals  of  an  earlier  age,  and  of  an 
earlier  race,  with  whom  they  must  have  fused  in  very  remote  times, — the 
Tasmanian.  This  is  revealed  by  their  approximation  to  the  Tasmanian 
type  and  by  the  fact  that  there  is  a  strong  under-current  of  very  primitive 
culture  which  agrees  very  ill  with  an  advanced  stone-civilisation, — the 
grass  apron,  the  fire-plow,  the  windshelter,  the  general  sparsity  of  cloth- 
ing in  spite  of  a  more  rigorous  climate.  We  must  therefore  be  prepared 
for  something  anomalous,  for  a  social  and  religious  mixture.  If  certain 
features  of  this  mythology  can  be  proved  to  be  common  to  the  lowest 
Negrito  and  Tasmanian  belt,  it  will  stand  to  reason  that  these  are  the 
earlier  forms,  while  the  existence  of  a  difTerent  circle  of  ideas  will  argue 
just  as  strongly  for  their  introduction  from  a  higher  culture,  provided 
these  ideas  can  be  shown  to  be  peculiar  to  that  culture,  or  at  least  to  be 
strongly  associated  with  it. 

A  different  question  is  that  of  the  native  origin  of  the  beliefs.  Here 
the  evidence  gives  no  uncertain  sound.  For  if  a  later  wave  of  prehistoric 
influence  must  be  admitted,  a  recent  borrowing  from  Christian  sources  is 
now  impossible  to  maintain.  Tylor's  objection  that  no  savage  mind  is 
capable  of  such  "advanced"  thought  is  directly  contradicted  by  the  testi- 
mony of  Lang,  Howitt,  Thomas,  Langloh-Parkcr,  and  others,  that  these 
ideas  are  indigenous.  Howitt  has  proved  conclusively  that  Baiame  ante- 
dates all  the  missions,"  and  Mrs.  Parker  writes: — "I  was  first  told  of 
Baiame  in  whispers  by  a  very  old  native,  said  to  have  been  already  grey- 
haired,  when  Sir  Thomas  Mitchell  discovered  the  Narran  in  1846,  (ten 
years  before  the  missions).  But  He  was  a  worshipful  being,  revealed  in 
the  mysteries,  long  before  missionaries  came,  as  (he)  and  all  my  inform- 
ants aver"."  Similarly  Thomas  has  shown  that  Baiame  dates  back  to 
1830, — evidence  which  ought  to  be  conclusive," — especially  as  Wailz,  our 
greatest  authority,  emphaticaJly  denies  importation." 


"Howitt,  Native  Tribes,  p.  504-505.  "  Langloh-Parker,  1.  c.  p.  5.  (summary). 
>*  Thomas,  loc.  cit.  supra.  "  VVaitr,  Anthropologic  dcr  X,itiirvolker,  (Leipzig,  1872),  Vol.  IV. 
pp.  796-798.  Comp.  A.  Lang,  Magic  and  Religion,  (London,  1901),  p.  25. 


GOD  39 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(2)  But  if  the  theory  of  a  "Loan-God"  is  now  generally  abandoned, — 
and  detailed  reasons  for  this  will  appear  in  the  sequel, — it  is  not  on  the 
face  of  it  impossible  that  the  supposed  divinity  might  have  been  derived 
from  an  ancestor, — an  "ideal  headman"  who  lives  in  the  sky,  and  to  whom 
the  natives  pray  in  the  hour  of  need.  But  this  is  going  beyond  the  imme- 
diate data,  it  is  "theorizing"  on  the  probable  origin  of  the  belief.  That  a 
great  headman  might  have  suggested  the  idea  is  not  per  se  impossible,  but 
it  will  have  to  be  proved  that  such  a  headman  ever  existed,  nay  more  that 
he  was  worshipped  and  adorned  with  the  supernatural  qualities  above 
mentioned.  Now,  not  only  is  this  unprovable,  but  there  is  strong  evidence 
to  show,  that  this  could  hardly  have  been  the  origin  of  the  belief.  There 
is  no  trace  of  hero-  or  ancestor-worship  from  which  such  a  concept  could 
have  been  developed.  Moreover  a  headman,  though  "great",  is  hardly  a 
"Baiame",  a  "Creator",  a  "Maker  of  all  things",  "an  endless  Being",  an 
"all-seeing  Spirit".  The  transition  from  human  to  divine  attributes  is  too 
abrupt.  Baiame  stands  out  of  all  relation  to  tribal  chiefs,  to  medicine-men 
and  magicians.  He  is  worshipped,  while  they  are  not,  the  image  is  human, 
but  the  attributes  are  superhuman.  Hewitt's  objection  is  therefore  merely 
a  speculative  one.  It  concerns  the  origin  of  the  idea,  not  the  idea  itself, 
for  he  is  satisfied  that  Baiame  in  His  present  form  is,  to  say  the  least,  an 
"ideal"  being.** 

Then  again,  the  worship  that  is  given  to  Baiame,  and  His  hold  over  the 
public  conscience,  is  something  that  is  difficult  to  derive  from  a  defunct 
ancestor.  At  the  Borah,  or  Initiation-ceremony,  He  is  solemnly  invoked  as 
"Father  of  All,  whose  laws  the  tribes  are  now  obeying!",  and  the  youth 
are  put  through  a  severe  fire-  and  fasting-test,  in  which  they  are  instructed 
in  all  the  details  of  what  can  only  be  called  a  "religion".  Baiame  "has 
made  all  things",  He  is  "the  original  source  of  all  totems".  He  has  com- 
manded them  to  observe  the  customs,  "because  Baiame  says  so",  He 
requires  them  to  observe  the  moral  law, — for  the  "three  deadly  sins  are: 
unprovoked  murder,  lying  to  the  elders  of  the  tribe,  and  stealing  a  woman 
within  the  forbidden  degrees".  Moreover  "kindliness  towards  the  old  and 
sick  is  strictly  inculcated  as  a  command  of  Baiame,  to  whom  all  breaches 
of  His  laws  are  reported  by  the  all-seeing  spirit  at  a  man's  death,  and  he  is 
judged  accordingly".  Finally,  the  petition  to  Baiame,  that  "the  blacks 
may  live  long",  that  "He  may  send  rain",  that  "the  dead  may  rest  in  peace", 
etc., — all  are  so  many  indications  that  we  are  dealing  with  a  superhuman, 
an  omniscient,  an  omnipotent  Being." 


"  Howitt,  Native  Tribes,  p.  507.    J"  For  the  facts,  Parker,  1.  c.  pp.  7-9,  78-79.  Cf.  Schmidt, 
Ursprung  der  Gottesidee,  (Miinster,  1912),  pp.  173,  349ff. 


40  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(3)  But  is  not  Baiame  disfigured  by  "wife  and  family",  by  his  role 
as  a  "hunter",  by  his  confusion  with  the  sun  and  the  emu,  by  his  invo- 
cation under  the  form  of  a  crude  clay  figure  which  is  anything  but  sug- 
gestive of  a  spiritual,  an  invisible  being?"  We  are  here  face  to  face, 
partly  with  a  harmless  anthropomorphism,  partly  with  a  social  and 
religious  complexity,  in  which  certain  features  are  clearly  of  later  growth, 
the  result  of  a  fusion  with  higher  and  later  forms  culture.  (Cp.  point  1). 
This  can  be  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  the  most  primitive  region,  that  of 
the  East  Indies,  Central  Africa,  and  probably  Tasmania,  the  supreme  Being 
is  very  generally  unmarried,  the  hunting-theme  is  absent,  sun,  moon 
and  animals  have  no  relation  to  Him,  and  there  are  no  plastic  representa- 
tions of  the  divine.  Baiame  as  the  Sun-god,  with  Emu  feet,  is  the  leading 
motif  of  the  .\ustralian  totem-culture,  as  may  be  easily  proved  by  the  very 
similar  figure  of  Altjira  among  the  strongly  totemic  Aruntas,  where  we 
find  the  Emu-Sun,  wife  and  family,  hunting-escapades,  and  other  undig- 
nified traits.  This  culture,  and  the  solar  ideas  that  accompany  it,  can  be 
traced  to  at  least  four  continents,  and  is  in  every  way  more  advanced  than 
any  of  the  Negrito  cycles  or  the  supposed  Tasmanian  belt."  If  then 
Baiame  is  tarnished  in  part  by  solar  and  sexual  features,  if  He  has  been 
dragged  into  the  world  of  plant  and  animal  totems,  we  know  from  what 
quarter  this  part  of  His  picture  could  alone  have  been  derived.  It  cor- 
responds to  the  more  advanced  aspect  of  Kamilaroi  civilisation,  that  aspect 
which  binds  them  to  the  central  Aruntas,  while  its  more  primitive  features 
suggest  just  as  forcibly  that  the  simple  picture  of  the  All-Father  rivets 
Him  to  the  lowest  stratum  of  belief  as  yet  known  to  us, — the  Negrito 
Tasmanian  circle.  Thus  two  different  phases  of  thought  are  here  in  col- 
lision, and  by  eliminating  the  elements  that  are  demonstrably  later,  the 
original  picture  of  Baiame  stands  out  in  bold  relief,  to  wit : — The  human 
notes  bring  out  His  Personality,  the  supernatural  notes  His  Divinity." 

This  argumentation  will  appear  more  conclusive  the  more  the  subject 
is  developed  in  greater  detail.  For  the  present  it  should  be  observed  that 
although  a  decadence  in  beliefs  and  practices  is  here  distinctly  notice- 
able,— growing  nature-worship  with  magical  and  totemic  ceremonies, 
cannibalistic  practices,  etc. — there  is  a  strong  undercurrent  of  pure 
theology  which  has  left  Baiame  in  undisputed  possession  of  the  field, — a 
moral  Being  who  requires  from  His  creatures  a  strict  account  of  their 
actions,  a  high  standard.  For  any  being  that  can  vindicate  the  moral  law 
not  only  in  the  future  but  also  in  the  present  life,  7nust  be  more  than  a 
'headman',  he  must  be  a  faint  image,  to  say  the  least,  of  the  supreme  Judge 
of  heaven  and  earth.'* 


2'  Hartland,  1.  c.  supra.  Cp.  Schmidt,  Ursprung,  pp.  222,  370fF.  '^  See  Introduction  p.  XLIII. 
above.    "  Schmidt,  Ursprung,  p.  388ff.    "  Parker,  1.  c.  p.  50-60,  61-70ff. 


GOD  41 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

In  illustration  of  this  subject,  the  following  customs,  violent  though 
some  of  them  undoubtedly  seem,  will  speak  for  themselves: — 

"Should  a  girl  be  found  guilty  of  frailty,  it  being  her  first  fault,  her 
brothers  and  nearest  male  relations  made  a  ring  around  her,  after  having 
bound  her  hands  and  feet,  and  toss  her  one  from  the  other  until  she  is  in 
a  dazed  condition  and  almost  frightened  to  death.  Should  a  woman  have 
been  discovered  to  be  an  absolute  wanton,  men  from  any  of  the  clans 
make  a  ring  around  her,  she  being  bound,  and  tossed  from  one  to  the 
other,  and  when  exhausted  is  unbound  and  left  by  her  relations  to  the  men 
to  do  as  they  please  to  her, — the  almost  inevitable  result  is  death".^' 

The  practice  of  killing  half-caste  babies  is  justified  on  the  plea  that 
Baiame's  laws  have  been  ignored,  that  His  children  have  strayed  from  the 
path  of  virtue, — a  brutal  custom,  but  indicative  of  a  strong  moral  feeling. 
For  Baiame  had  said  that  "as  long  as  the  blacks  kept  his  sacred  laws,  so 
long  should  He  stay  in  His  crystal  seat  (in  heaven),  and  the  blacks  live  on 
earth.  But  if  they  failed  to  keep  up  the  Borah  rites  as  He  had  taught  them, 
then  He  would  move  and  their  end  would  come,  and  only  the  Wundah,  or 
white  devils,  be  in  their  country".^'  The  high  price  that  is  placed  upon 
chastity  is  illustrated  by  the  beautiful  legend  of  the  seven  virgins  that 
came  down  from  heaven,  two  of  whom  were  ravished  by  mortals  and 
made  to  live  with  them,  while  the  remaining  five  remained  spotless.  The 
seven  virgins  are  the  Pleiades,  and  the  two  ravished  virgins  are  the  two 
stars  in  the  Pleiades  that  shine  with  a  diminished  brightness.^'' 

Charity  and  self-sacrifice  are  inculcated  from  the  tenderest  years. 
Mothers  sing  to  their  babies  somewhat  as  follows: — "Give  to  me,  baby, 
give  to  her  baby,  give  to  him,  baby,  give  to  one,  baby,  give  to  all,  baby! 
Be  kind,  do  not  steal,  do  not  touch  what  belongs  to  another,  leave  it  alone, 
be  kind!" 

While  there  are  some  ugly  blotches  on  the  morality  of  these  tribes, — 
theory  and  practice  being  not  always  in  harmony  and  many  revolting 
customs  in  vogue, — this  picture  will  show  beyond  doubt  that  Baiame  has 
a  close  relation  to  morals,  that  He  is  an  ethical  Being.  As  the  best  known 
of  the  Australian  "High-Gods",  this  may  serve  as  a  good  example  of 
Australian  belief  and  practice  in  its  earlier  form.  Of  the  still  earlier  but 
far  less  known  divinities  of  the  South-East  a  brief  summary  will  be  suffi- 
cient, as  the  want  of  space  and  the  poverty  of  matter  forbid  a  more 
lengthy  discussion  in  these  pages,  interesting  though  such  a  discussion 
might  prove  to  be. 


"  Parker,  1.  c.  p.  60.    "  Parker,  1.  c.  p.  95-96.    ''  Parker,  1.  c  p.  52-54. 


42  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 
(F)   (2)  NURRUNDERE,— Narrinyeri  Tribes,  South  Australu 

As  an  equivalent  of  Baiame,  but  with  some  approach  to  Bundjil  below, 
stands  the  figure  of  Nurrundere,  the  chief  deity  of  the  Narrinyeri-tribes. 

He  has  made  all  things,  and  has  taught  men  the  arts  and  sciences.' 
His  voice  is  the  thunder,  and  his  work  the  rainbow.^  He  has  brought  his 
people  down  the  river,  (Murray),  and  has  ordained  a  sacrifice  which  he 
requires  at  slated  intervals, — a  Wallaby-offering.'  He  is  no  longer  on 
earth,  but  is  now  in  heaven,  and  his  name  is  uttered  only  with  the  greatest 
reverence.* 

Here  again  the  notion  of  a  headman,  hunter,  or  tribal  leader,  can  be 
separated  from  that  of  a  Maker  and  Giver  of  all,  a  being  who  is  dis- 
tinctly superhuman,  though  he  is  pictured  under  human  forms.  Mar- 
riage in  these  tribes  is  on  the  local  totemic  system  with  male  descent,  and 
there  is  a  starvation-ceremony  by  which  the  youth  are  admitted  to  full 
membership  of  the  clan.  Spirit  and  ancestor-worship  are  wanting,  or  at 
least  weakly  developed." 

(F)  (3)  BUNDJIL, — KuLiN  tribes,  South  West  Victoria 

For  Bundjil  of  the  Kulin  tribes,  the  material  is  scanty  and  difTicult  to 
collate.  Moreover  his  picture  is  tarnished  by  astral  features,  as  he  is  now 
identified  with  a  star,  (Altair,  or  Fomalhaul).  "See!"  (pointing  to  the 
star),  "that  one  is  Bundjil.  You  see  Him,  and  He  sees  you!".  His  sons 
(or  brothers)  are  also  stars,  and  his  alleged  wives  are  two  black  swans.* 
By  disentangling  the  complicated  mythology,  often  contradictory,  by 
which  this  central  figure  has  been  obscured,  it  has  been  possible  to  elimi- 
nate one  by  one  those  notes  or  attributes  that  are  inconsistent  with  his 
prime  qualities  and  show  traces  of  belonging  to  a  later  group  of  ideas. 
We  have  already  seen  that  the  notion  of  a  married  divinity,  associated 
more  or  less  with  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  is  the  leading  theme  of  tiie 
more  advanced  totem-culture,  and  is  conspicuously  absent  in  the  earliest 
stream  of  human  tradition.  (Comp.  p.  40.)  When  these  items  are  removed 
as  out  of  harmony  with  the  more  primitive  aspect  of  this  people,  socially 
and  culturally,  the  original  picture  of  Bundjil  as  the  Heaven-God,  with 
thunder  and  rainbow-trails,  may  be  clearly  discerned  in  the  background, 
as  witness: — 

He  is  the  Maker  of  all  things,  and  the  teacher  of  arts  and  sciences.  He 
is  the  guardian  of  the  moral  order,  and  the  Father  in  Heaven,  in  short.  He 
is  a  personal  being,  with  mixed  human  and  di\ine  attributes.' 

This  is  the  region  of  two-class  totemism.  with  paternal  descent.' 


>  Howitt,  1.  c.  p.  488,  quoting  G.  Taplin,  The  Narrinyeri,  (.Adelaide,  1879),  p.  55.  ^  Taplin. 
1  c  p  57f  s  Taplin.  1.  c.  p.  55.  ••Taplin,  ibid.  '  Howitt,  1.  c.  p.  260.  673.  434.  'Hewitt,  I. 
c  128  489-492.  'Howitt,  1.  c.  491-492.  Cp.  Brough-Smith,  The  Aborigines  of  Victoria 
(Melbourne,  1878)  Vol.  I.  pp.  423-442.    »  Howitt,  p.  126,  610. 


GOD  43 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 
(F)  (4)  DARAMULUN— YuiN-KuRi,  New  South  Wales 

Another  prominent  figure  in  this  connection  is  that  of  Daramulun, — 
the  high  Thunder-God  of  the  Kuri  nation,— New  South  Wales.  It  is 
remarkable  that  he  is  one  of  the  few  deities  in  Australia  that  is  not 
hampered  with  rivals  or  assistants  or  family  retinue,  but  stands  supreme 
as  the  one  God  of  heaven  to  whom  deference  is  due. 

He  is  Biamban,  or  "Great  Master",  He  can  go  everywhere  and  do  any- 
thing.i  He  is  Creator  of  all  things,  at  least  in  one  instance.^  He  was 
once  upon  earth,  but  is  now  in  heaven,  where  He  watches  the  actions  of 
men.  He  can  see  people,  and  is  very  angry  when  they  do  wrong.'  He 
has  taught  mankind  the  arts  and  industries,  and  He  alone  has  instituted 
the  sacred  mysteries, — the  so-called  Kuringal.  On  these  occasions,  his 
voice,  which  is  heard  in  the  thunder,  is  re-echoed  in  the  whirring  of  the 
"Bull-roarer",  or  sacred  wand,  and  one  who  is  deputed  to  take  his  place 
marshals  the  young  men,  and  in  the  name  of  Daramulun  knocks  out  one 
of  their  front  teeth.  This  is  the  only  occasion  on  which  his  picture  is 
allowed  to  be  exposed  or  his  name  uttered.  The  women  and  uninitiated 
know  Him  only  under  the  more  common  title  Papang, — Father, — or 
Biamban, — Master.' 

But  if  this  picture  of  Daramulun  is  simple  and  clear,  his  later  associa- 
tions are  indeed  manifold.  He  is  a  falcon.  He  has  a  mother,  the  Emu,  He 
has  only  one  leg,  {Dara-mulun) ,  He  is  the  spirit  that  dwells  in  the  Bull- 
roarer  as  in  a  secret  charm,  and  that  compels  obedience  by  virtue  of  its 
own  hidden  power,  (Schwirrholzgeist).^  These  items  may  be  interpreted 
as  accidentals,  of  no  essential  importance  to  his  main  character  as  a  creat- 
ing divinity.  But  that  they  are  later  accretions  derived  from  the  same 
source  as  in  the  preceding  cases,  is,  to  say  the  least,  highly  probable.  His 
identification  with  the  falcon,  spider,  or  lizard,  and  his  association  with 
the  emu-sun,  reveals  a  close  connection  with  the  central  Arunta  totemic 
region,  where  animal  and  astral  themes  are  alone  in  evidence.  More- 
over his  maimed  condition  is  by  no  means  primitive, — the  existing  figures 
are  all  complete, — while  the  bull-roarer-spirit  is  a  natural  intensification 
of  his  hidden  presence,  which  has  become  more  and  more  blended  with 
magical  rites.''  It  will  be  noted,  moreover,  that  the  nearer  we  approach 
the  Tasmanian  region,  the  more  pure  is  the  picture  presented  by  the 
supreme  Being,  the  more  free  from  sexual  and  naturalistic  details.  Mar- 
riage in  these  tribes  is  on  the  simple  totemic  system  with  local  exogamy 
and  male  descent. 


1  Howitt,  1.  c.  p.  553.  2  Ridlev,  Kamilaroi,  p.  156.  » Howitt,  pp.  494-495.  *  Ibid. 
»  Howitt,  p.  516-562.  «  Howitt,  p.  560,  SSSflf.  '  HoYritt,  p.  §53,  563fiE.  Cp.  Schmidt,  Ursprung, 
pp.  344-349.  - 


44  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(F)  (5)  MUNGAN-NGAUA,— KuRNAi,  South  Victoria 

As  the  last  and  in  many  respects  the  purest  form  in  Australian  the- 
ology, the  figure  of  Mungan-ngaua  looms  bright  and  clear  as  the  supreme 
being  of  the  Kurnai  tribes  of  South-East  Victoria, — Gippsland.  He  is  the 
only  divinity  that  has  no  other  name  but  that  which  describes  his  paternal 
relation  to  man, — Mungan-ngaua — ,  "Our  Father",  the  "Father"  of  the 
human  race.  Unfortunately  but  little  is  known  of  his  physical  and  ethical 
traits.  These  are  kept  a  strict  secret,  and  are  known  only  to  the  initiated, 
and  to  them  obscurely.  Perhaps  the  most  vivid  picture  of  his  character  is 
obtained  at  one  of  these  tribal  initiations,  or  Jeraeils,  where  the  youth  are 
instructed  in  the  following  terms: — 

"Long  ago  there  was  a  great  being  called  Mungan-ngaua,  who  lived 
on  partli  and  taught  the  Kurnai  all  they  know.  He  gave  them  also  their 
personal  names,  such  as  Tulaba.  He  had  a  son,  Tundun,  (Adam?),  who 
was  married,  and  is  the  direct  ancestor  of  the  Kurnai.  He  instituted  the 
Jeraeil  at  the  command  of  his  father,  and  made  the  instruments, — bull- 
roarers — ,  that  bear  his  name, — Tundun.  Some  tribal  traitor  impiously 
revealed  the  secrets  to  the  women,  and  for  this  reason.  He  sent  down  fire 
from  heaven,  (the  Aurora  Australis),  and  a  great  flood,  in  which  all  were 
drowned  except  a  few  of  their  own  ancestors.  After  this  He  left  the  earth 
and  ascended  into  heaven,  where  He  still  remains."^ 

It  has  been  objected  that  this  story  is  somewhat  thin,  that  it  leaves  the 
real  nature  of  Mungan-ngaua  undermined.  It  must  be  confessed  that  his 
role  as  Creator  is  inferential  rather  than  self-evident,  but  the  sparsity  of 
the  attributes  that  are  assigned  to  Him  is  at  most  a  negative  argument, 
and  proves  little  when  compared  with  the  unique  position  tliat  He  occupies 
in  the  life  of  the  people.    At  least  this  much  may  be  alTirmed: — 

He  was  apparently  never  made,  and  is  certainly  immortal.  He  is  their 
father,  their  teacher,  their  judge,  and  their  lawgiver.  He  has  commanded 
them  (1)  to  listen  to  and  obey  the  old  men,  (2)  to  share  everything  with 
their  friends,  (3)  to  live  peaceably  with  their  friends,  (4)  not  to  inter- 
fere with  girls  and  married  women,  (5)  to  obey  the  food-restrictions,  etc.* 
— from  which  it  is  evident  tiiat  we  are  dealing  with  an  ethical  being, — 
the  Author  and  Guardian  of  the  moral  law.  Marriage  in  these  tribes  is 
on  the  local  system,  with  "sex"-totems  and  male  descent.  These  are  among 
the  most  primitive  and  strongly  Tasmanioid  tribes  on  the  entire  continent.' 


'  Howitt,  op.  cit.  pp.  490,  630ff.    '  Idem,  p.  633.    '  Comp.  Schmidt,  Ursprung,  pp.  324-332. 
Howitt,  1.  c.  pp.  269-271. 


GOD  45 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(F)   (6)  MARRA-BOONA— Tasmanian  Pure 

Of  the  aborigines  of  Tasmania,  now  extinct,  we  have  only  the  most 
slender  statistics.'  Only  those,  moreover,  will  be  of  any  religious  value  to 
us  that  depict  the  natives  as  they  existed  before  their  loss  of  liberty,  before 
they  were  placed  under  conditions  of  pressure,  that  is,  before  1834.  These 
accounts  speak  of  a  divinity,  Marra  Boona,  whose  name,  though  only 
seriously  studied  since  the  time  of  Milligan,  (1854),  can  hardly  be  any 
other  than  that  of  the  chief  god  of  the  Mount  Royal  tribes, — South  Tas- 
mania. The  full  name, — Tiggana-Marra-Boona — ,  has  been  variously 
interpreted  by  scholars,  either  as  "Spirit  of  great  creative  power"  accord- 
ing to  Milligan,  or  simply  as  "High-One-Exalted",  (Extremus-Unus- 
Eminens),  according  to  Fr.  Schmidt.  The  exact  meaning  must  be  deter- 
mined by  future  lexicologists.^  In  any  case  these  epithets  fit  in  well  with 
the  vague  descriptions  of  a  deity  that  have  been  handed  down  from  very 
early  sources,  collected  and  quoted  by  Ling-Roth,  to  wit:— 

He  is  the  spirit  of  light  and  is  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  darkness.  (On 
this  point  all  are  agreed, — Jeffreys,  Horton,  Leigh,  etc. — 1820-1822).  He 
is  a  benevolent  being  and  the  author  of  good,  (Ibidem).  He  is  the  Creator 
of  man,  if  not  of  the  universe,  (Horton,  1821),  and  therefore  in  some 
sense  supreme,  at  least  over  the  human  race.  He  is  addressed  by  prayers 
and  invocations,  which  imply  an  ethical  relation  of  worship  and  a  "feel- 
ing" for  personality,— (Jeffreys,  1820,  Leigh,  1822). 

Approaching  this  subject  in  greater  detail, — it  must'be  admitted  that 
the  evidence  is  neither  as  clear  nor  as  copious  as  might  have  been  desired. 
But  the  explicit  statement  of  three  very  early  writers  must  surely  be  of 
some  weight,  more  especially  as  the  lexical  evidence  tends  to  support  it. 
"These  creatures  have  a  song",  says  Jeffreys  (1820),  "which  they  sing  to 
their  imaginary  deity,  of  whom  however  they  have  a  very  vague  idea  and 
who  as  they  say,  presides  over  the  day,  while  an  evil  spirit  or  demon 
appears  at  night.  This  divinity,  whatsoever  He  may  be,  they  look  upon 
as  the  Giver  of  good,  and  it  does  not  appear  that  they  acknowledge  more 
than  one  God".  Horton  also  testifies,  (1821),  that  they  have  a  creation- 
legend,  according  to  which  they  were  created  "by  a  benevolent  Being",  at 
first  "with  tails  and  without  knee-joints,  when  another  being  descended 
from  heaven,  and  full  of  sympathy  for  the  sufferers,  cut  off  their  tails  and 
lubricated  their  joints."  If  these  items  mean  nothing  more,  they  imply, 
at  least,  that  the  origin  of  man  is  apparently  attributed  to  a  good,  wise  and 
benevolent  Creator,  though  the  tail-motif  leaves,  of  course,  much  to  be 
desired  in  the  way  of  a  pure  concept.' 


'  Collected  by  H.  Ling-Roth  in  his  classic  work,  The  Aborigines  of  Tasmania,  (Halifax, 
1899),  from  which  most  of  the  present  material  has  been  derived.  ^Compare  Schmidt, 
Ursprung,  p.  216flf.  for  Milligan  and  the  lexical  analysis.  ^  The  simplicity  of  this  story  is  a 
guarantee  of  its  native  origin.     For  the  sources,  see  Ling-Roth,  pp.  53-54. 


46  GOD 

OCEANIC  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

Similarly  Leigh,  (1822),  writes: — "Their  religious  beliefs  are  very 
obscure.  Nevertheless,  they  believe  in  two  spirits :  the  good  spirit  governs 
the  day,  and  the  evil  spirit  the  night.  To  the  good  spirit  they  attribute  all 
the  good,  and  to  the  wicked  spirit  all  the  evil.  WTien  any  member  of  the 
family  is  on  a  journey,  they  are  accustomed  to  sing  to  the  good  spirit,  in 
order  to  implore  his  protection  over  their  absent  friends,  and  that  they 
may  return  in  health  and  safety".  The  later  testimonies  of  Henderson, 
Robinson,  Lloyd,  Bonvvick,  etc.  (1832-1870),  confirm  in  part  the  earlier 
reports,  with  this  difference  that  all,  with  the  exception  of  Robinson, 
recognise  demonism  and  spirit-worship  to  be  the  chief  constituent  of 
Tasmanian  religion. 

From  these  data  it  may  be  inferred  with  great  probability  that  the  T£is- 
manians  at  one  time  recognised  a  single,  supreme,  and  benevolent  divinity, 
opposed  by  another,  malevolent  divinity,  and  that  with  the  loss  of  their 
liberty  and  their  constrained  conditions  of  life,  they  have  turned  more  and 
more  to  spiritism  as  a  last  refuge  fo  their  shattered  hopes. 

We  cannot  therefore  reject  the  united  testimony  of  the  earlier  reports 
confirmed  by  Milligan's  lexical  studies  in  1854.  It  reveals  the  existence  a 
"Great  High  One",  whose  creative  power  is  attested  as  early  as  1821,  and 
whose  benevolence,  providence,  and  personal  worship  seem  to  be 
implied  by  Uie  existing  data.  But  with  regard  to  His  nature,  we  are  left 
very  largely  in  the  dark.  The  word  "spirit"  is  dubious,  and  we  have  no 
knowledge  of  ancient  Tasmanian  worship,  that  could  give  us  a  clue  to  the 
"forms"  under  which  it  took  place.  If  however  Ling-Roth  is  right  in  his 
explicit  denial  of  any  sun-  or  moon-worship  on  the  part  of  the  natives,' 
we  have  an  important  point  in  favor  of  a  pure,  unadulterated  cult  of 
divinity,  unassociated  with  the  elaborate  nature-worship  of  later  times. 

This  is  a  consideration  of  no  small  value.  It  means  that  Tasmanian 
religion  antedates  the  cosmic  theology  by  indefinite  periods,  that  the 
supreme  divinity  has  no  relation  to  sun  or  moon-cult.  This  and  the 
absence  of  totemism  *  brings  it  very  near  the  Negrito  level,  with  whom 
from  the  standpoint  of  culture  as  well  as  physique  the  Tasmanians  are 
closely  allied." 

From  what  can  still  be  known  of  this  interesting  people  it  appears  that 
they  stood  on  a  comparatively  high  moral  level.  The  marriage-tie  was 
strict  and  adultery  was  punished  with  blows.  All  agree  that  there  was  no 
cannibalism,  and  no  infanticide  except  such  as  was  forced  upon  them  by 
contact  with  whites.* 


"Ling-Roth,  op.  cit.  p.  54.  «Idem,  p.  63.  (totemism).  'Idem,  p.  67ff.  (culture). 
•Idem,  pp.  113-115  (marriage),  p.  97  (cannibalism),  p.  162  (infanticide).  Note:— "There 
is  no  evidence  that  they  were  in  awe  of  the  sun,  nor  that  they  associated  childbirth  with 
the  moon",— p.  54.  where  the  authorities  are  given.  (I  have  not  been  able  to  procure  the 
originals). 


THE  AGE  OF  BAMBOOS 
AND  OF  STRAIGHT-LINE  PATTERNS 

THE  FATHER  ABOVE  THE  CLOUDS 

QOTER-rNSCRIPTION    ISED    BY    THE    NEGRILLOS    OF   THE    CONGO-BELT    FOB    SECFRINO    A 

SUCCESSFUL  CHASE,  AND  INTERPRETED  IN  PART  BY  THE  MY'THOLOGY',  IN  PART   BY  THE 

APPENDED  SY'SIBOLS  FOR  THE  "JLiSTEB  IN  HEAVEN." 


X 

OMWlH\ 
ANYAMBVE 

/\ 

TRIBAU 

IMIXIATIOM 

MARKS 


BUSHMAN 


A'KENQ- 


t 


ABA-  WAkA-  MULLINGU 


SOiDAKA-MODUMA-SAMKA 


\    X 

MuzIru         muzTru 


^^ 


amulX-YE 


X 

OMYvfaj 
ANYAMBYE 

TRIBAU  . 

INtTlATtON 
MARKS 

CGabooh) 


3USHMAM 
TRIPLE  CROSS 


■  UAAMQ 


COMBINED  INTERPRETATION 

"THE    FATHER    ON     HIGH— THE    CREATOR — WHO    HAS    PLANTEJ)    THE     SACKED     MODVMA 

TREX— MAT   HE   PROTECT    IS   BY   HIB    Gl'AKDIAN-SPIRITS." 

SEE    MOR.   LEBOV,    LES   PYORIEES   NEGRILLES   D'AFKIQrE  ET  NEGRITOS  DE  L'ASIE.   (TOIBS, 
leiO),  P.  160,  2S2,  AND  O.  W.  STOW.  THE  N.VTIVE  RACES  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA. 
(LONDON,   1910),   P.   28,    120,    FOR   NEGRILLO   AND   BUSHJLVN    SYMBOLISM. 


GOD  47 

CENTRAL  AFRICAN  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(G)  The  Akka-Batua  Negrillos  op  Central  Africa 

The  Negrillos  of  Central  Africa,  though  famed  since  classic  times. 
have  only  recently  been  studied  with  anything  like  precision.  And  even 
now,  little  enough  is  Imown  of  their  more  subtle  beliefs  to  be  able  to  pass 
any  final  conclusions  as  to  their  character.  But  the  materials  that  have 
come  to  hand  are  nevertheless  sufficiently  well-tested  and  sufficiently  sur- 
prising to  merit  further  inquiry. 

(G)    (1)  WAKA — East  Central  Africa, — Boni-Watwa 

Of  a  mysterious  being  called  Waka  the  following  facts  have  been  col- 
lected by  Mgr.  LeRoy  in  a  personal  interview  with  the  natives : — ' 

Waka  can  see  everything,  but  cannot  be  seen  Himself,— a  spiritual 
being(?).  He  is  the  Master  of  all  and  has  given  them  all  they  have, — a 
Creator.  He  is  the  Judge  of  all,  as  when  He  descends  from  heaven  and 
takes  the  lives  of  men  at  His  will,  who  are  then  buried  in  the  earth.  He 
is  severe  and  requires  a  sacrifice,  in  which  the  best  portions  of  food  are 
burnt,  poured  out,  or  thrown  up  to  heaven,  with  the  following  words: — 

"Waka!  Thou  hast  given  me  this  buffalo,  this  honey,  this  ivine.  Behold 
thy  portion.  Grant  me  continued  strength  and  life,  and  tlvxt  no  harm 
may  come  to  my  children!" 

The  Boni-Watwas  are  pure  primitives  and  their  antiquity  unquestion- 
able. As  to  possible  importation,  it  is  to  be  noted,  that  although  Waka 
is  also  the  name  for  God  among  the  Hamitic  Gallas,  their  neighbors,  it  is 
hardly  probable  from  the  want  of  any  Islamic  features  in  their  religion 
that  the  name  or  idea  is  of  Islam  origin,  (Allah).  For  if  so,  why  were  not 
other  Islamic  elements,  such  as  dances  and  dervishes,  fakirs,  circum- 
cision and  medicine-men,  transferred  also?  Moreover  the  Negrillos  com- 
monly speak  the  language  of  their  neighbors,  and  Waka  would  be  their 
natural  expression  for  what  the  Gallas  call  God.  This  is  in  fact  a  mere 
question  of  terminology^,  and  has  no  bearing  on  the  native  origin  of  the 
belief,  which  is  now  generally  admitted.^  As  to  spiritistic  and  magical 
practices,  the  author  has  taken  care  to  determine  that  no  charms  or 
amulets  of  any  kind  are  used  by  the  natives  in  the  hope  of  driving  out  the 
pepos,  or  bad  spirits,  of  which  they  know  nothing.*  On  the  other  hand 
the  Sadaka,  or  firstling-sacrifice  is  common  to  nearly  all  the  Negrillos,  and 
is  generally  wanting  among  all  tribes  or  peoples  of  Mohammedan  per- 
suasion.   This  is  a  strong  point  against  importation." 


iMgr.  LeRoy,  Les  Pygmees,  Negrilles  d'Afrique  et  Negritos  de  I'Asie,  (Tours,  undated), 
pp.  175-178.  Comp.  Schmidt,  Pygmaenvolker,  p.  232.  ^  See  above  pp.  ^  Schmidt,  1.  c.  p.  232, 
note  1,  4.  ■'LeRoy,  1.  c.  p.  176.  ^^  Idem,  p.  178,  where  the  author  states  that  on  the  con- 
trary the  first-fruit  idea  was  borrowed  from  the  Watwa,  this  on  the  testimony  of  a  Pocomo 
tribesman. 


48  GOD 

CENTRAL  AFRICAN  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(G)    (2)   INDAGARRA,— Mid-Central  Africa,— Urundi-Watwa 

Father  J.  M.  Van  der  Burgt  reports  of  a  deity  in  Central  Africa, 
(Urundi),  whose  name,  Indagarra,  he  associates  with  a  verb  meaning  "to 
live",  "to  be  strong" (?).'  The  following  facts  deserve  in  any  case  to  be 
noted : — 

He  appears  to  abide  in  the  heavens  and  cannot  now  be  seen.  He  has 
made  the  first  man  and  the  first  woman,  the  parents  of  the  race.  He  has 
a  subordinate  spirit,  fiyaiigombe,  who  may  be  a  mediator,  but  who  is 
identified  in  the  popular  mind  with  the  first  man,  (or  Adam).  He  is  the 
supreme  Judge  of  man  after  death,  when  He  sends  the  good  upwards  to 
a  place  of  enjoyment,  and  the  bad  downwards  to  a  place  of  misery. 

The  author  also  states  that  few  amulets  are  worn  by  the  natives,  though 
they  manufacture  them  for  the  neighboring  Warundi  and  Watutsi,  and 
that  very  few  temples  or  fetich-houses  are  to  be  found,  which  in  this  case 
are  certainly  imported  features.  We  are  therefore  justified  in  conjectur- 
ing that  this  is  a  deity  similar  to  Waka  above,  though  further  information 
will  be  necessary  before  any  more  definite  opinion  can  be  formed. 
(G)   (3)  NZAMBI, — West-Central  Africa,  Ajongo-Gaboon   (Mixed) 

From  the  Gaboon-region,  West-Africa,  Mgr.  LeRoy  has  obtained  the 
following  information  concerning  Nzambi^ — again  by  personal  (inter- 
view : — 

He  lives  on  high,  and  His  voice  is  the  thunder.  He  is  the  Master  of  all. 
He  has  made  all,  and  "in  His  sight  we  are  all  very  small".  He  causes  men 
to  live  and  to  die.  When  a  man  dies,  his  shadow  descends  into  the  earth, 
deeper  and  deeper.  (Purgatory).  Then  it  gradually  rises  and  ascends  to 
God.  If  he  has  been  good,  God  says:  "Stay  here,  you  will  possess  great 
forests  and  want  nothing".  If  evil,  God  throws  him  into  the  fire,  which 
is  above  (sic!).  All  these  things,  we  are  assured,  the  Ajongo  have 
believed  from  time  immemorial. 

As  against  Anyambic  of  the  Nkomis,  Nzambi  is  distinctly  a  Judge,  with 
rewards  and  punishments.  His  name  has  no  connection  with  the  neigh- 
boring divinity,  and  the  Ajongo  wear  no  amulets,  and  have  no  priests  and 
sorcerers.' 

Similar  reports  have  reached  us  of  the  Akkas,*  Bafuas,  Wambultis,"  etc. 
This,  in  connection  with  the  firstling-sacrifice  above  mentioned,'  renders 
the  conclusion  probable  that  these  are  primary,  aboriginal,  Central-African 
beliefs.'  Such  is  the  verdict  of  Mgr.  LeRoy,  who  moreover  assures  us  that 
this  belief  is  superior  to  that  of  the  Bantus,  and  is  accompanied  by  a 
higher  standard  of  private  and  public  morals,— less  violence,  greater 
observance  of  chastity.* 


I J  M  Vander  Burgt,  Un  grand  peuple  de  I'Afrique  Equatoriale,  (Bois-le-Duc,  1903) 
pp  46,  74,  82,  119,  137.  Cp.  Schmidt,  1.  c.  p.  234.  'LeRoy,  op.  cit.  pp.  179-180.  'LeRoy, 
1.  c.  p.  180.  ♦Comp.  Casati,  Ten  years  in  Equatoria,  (London,  1891).  Also  'Schmidt, 
1.  c.  234-235.    •  LeRoy,  178,  192.    '  Idem,  p.  187,  177.    » Idem,  p.  209ff. 


GOD  49 

CENTRAL  AFRICAN  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

To  illustrate  this  subject,  and  at  the  same  time  to  obtain  a  graphic  idea 
of  how  the  natives  express  their  religious  views  to  those  whom  they  feel 
they  can  make  their  confidentials,  I  cannot  do  better  than  quote  verbatim 
the  report  of  Mgr.  LeRoy,  one  of  the  few  white  men  who  has  ever  taken 
the  trouble  to  handle  this  matter  with  anything  like  satisfaction.' 

"I  have  been  singularly  struck",  says  the  bishop,  "at  the  difference 
which  exists, — and  this  entirely  to  their  advantage,— between  our  little 
men  and  the  neighboring  tribes,  a  difference  which  I  had  already  dis- 
covered on  the  eastern  coast  and  which  to  my  astonishment  I  found  to  be 
the  same  on  the  other  side  of  Africa.  When  I  accidentally  invaded  the 
fioni-setllement,  (close  to  Malindi,  Zanzebar),  and  made  the  acquaintance 
of  the  chief,  I  drew  from  him  a  remark  which  surprised  me.  Contrary 
to  the  custom  of  the  Bantus  around  them,  pagan  or  more  or  less  mussul- 
man,  these  Bonis  carry  no  amulets. 

"  'I  do  not  see  among  you  those  daivas,  irizis,  and  all  those  things  which 
other  tribes  carry  around  their  necks,  arms,  and  everywhere',  was  my 
remark.  'No',  was  the  answer.  'Why  not?  are  these  things  wicked?' 
'We  know  nothing  about  them'.  'But  if  the  pepo  (or  spirit)  enters  one 
of  your  bodies,  what  do  you  do  to  expel  him?'  'The  pepo  never  comes 
to  us,  he  knows  only  the  Wa-nyika  and  the  Mussulman'.  'And  you  have 
no  sacrifice  either,  (Sadaka),  for  example  when  you  kil.l  a  buffalo,  when 
you  find  honey,  when  some  evil  threatens  you?'  'Listen,  if  you  want  to 
know  everything.  When  I  kill  a  buffalo,  I  take  a  small  portion,  the  best 
of  it,  and  place  it  on  the  fire.  One  part  remains  there  to  be  burnt,  the 
other  I  eat  with  my  children.  If  I  find  honey,  I  take  none  of  it  until  I 
have  thrown  a  little  into  the  forest  or  up  to  heaven.  And  when  I  get  palm- 
wine,  I  must  first  scatter  a  little  of  it  over  the  ground.  ...  Is  that  what 
you  want  to  know? 

"  'Yes,— but  in  doing  this,  you  say  nothing?'  'I  do.  I  say  for 
example : — "Waka!  Thou  hast  given  me  this  buffalo,  this  honey,  this  wine. 
Behold  thy  portion.  Grant  me  strength  and  life,  and  that  no  harm  may 
come  to  my  children!"  '  "  H^aAra  is  the  Galla  name  for  God.  I  knew  this, 
but  it  was  better  to  play  the  ignorant,  and  let  this  savage  explain  himself 
in  his  own  way.  "Waka?"  said  I,  "what  is  Waka?"  "You  have  never 
heard  of  Waka?  Why,  He  is  the  Master  of  all.  He  whom  the  Swahilis  call 
Mu-ungu.  He  gives  us  these  lands,  these  forests,  these  rivers,  everything 
that  you  see :  We  live  off  Him,  but  He  is  severe,  He  wants  His  share  of 
things,  and  we  give  it  to  Him."  "Have  you  seen  Him?"  "Seen  Waka? 
Who  could  ever  see  Waka?    But  He  sees  us  easily. 


°  LeRoy,  op.  cit.  p.  17Sff.    I  give  a  short  English  version  of  the  original  French. 


50  GOD 

CENTRAL  AFRICAN  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

"Sometimes  He  comes  into  our  camp  and  makes  one  of  us  die.  Then 
we  bury  him  in  the  earth,  liim  whom  he  has  deprived  of  life.  For  it  is 
dangerous  to  remain  under  the  eye  of  God". 

The  author  concludes: — 

"These  backwoodsman-idoas  of  God  and  of  sacrifice  that  is  due  to  Him 
made,  I  repeat,  a  profound  impression  upon  me,  superior  by  far  as  they 
were  to  those  commonly  scattered  among  their  agricultural,  sedentary,  and 
comparatively  civilised  neighbors.  They  reversed  the  conceptions  that  I 
had  made  on  the  subject,  and  which  wanted  to  make  out  (according  to 
the  books)  that  religious  and  other  knowledge  goes  hand  in  hand  with 
material  civilisation". 

This  is  only  one  specimen  of  the  above  author's  numerous  interviews 
with  the  natives,  and  every  time  he  found  not  only  "the  recognition  of  a 
personal  and  supreme  Divinity"  but  the  otTering  up  of  sacrifices  to  His 
name.  "For  my  part",  he  says,  "I  have  found  no  group  in  which  He  was 
unknown.'" 

But  if  the  magical  and  animistic  practices  of  the  Bantus  are  here  con- 
spicuously absent,  any  notions  of  totemism,  of  a  descent  from  trees  or 
animals,  are  equally  distant.  Waka  has  made  men  and  all  things 
directly,  they  do  not  spring  from  lower  forms,  and  at  death  He  is  their 
immediate  Judge,  there  are  no  reincarnations.  They  have  a  natural 
shyness  towards  the  Chimpanzee,  and  they  regard  the  Moduma-Tv&e  as 
sacred,  the  latter  containing  the  secret  of  life,  from  which  they  abstain  at 
stated  intervals,  offering  up  the  sacred  nut  as  a  "present  to  the  Lord". 
Moreover,  "I  made  many  inquiries  to  know  whether  the  negrillos  were 
cannibals.  The  answer  was  always  in  the  negative,  except  among  the 
Beku  (or  Bushmen),  or  very  intermittently," — a  verdict  with  which 
Casali  agrees."  They  are  a  peaceful,  afTectionate,  and  comparatively  moral 
people,  among  whom  monogamy  prevails  and  women  are  not  ill  treated. 
"They  have  a  fellow-feeling  for  one  another,  assisting  one  another  as  the 
occasion  may  require",  and  their  family  life  and  social  customs  should  be 
studied  with  the  help  of  Mgr.  LeRoy's  interesting  pictures,  which  will 
reveal  more  powerfully  than  any  words  can  do,  how  these  simple  childish 
people  reverence  themselves  and  their  Creator. 

As  to  the  name  of  this  divinity,  the  word  Waka  contains  the  two  roots 
Wa  and  Ka,  from  which  the  meaning  "High  Man"  "Great  Master"  may 
not  improbably  be  revealed.  Nzambi  (Nza-arnba)  is  "He  who  creates", 
while  inda-garra  is  taken  to  mean  "The  Strong  One"  "He  who  is  alive". 
In  any  case,  the  expression  Abe-Yehu-Mu-lungu  will  speak  for  itself — 
"Our  Father,  who  art  in  Heaven!"  " 


'»  LeRoy,  1.  c.  p.  187.     "Ibid.  p.  193.     '^  pgr  linguistic  notes  and  invocations  see  Idem. 
p.  112ff.    Also,  U  Religion  des  Primitifs  (Paris,  1911)  p.  173ff.  301. 


GOD  51 

CENTRAL  AFRICAN  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(H)  KAANG— South-African  Belt— Kalahari  Bushmen,  (Maluti) 
Of  the  Bushman  religion,  (Kalahari  Desert,  South  Africa)  conflicting 
reports  are  in  circulation.  This  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  these  tribes  are 
no  longer  unadulterated,  but  exhibit  certain  advanced  features  (use  of 
palaeohths,  poisoned  arrows,  pottery,  and  polychrome),  side  by  side  with 
very  early  elements,  (wind-screen,  loin-strap,  flre-stick,  etc.),  which  makes 
their  position  an  anomalous  one.  They  are  also  beyond  the  negrito 
stature,'  have  powerful  hereditary  chiefs,=  show  vestiges  of  totemic  ideas ' 
are  strongly  addicted  to  magic,^  and  exhibit  a  morality  by  no  means  flaw- 
less,—polygamy  and  infanticide  in  parts.'  These,  by  contrast  with 
qualities  of  an  opposite  nature,  make  their  combined  character  very  diffi- 
cult to  estimate.  Nevertheless,  there  is  a  general  consensus  of  opinion  that 
they  are  an  ancient  people,  and  in  the  most  primitive  area,  that  of  the 
Maluti,  or  Mountain-Bushmen,  we  hear  of  a  great  being  called  Kaang 
(Master),  of  whom  the  following  information  has  been  gathered:—' 

Kaang  cannot  be  seen  with  the  eyes,  but  only  with  the  heart  of  man. 
Kamig  causes  to  live  and  causes  to  die,  gives  or  refuses  rain.  '\\t  first  he 
was  very  good  and  nice,  but  he  got  spoilt  through  fighting  so  many 
things"  (Idea  of  original  goodness  contending  with  increasing  evil)  "He 
has  made  all  things  and  we  pray  to  Him".  He  is  to  be  addressed  in  times 
of  famine,  or  before  going  to  war,  or  when  performing  the  sacred  dance 
(Mo-koma).  The  following  prayer  is  authenticated:— "O  Kaang  Kaang' 
Are  we  not  thy  children?  Do  you  not  see  our  hunger?  Give  us  food'- 
"And  He  gives  us  both  our  hands  full".''  He  has  instituted  the  Mo'koma 
or  "Dance  of  Blood",  a  terrible  gambol,  in  which  both  sexes  take  part,  and 
which  ends  with  swooning  and  nose-bleeding,  but  the  transgression  of 
whose  rites  on  the  score  of  sexual  excess  is  punished  by  Kaang  with  ter- 
rible chastisements,— transformation  into  beasts,  and  banishment  to  a 
mysterious  region  under  the  water." 

From  what  has  been  seen  above,  it  seems  probable  that  Kaang  is  an 
old  Bushman  "God",  whose  character  has  been  partly  lost  by  growing 
social  and  moral  deterioration.  Dr.  Bleek's  identification  of  Kaang  with 
the  grasshopper,  (Mantis),  shows  inroads  of  tiie  totem-culture  in  the 
West,  but  leaves  his  nature  undetermined  in  the  more  primitive  region, 
(Maluti)."'  A  similar  invasion  of  animal  ideas  has  been  noted  in 
Australia  and  the  Andaman  Islands,  (q.  v.)  It  must  be  admitted,  however, 
that  this  figure  is  too  humanised  and  corrupted  in  its  present  appearance 
to  satisfy  the  rigid  demands  of  a  pure  theism.  It  points  at  the  most  to  a 
former  and  probably  more  elevated  conception  of  the  divine. 


'G.  Stow  The  Native  Races  of  South  Africa,  (London,  1910),  p.  12.  =  Idem  v  186 
r  nn^ii^V  M^'^-./^l'™'  P-  \^^-  '^<^^'"'  PP-  55-97,  SO-Sl.  «  Idem  pp.  40  15  .^Stow  1 
c.  pp.  113,  132-I34,  taken  partly  from  T.  Arbousset,  Relation  d'un  voyage  au  Cap  de  Bonne 

ST<f"M;i/t^  r'\^^^^^  r^-  ^°\1-  Pl^''^^/""  J-  ^-  O^P*"'  A-  Glimpsf  into  the^mytho°o^ 
p    120     >?Id  13^13?'"'  Monthly  Magazine,  July,  1874.     »  Stow,  1.  c.  p.   134.     »  Idem 


52  GOD 

CENTRAL  AFRICAN  PRIMITIVE  FORM 
Review 

Such  in  brief  are  the  main  outlines  of  the  earliest  African  faith  as  yet 
known  to  us.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  picture  is  fragmentary,  that  the 
material  offered  is  far  from  voluminous,  that  the  conclusions  drawn  are 
not  in  every  case  beyond  criticism.  We  must  remember,  however,  that 
this  is  an  entirely  new  field,  and  that  in  the  first  endeavor  to  uncover  these 
beliefs,  to  penetrate  beyond  the  veil  of  tribal  secrecy,  there  must  needs  be 
considerable  ditficulty  and  not  a  little  disappointment,  that  with  such  an 
expenditure  of  labor  the  material  reported  should  be  apparently  small. 
But  the  quantity  of  the  matter  offered  is  not  always  the  best  test  of  its 
veracity,  of  its  relative  importance.  A  few  vital  statistics  are  worth  volumes 
of  undigested  folk-lore,  of  secondary  issues.  In  the  present  case  the 
splendid  work  of  Mgr.  LeRoy  has  opened  out  a  new  world  of  investiga- 
tion in  Central  Africa,  and  the  facts  that  he  has  brought  to  light  should  be 
a  stimulus  for  every  searcher  after  truth  to  widen  its  domain,  to  bring 
more  secrets  to  the  surface.  The  more  essential  points  of  his  report  have 
been  given  above,  for  the  more  descriptive  matter  the  reader  is  referred 
to  the  work  itself,  which  serves  as  an  excellent  and  at  present  the  only 
popular  introduction  to  the  study  of  Negrillo  beliefs. 

Taking  this  area  as  a  whole,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  main  points 
established  admit  of  a  fairly  rigid  demonstration, — to  wit, — 

(1)  It  cannot  now  be  denied  that  the  races  in  question,  Negrillo  and 
Bushman,  are  the  real  aborigines  of  the  African  continent.  It  is  also  impos- 
sible to  suppose  that  their  beliefs  were  borrowed  from  "higher"  peoples 
for  the  simple  reason  that  their  isolation  and  the  want  of  any  higher 
traces,  whether  in  their  tradition  or  in  their  practices,  makes  the  above 
supposition  increasingly  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  maintain. 

(2)  The  facts  collected  are  sufficiently  numerous  and  variegated  to 
warrant  the  conclusion  that  a  personal  and  providential  "Maker  of  All" 
is  not  only  acknowledged,  but  worshipped  and  invoked  by  His  needy  chil- 
dren. This  simple  childlike  religion  binds  the  Negrillos  to  their  brethren, 
the  Oceanic  Negritos,  which  is  one  more  point  in  favor  of  its  authenticity. 

This  completes  the  cycle  of  negrito  races  and  tiieir  allies,  the  Tas- 
manians  and  Bushmen  being  included  as  cognate  races  of  woolly  hair. 
It  is  now  lime  to  turn  our  attention  to  another  group,  which,  though  closely 
allied  to  them,  represents  a  transition  to  a  somewhat  different  type  of 
humeuiily. 


THE  AGE  OF  BAMBOOS 
AND  OF  STRAIGHT-LINE  PATTERNS 

THE  FATHER  OF  SHINING  LIGHT 

PICTOCRAPHIt     SERIES    DISCOVERED    AMONG      THE      SHINOI-TRIBES      OF      THE      MTDDI  F 
AMAZON  AND  SUGGESTING  THE  PRINCIPAL  THEME  OF  THE  K£RI-KAJfE8  LEGEND 


PATTERNS 

0 

Op 

m 

FROM  THE 

o 


/^MAZONlAN 


PAPA-  K.AMlJ§lNt 


^^ 


sSEveBMt 


N/lTIA-VuKKeDCXKA 


/a. 

I  YUXKe-KERI-KAMeS 


MYTH- 

•pA-rrERHS 


AMAOCNVAM 
REGION 


81CGE8TED   INTERPRETATION 

"THE    FATHER    ABOVE,    THE    SHINING    ONE,— HAS    PLANTED    THE    SEED— WHICB    BRINOS 

FORTH   THE   FRIIT— OF  THE   KERI-KASfES   THEE." 

SEE  K.  VON  DEN  STEINEN,  Dl'RCH  CENTRAL  BRA8ILIEN,  (1886),  P.  S81,  AND  COMPARE  W. 
C.  FARABEE,  SOME  SOl'TH-AMERICAN  PETROGLVPHS,  (HOLMES  ANNIVERSARY  VOLUME, 
WASHINGTON,  1918),  P.  88-90,  FOR  THE  APPENDED  SKETCHES.  FOR  NOMENCLATURE  SEE 
KOCH-GRl  NBERG,  DIE  BETOVA-SPRACHEN,  (ANTHKOPOS.  1913),  P.  944,  AN*D  CONSULT  THE 
COMBINED  CENTRAL-BR.%ZILL\N  LEXICOLOGY. 


GOD  53 

AMAZONIAN  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(K)  South  American  Region,  Central  Brazil,— Tapuyas,  etc. 

The  fact  that  we  find  extremely  low  races  in  the  heart  of  Brazil  sug- 
gests the  conclusion  that  they  are  the  survivals  of  a  former  age  when  they 
held  exclusive  dominion  of  the  soil,  that  they  were  pushed  into  the  remote 
confines  of  the  tropical  forest  by  the  stronger  races  that  followed  in  their 
wake.  These  tribes,  known  under  the  collective  name  of  "Tapuyas",  or 
"Barbarians",  are  believed  by  some  authorities  to  be  the  earliest  represen- 
tatives of  a  South-American  indigenous  race  of  which  we  have  any  knowl- 
edge.' They  are  the  modern  descendants  of  the  "Lagoa-Santa"  race  (pre- 
liistoric),  they  are  more  or  less  pygmoidal,  they  arp  possibly  of  pre-Indian 
origin,  (proto-Malayic,  comp.  Jakun),  they  antedate  the  ageof  stone  (wood 
and  bone  industry),  they  have  no  developed  totemic  ideas  (local  exogamy), 
they  have  no  permanent  settlements  (wind-screen),  and  they  wander 
from  river-jungle  to  mountain-creek  in  quest  of  such  animal  and  vegetable 
food  as  can  be  collected  by  the  crudest  of  weapons  (staff-bow,  boom- 
erang?),—all  of  which  stamp  their  possessors  as  being  one  of  the  earliest 
invaders  of  the  New  World,  though,  for  reasons  already  given,  we  cannot 
consider  them  on  precisely  the  same  level  as  the  East-Indian  Negritos,— 
(lank  hair,  taller  stature,  more  complex  culture).  We  have  therefore 
classified  them  as  "late  archaic",  with  elements  derived  from  the  Boom- 
erang-culture, and  as  such  they  merit  our  attention,  though  little  enough 
is  known  of  their  higher  beliefs  to  justify  any  certain  conclusions  as  to 
their  nature. 

(K)   (1)  IGUANCHI,— Yivaros— ,  West-Central  Brazil,  or  E.  Peru 

The  Yivaros  of  the  upper  Amazon  are  not  generally  classed  as  Tapuyas. 
But  a  few  items  of  their  belief  may  serve  to  interpret  a  region  where  a 
primitive  undercurrent  is  to  be  suspected,— a  former  Tapuya-zone.=  Their 
unique  divinity  Igmnchi  is  probably  identical  with  Pillan,  a  Thunder- 
God,  who  lives  in  volcanoes  and  spits  lire.  Of  his  personal  character 
nothing  is  known,  but  his  name  is  invoked  on  all  occasions.'  He  also 
appears  as  a  fire-spewing  ape,  and  is  worshipped  in  the  narcotic-trance, 
Natema,  when  his  servants  hold  mystic  communion  with  him.  This  shows 
at  least  that  a  personal  cult  is  in  evidence,  but  leaves  Iguanchi  himself  a 
blurred  image,— supreme,  but  otherwise  indefinable.  There  is  no  clear  evi- 
dence of  totemism.  But  cannibalism  and  head-hunting  have  made  violent 
inroads  in  this  region,  the  Yivaros  are  a  decadent  people.* 


„,  p-  E-  Church,  The  Aborigines  of  South  America,  (London,  1912).  p.  66ff.  Also  K. 
Weule,  Leitfaden.  (Leipzig,  1912),  p.  47.  D.  G.  Brinton,  The  Dwarf  Tribe  on  the  Upper 
Amazon,  Amer.  Anthr.  (Washington,  1898)  Vol.  XI.  pp.  277-279  (unidentified).  » K. 
Moi"f\'  !>'f-i^"^"  '^"  Naturvolker  Amerikas,  in  Archiv  fiir  Religions\vis<;enschaft.  XIV 
(ivil),  p.  293ff.  'Idem,  p.  293.  *  Comp.  Rivet,  Les  Indiens  livaros.  Etude  geographique, 
histonque,  ethnographique,  L'Anthropologie,  XIX,  pp.  235-254.  (religion),  lb.  Vol.  XVIII, 
pp.  iiia.  (ethnography). 


54  GOD 

(K)    (2)  KAMUSHINI,— Bakairi-Bororo — ,  South  Central  Brazil 

But  if  the  upper  Amazon  is  largely  a  "terra  incognita",  the  Shingu- 
region  gives  promise  of  better  results.  Here  the  Bakairi  and  other  allied 
peoples  are  not  impossibly  the  forerunners  of  the  great  Amazonian  family, 
they  and  the  Paressis.  Bororos,  and  Caingang,  approaching  nearer  to  the 
Botokudo-type, — admittedly  the  most  primitive  type  of  mankind  on  the 
continent.  Somatically  they  are  of  low  to  medium  stature,'  they  go  prac- 
tically naked,  and  live  a  largely  nomadic  life,  which  is  content  with  the 
simple  hut  or  windshelter.*  Staff-bow.  boomerang,  and  bull-roaror  are  well 
represented  in  this  region,  as  well  as  the  peculiar  facial  disfigurement  that 
accompanies  them, — nose,  lip,  and  ear-ornament.^  As  to  their  industries, 
"the  Shingu  are  living  in  an  age  of  shell,  wood,  tooth,  and  bone".*  they 
"plow"  fire,  and  bark-canoe  and  balsa  are  still  in  evidence.  They  have 
neither  lance,  blowpipe,  nor  poisoned  arrow,  though  the  Tupi  employ  a 
throwing-stick.'  If  it  is  true  that  some  of  these  people  can  also  work  stone 
and  produce  fair  pottery,  our  leading  authority  is  convinced  that  these  are 
not  native  but  imported  features,  as  most  of  the  Bakairi  cannot  make  celts.' 
Finally  there  is  no  totemism,  but  rather  a  strong  lunar  mythology  with  a 
peculiar  "spider"-niotive,  wliich  again  suggests  the  typical  theme  of  the 
Boomerang-circle.' 

This  is  illustrated  by  Kamushini,  the  supreme  figure  of  Bakairi  myth- 
ology. Whether  the  name  be  Arowakish  or  not,  Kamu  may  be  taken 
vaguely  as  "light",  whether  sun-  or  moon-light,  and  the  fact  that  he 
appears  under  tlie  form  of  a  spider,  spinning  the  universe  out  of  his  brain, 
makes  it  more  than  probable  that  he  was  once  connected  with  the  moon, 
and  in  still  earlier  times  with  the  heavens  in  general.  (Comp.  Puluga, 
Atnaka,  Quat-Maraiva  above).  In  any  case  Kamushini  is  apparently  a 
Creator,  He  has  made  Keri  and  Kame,  the  first  human  twins,  and  He  con- 
trols the  moral  law  by  sanctions  that  are  rigorous  and  severe.' 

This  idea  of  justice  is  particularly  strong  among  the  Tupi,  where 
Monan,  the  Creator,  destroys  mankind  by  a  confiagration,  in  which  Irin- 
mage  alone  is  saved,  whose  righteous  posterity  repeople  the  earth." 
Similar  legends  are  told  throughout  the  Amazonian  region,  and  invariably 
with  a  high  moral  purpose.  In  fact,  the  combined  folklore  of  the  Brazilian 
races  is  so  immense  and  these  heroes  of  the  divine  mercy  so  extremely 
numerous  that,  apart  from  any  creation-legends,  the  reward  of  virtue  and 
the  punishment  of  vice  point  vaguely  to  certain  similar  ethical  qualities  as 
vested  in  some  form  of  supreme  moral  Governor.'" 


>  K.  Von  den  Steinen,  Unter  den  Naturvolkern  Central  Brasiliens  (Berlin,  1894)  "a  justhr 
famous  work,  the  best  on  South  America"  (Thomas,  Source-Book,  p.  881),  see  p.  160-165. 
Mdem.  p.  200f.  Md.  228ff.  «  Id.  204.  »  Id.  228,  23H.  «  Idem.  20.1.  '  Id.  375.  «  Id.  .164ff. 
•Denis,  Une  fete  bresilienne  celebree  a  Rouen  en  1555.  (Paris,  1851)  pp.  86-90.  »<>  Comp. 
Paul  Ehrenreich,  Die  Mythen  und  Legenden  der  Siid-Amerikanischen  Urvolker,  (Berlin, 
1905),  pp.  30-31,  40-5SfT.  Also  P.  C.  Teschauer,  S.  J.,  Die  Kaingang  odcr  Coroados-Indianer, 
Anthropos,  IX.  (19141.  p.  32-35,  (or  linguistic  connection  through  A'iiiM(7ntip,  Karnes, 
Kayurukre.  Also  L.  Adam,  in  Compte  Rendu,  (Congr.  Amer.  Paris,  1900),  p.  317fT.  for 
Creation-legend, 


GOD  55 

AMAZONIAN  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

It  is  impossible,  however,  to  estimate  this  subject  in  its  true  propor- 
tions, and  at  the  same  time  to  realise  its  weak  features,  without  recount- 
ing the  Keri-Kame  legend  with  some  detail.^' 

The  story  opens  with  Kamushini,  the  Heaven-god,  the  oldest  figure  of 
the  mythology.  The  Bakairi  trace  everything  to  heavenly  origins,  and  so 
in  the  beginning,  heaven  and  earth  were  united,  all  was  heaven,  and 
Kamushini  was  apparently  supreme,  the  king  of  heaven,  the  author  of  all 
existence.  For  although  a  creation  is  not  explicitly  mentioned,  and  Keri 
and  Kame  appear  to  be  ready-made,  such  a  creation  is  hinted  at  by  the 
designation  of  Kamushini  as  a  being  belonging  to  a  "different  people",— a 
superhuman  being — ,  and  as  "making  threads  like  a  spider",  a  "heavenly 
spider",  etc.  Moreover  he  is  evidently  the  creator  of  man,  for  he  "makes 
men  out  of  arrows  and  women  out  of  maize-stampers",  who  then  address 
him  as  "Papa", — Father — ,  a  plain  index  of  paternal  though  non-sexual 
relations. 

In  those  days  men  lived  for  ever,  there  was  no  death,  and  paradise  was 
on  the  earth,  a  heavenly  world  blazing  with  light,  and  the  mystery  is, 
how  the  reign  of  immortality  came  to  an  end,  how  heaven  and  earth  were 
separated.  The  firm  conviction  that  there  would  be  no  death  if  all  men 
were  good,  that  death  is  the  result  of  sorcery,  of  bad  magic, — this  seems  to 
imply  that  death  is  in  some  way  the  result  of  sin,  of  a  moral  failure, 
though  not  necessarily  in  far  off  times.  But  whatever  be  the  origin  of 
death,  heaven  and  earth  were  destined  to  be  parted,  there  is  a  mysterious 
transmutation-scene  in  which  Keri  thus  addresses  the  god  of  heaven 
(Kamushini).  "You  shall  not  stay  here,  my  people  are  dying!  And  yet 
you  remain  here.  You  are  good,  but  I  do  not  wish  my  people  to  die!"  And 
Heaven  answered : — "I  will  stay !" — and  Keri  replied :  "Then  /  will  change  1" 
After  that  he  and  all  his  people  went  off  to  the  earth,  and  heaven  went 
upward.  The  prayer  of  Ken  to  Heaven  that  he  may  leave  them,  because, 
though  "good",  he  is  the  cause  of  his  people's  death,  seems  to  insinuate 
that  immortality  was  lost  in  paradise  as  the  result  of  a  rebellion  against 
the  decrees  of  heaven,  that  death  is  the  result  of  divine  justice.  Keri's 
attempt  to  escape  justice  by  "changing  his  climate"  was  doomed  to  dis- 
appointment, for  ever  since  men  have  continued  to  die,  and  Keri  himself 
has  had  to  make  men  out  of  arrows.  As  an  atonement  for  the  sins  of 
man,  offerings  of  fruits  are  still  placed  on  the  Keri  and  Kames-Tvee, — an 
indirect  hint  that  life  and  death  are  possibly  connected  with  a  forbidden 
food,  which  food  must  be  sacrificed  to  Heaven  in  order  to  procure  recon- 
ciliation." 


"Von  den  Steinen,  op.  cit.  p.  348ff.    "Idem.  p.  360.  Ehrenreich.  1.  c.  p.  39. 


56  GOD 

AMAZONIAN  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

The  idea  of  retribution,  both  temporal  and  eternal,  is  strongly  developed 
among  the  Bakairi  as  among  other  Brazilian  tribes.  Nearly  all  have  the 
tradition  of  a  great  flood  or  fire  which  was  brought  upon  mankind  through 
their  own  culpability, — violation  of  the  moral  law,  of  social  customs,  of 
the  "couvade"."  This  institution  is  regarded  as  particularly  sacred,  and 
consists  of  a  fasting-ordeal  during  which  the  father  of  the  new-born  child 
sleeps  or  shares  his  bed  with  the  latter,  and  abstains  from  all  foods  and 
dissipations  which  he  conceives  will  endanger  the  life  of  the  child,  so 
intense  is  his  consciousness  that  he  and  his  child  are  one( !).  "The  father  is 
a  patient,  in  so  far  as  he  feels  himself  one  with  the  new-born".'*  This 
singularly  beautiful  custom  is  evidently  meant  to  symbolise  not  only  the 
close  union  between  father  and  child,  but  also  that  the  child  is  his,  and 
his  only.  Terrible  consequences  are  believed  to  follow  from  its  neglect, — 
not  only  the  fire  and  brimstone  of  the  past,  but  especially  ferocious  demons 
are  said  to  devour  the  culprit.  On  the  other  hand  those  who  observe  the 
sacred  customs  and  abstain  from  witchcraft  will  never  die  but  will  go  to 
the  paradise  of  their  ancestors,  Keri  and  Kame.  The  body  is  always 
interred.'^ 

This  picture  has  many  attractive  features,  but  the  surprisingly  high 
tone  of  the  stories  should  not  blind  us  to  their  inherent  deficiencies.  From 
the  beginning  there  is  no  very  clear  distinction  between  creator  and 
creature,  both  are  sun  and  moon-heroes,  they  change  and  produce  things 
with  equal  ease,  they  are  facetious  and  in  some  cases  even  ridiculous,  and 
the  hypothetical  Heaven-god  has  been  long  since  forgotten,  his  place  has 
been  taken  by  the  bupd  or  ghost-god,  whicli  is  the  natural  outcome  of  a 
trivial  theology.  The  morals  of  the  natives  tend  to  bear  this  out.  For 
although  theft  is  rare,  and  the  position  of  women  comparatively  high, 
both  abortion  and  desertion  are  said  to  be  common,  and  the  practice  of 
cannibalism,  however  sporadic,  shows  that  the  condition  of  these  people 
is  far  from  ideal.'" 

On  the  other  hand  the  native  origin  of  the  legends  can  hardly  be  ques- 
tioned. It  seems  quite  certain  that  no  intruding  missionaries,  however 
accommodating,  would  clothe  their  message  of  salvation  in  the  cast  and 
phraseology  above  described,  and  the  natives  themselves  repudiate  it.  "Is 
Keri  the  'god'  of  the  Portuguese?" — "No,  we  know  nothing  of  him,  he  is 
another,  .  .  .  Keri  lives  in  heaven,  he  is  the  grandfather  of  the  Bakairi"." 
It  is  evident,  however,  that  Keri,  Karnes,  and  Kamushini,  have  been  fre- 
quently confused,  that  the  original  Heaven-god  has  been  mixed  up  with 
the  national  ancestors. 


"  Ehrenreich,  1.  c.  p.  31.     »«  Von  den  Steinen,  1.  c.  pp.  334-336.     '» Ibid.  p.  349.  339  (mat- 
burial).    "  Idem,  p.  334flF.    "  Idem,  p.  380. 


GOD  57 

AMAZONIAN  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

Are  we  to  think  of  mere  "culture-heroes"  after  the  type  of  Deucalion 
and  Pyrrha?  I  agree  with  Ehrenreich  that  a  creation  in  the  strict  sense 
is  difficult  to  prove  from  the  existing  data,  and  that  in  their  present  form 
these  stories  have  the  unmistakable  ring  of  hero-legends.  Nevertheless 
the  fact  that  Kamushini  is  said  to  have  "made  men  out  of  arrows,  and 
women  out  of  maize-stampers" ( !),  this  is  certainly  a  bold  exploit  even 
for  a  Hercules,  and  when  we  consider  that  very  similar  stories  are  told  of 
Monan  of  the  Tupi  and  of  Kayurukre  of  the  Kaingang, — not  to  speak  of 
Aba-angui  of  the  Guarayo,  Uabale  of  the  Paressi,  Kara  of  the  Mundruku, 
Karakara  of  the  Guayakuru,  and  Tin  of  the  Yurakare, — all  of  whom  are 
"fathers"  of  humanity  and  are  said  to  have  made,  formed,  or  equipped 
man,  while  they  themselves  are  unborn  or  immortal, — the  question  of  an 
All-Father  belief  in  this  region,  partially  obscured  by  lunar  worship,  is 
one  that  we  cannot  afford  to  dismiss.  In  my  own  opinion  these  semi- 
divine  "culture-heroes"  are  a  forcible  reminder  of  the  Qiiat-Maraiva 
legends  of  Melanesia,  and  should  be  interpreted  accordingly. 

(K)    (3)  TuPAN, — BoTOKUDOs — ,  East-Central  Brazil 

That  the  Botokudos  worship  a  personal  divinity  may  now  be  regarded 
as  certain."  He  is  known  as  Tupan, — a  Tupi-Guarani  word  signifying 
"chief",  "master".  The  difficulty  in  this  case  concerns  his  derivation. 
Some  have  suggested  that  while  the  word  is  native,  the  idea  is  of  mis- 
sionary origin,  being  imported  by  the  Catholic  priests, — also  called 
"tupans".  But  it  is  notoriously  unsafe  to  rely  too  exclusively  on  the  latter 
source.  There  are  some  facts  that  seem  to  point  in  an  opposite  direction. 
He  is  a  "Thunder"-god,  He  is  invoked  in  the  chase,  there  is  not  a  vestige  of 
Christological  dogma,  which  seems  strange  when  we  consider  the  com- 
pactness of  the  Catholic  system.  Moreover,  the  custom  of  shooting  arrows 
into  the  air  during  thunder-storms,  with  the  exclamation,  "The  Great 
Chief  is  angry",'''  has  a  native  ring  that  recalls  strangely  many  of  the 
Negrito  practices  in  this  regard  (thunder-charm?).  Sun-  or  moon- 
worship  are  undeveloped,  and  spiritism  seems  to  have  had  no  efTect  on 
the  supremacy  of  the  "Great  Master".  "In  the  Botokudos  we  have  the 
oldest  representatives  of  the  Ges"  (pure  Tapuyas)."  Windsheller,  bee- 
hive hut,  fire-plow,  nose  and  lip-ornament,  rank  them  as  quasi-primitives, 
though  some  of  them  work  flint.  Chieftaincy  is  limited,  monogamy  pre- 
ponderates, but  cannibalism  and  infanticide  are  not  unknown.  After 
death  the  body  is  interred.    Cremation  and  urn-burial  are  wanting." 


"Paul  Ehremreich,  Uber  die  Botokudos,  Zeitschr.  f.  Ethnol.  (1887)  p.  34-3S,  on  religion. 
"Reported  by  Renault  and  St.  Hilaire,  ibid.  p.  35.  "Ibid.  p.  81.  '♦For  anthropology  and 
ethnology,  consult  G.  Church,  The  Aborigines  of  South  America  (1912)  p.  66-71.  T.  Joyce. 
South  American  Archaeology  (1912),  p.  256fE. 


58  GOD 

AMAZONIAN  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(L)  Patagonian  Extension, — Tierra  del  Fueoo 

As  a  southern  offshoot  of  the  same  Amazonian  race  certain  Fuegian 
tribes  on  the  Straits  of  Maghellan  should  merit  our  final  attention  by 
reason  of  the  additional  light  that  they  promise  to  shed  on  the  Brazilian 
data,  which  are  as  yet  none  too  numerous.  Here  we  find  three  groups  of 
primitives,  known  as  the  Yahgans,  the  Onas,  and  the  Alacalufs,  the  first 
and  the  third  of  whom  occupy  the  same  relation  to  the  higher  Patagonian 
peoples  that  the  Botokudos  do  to  the  higher  Arowaks.  The  bee-hive  hut 
of  the  Yahgans  and  their  almost  naked  existence,  in  spile  of  a  thermometer 
which  is  frequently  below  freezing, — this  is  a  fairly  strong  proof  that 
they  antedate  the  age  of  round-houses  and  of  stitched  or  weaved  garments, 
they  are  the  relics  of  a  tropical  race  whose  artificial  methods  of  keeping 
warm  by  means  of  extensive  bon-fires  has  given  the  name  to  the  archi- 
pelago,— it  is  the  "Land  of  Fire".  Moreover  their  shells,  bones,  and  flake- 
implements  tell  a  similar  story,  their  fiint  arrow-heads  being  probably  of 
remote  Patagonian  origin,  as  are  a  few  other  items  of  the  specifically 
"Ona"  culture.  Finally  the  absence  of  totemism  and  of  elaborate  tribal 
divisions  is  a  sociological  fact  which  in  combination  with  the  industrial 
data  reveals  with  sufficient  clearness  that  we  are  dealing  with  an  antarctic 
survival, — the  "Tasmanians"  of  the  New  World. 

(L,  1)   THE  GOOD  AND  THE  EVIL  SPIRIT  OF  THE  YAHGANS 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Bridges  repeatedly  stated  that  the  Yahgans  have  no 
supreme  deity,  God,  or  Creator.  A  negative  is  notoriously  risky  when 
there  is  a  question  of  a  savage's  iiighcr  religious  beliefs,  and  in  this  case 
we  have  fairly  good  evidence  to  the  contrary.  Captain  Bove  mentions 
both  a  good  deity  and  an  evil  deity  among  the  Yahgans.  Whether  these 
are  two  greater  spirits  corresponding  to  Yerri-Yupon  and  Yaccy-ma  among 
the  Alacalufs,  or  whether  they  are  only  lower  good  and  evil  spirits,  such 
as  are  spoken  of  by  Admiral  Fifz-Roy,  it  is  hard  to  say.  The  Yahgans, 
however,  seem  to  be  well  supplied  with  malevolent  spirits  and  beings,  as, 
when  a  man  dies,  the  natives  have  been  heard  to  say  at  times  that  "such 
a  one  has  been  taken  by  GopofT",  an  evil  spirit.  As  to  Aia}Xikal  and 
Lucooma,  the  former  is  hardly  more  than  a  deceased  witch-doctor,  while 
the  latter  is  the  spirit  of  the  tides  and  whirl-pools,  whom  they  greatly 
dread,  and  to  whom  the  portions  of  a  fish,  a  dog,  or  even  an  infant  are 
occasionally  sacrificed.  This  may  of  course  have  no  connexion  with 
Capt.  Bove's  "Good  Spirit",  but  the  prominence  of  the  negative  cult  makes 
it  difficult  to  say,  what  this  "benevolent  being"  really  is." 


"  Rev.  J.  M.  Cooper,  DD.,  in  the  work  immediately  cited,  p.  148-149. 


GOD  59 

AMAZONIAN  PRIMITIVE  FORM 

(L,  2)  WALIGHU  op  the  Onas 

Father  Beauvoir^s  identification  of  Jhowcn  witli  the  Hebrew  Jahive  is 
more  startling  than  commendable,  but  the  account  of  a  certain  divinity 
called  Walichu,  who  "sends  good  and  bad  things  to  men",  shows,  if  the 
report  be  correct,  that  the  Onas  have  a  vague  idea  of  a  power  that  rules. 
In  practice,  however,  the  invocation  of  two  deceased  weather-doctors  by 
the  living  medicine-men  is  the  only  worship  recorded.  The  Onas  believe 
in  metempsychosis. 

(L,  3)  YERRI-YUPON  op  the  Alacalups'" 

According  to  our  best-authenticated  reports  the  religious  ideas  of  the 
Alacalufs  verge  upon  dualism.  They  believe  in  a  "good  spirit,  Yerri-Yupon, 
author  of  all  good,  and  invoked  in  time  of  distress  and  danger",  and  also 
in  "an  evil  spirit,  Yaccy-ma,  who,  they  think,  is  able  to  do  all  kinds  of 
mischief,  cause  bad  weather,  famine,  illness,  etc.  He  is  supposed  to  be 
like  an  immense  black  man".  This  idea  of  a  big  black  man  in  the  woods 
has  been  independently  verified  by  at  least  two  observers,  and  he  appears 
on  the  whole  to  be  an  evil  being.  "A  great  black  man  is  supposed  to  be 
wandering  about  the  woods  and  mountains,  who  is  certain  of  knowing 
every  word  and  every  action,  who  cannot  be  escaped,  and  who  influences 
the  weather  according  to  a  man's  conduct".  After  narrating  the  killing 
of  a  thief,  an  Alacaluf  added: — "Rain  come  down — snow  come  down — 
hail  come  down — wind  blow-blow — very  much  blow — very  bad  to  kill 
man — big  man  in  woods  no  like  it — him  very  angry!"  This  is  probably 
the  same  being  as  the  Taquatu  of  the  Salesian  Fathers, — "an  invisible 
being  whom  they  imagine  to  be  a  giant,  who  travels  by  day  and  by  night 
in  a  large  canoe  over  the  seas  and  through  the  air.  If  he  finds  any  man 
or  woman  idle  or  distracted,  he  takes  them  without  more  ado  into  his 
great  canoe  and  carries  them  away  from  home.  It  is  at  night  particularly 
that  the  Alacalufs  dread  to  meet  this  terrible  being". 

It  seems  quite  clear  that  Yerri  Yupon  is  more  than  a  "weather-doctor" 
on  the  one  hand,  and  less  than  an  "exalted  ethical  being"  on  the  other. 
He  is  perhaps  a  faded  supreme  Being,  as  he  is  "invoked  in  times  of  distress 
and  danger"  and  "the  good  go  to  a  delightful  forest,  and  the  wicked  to 
a  deep  well,  where  they  cannot  escape", — implying  justice.  The  relatively 
high  tone  of  morality,  in  spite  of  contrary  instances,  tends  to  bear  this 
out.  Monogamy  is  the  more  general  rule,  though  polygamy  is  allowed, 
and  the  natives  are  a  quiet  and  peaceable  race,  for  most  of  whom,  at  least, 
cannibalism  is  unknown.  This  and  the  splendid  Yahgan  physique  makes 
them  an  attractive  object  of  study."^ 


*'  Recent  evidence  shows  that  Fitz-Roy's  "Chonoans"  are  the  identical  race.  '^  Fur- 
ther information  in  Rev.  J.  M.  Cooper,  D.D.,  .Analytical  Bibliography  of  the  Tribes  of 
Tierra  del  Fuego  and  adjacent  islands,  Bulletin  63  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology, 
(Washington,  1917),  p.  203ff.  Compare  Lang,  Making  of  Religion,  p.  I73ff.  Schmidt, 
Gottesidee,  p.  145. 


60  GOD 

AMAZONIAN  PRIMITIVE  FORM 
Summary 

With  this  brief  survey  of  the  more  essential  points  of  the  South- 
American  faith  in  its  earlier  form,  we  note  at  the  outset  that  what  little 
is  shown  of  the  supreme  figure  in  the  mythology  is  no  longer  as  simple 
and  clear  as  in  the  corresponding  African  and  Oceanic  region.  The 
hypothetical  Pillan  is  apparently  a  "thunder-god"  like  Puluga,  etc.  of  the 
far  East,  but  under  the  form  of  Iguanchi  he  is  also  an  ape,  a  fire-spewing 
monkey,  which  is  hardly  a  noble  conception  of  the  divine.  The  reason 
why  he  has  even  been  mentioned  in  the  present  place  is  simply  to  com- 
plete the  picture,  to  chronicle  what  little  is  known  of  the  only  personal  deity 
that  is  so  far  reported  from  the  far  Western  portion  of  the  Amazonian 
region.  The  fact  that  the  Yivaros  are  a  comparatively  advanced  people  is 
no  argument  that  the  deity  is  not  a  survival  of  far  earlier  days,  when  the 
Tapuya  races  extended  their  influence  to  the  foot  of  the  Andes.  But  even 
in  their  present  condition  the  Yivaro-tribes  are  sutTiciently  antique  to 
merit  consideration  as  the  possible  carriers  of  an  earlier  faith,  which  has 
since  become  corrupted,  but  whose  simple  outlines  may  still  be  discerned 
in  the  fragments. 

The  same  remarks  apply  to  the  Shingu-region,  though  here  the 
greater  purity  of  the  stock  and  their  more  primitive  footing  has  preserved 
the  more  ancient  form  of  the  belief  in  a  clearer  perspective.  Kamushini 
"spins"  the  world  out  of  his  brain,  but  he  is  more  distinctly  a  person,  a 
magnified  man,  if  you  will,  but  still  supernormal,  apparently  transcendent, 
the  "maker",  if  not  the  "creator"  of  all.  Relics  of  the  moral  idea  of  justice 
may  be  discerned  in  the  fire  and  flood-legends,  where  Monan  and  similar 
"makers"  act  as  the  punishcrs  of  mankind  for  their  adultery,  blasphemy, 
sacrilege,  etc.,  but  these  lessons  are  not  always  heeded  in  practice,  they 
are  often  forgotten. 

Finally,  the  picture  of  Tupan  among  the  Botokudos  brings  us  once 
more  face  to  face  with  a  "Great  Master",  who  is  simply  the  leader  of  his 
people,  but  whose  laws  have  more  hold  upon  the  conscience, — a  "living" 
god.  Yet  even  here,  the  few  items  reveal  a  powerful  helper  rather  than  a 
rigorous  judge,  a  being  who  forbids  adultery,  yet  appears  to  sanction  tlie 
taking  of  life. 

To  sum  up  then,  these  earliest  exemplars  of  South-American  civilisa- 
tion cannot  compare  to  our  01d-\^'o^ld  primitives,  either  in  their  antiquity, 
their  morality,  or  their  religious  beliefs.  It  is  interesting  to  note,  however, 
that  the  nearer  we  approach  to  the  earliest  and  purest  region,  the  more 
vivid  becomes  the  picture  of  a  simple  "Father"  or  "Master"  of  all,  one 
who  has  no  connection  with  ape  or  spider,  but  is  the  direct  moulder  of 
human  destiny. 


THE  AGE  OF  ROCK-PAINTINGS 

AND  OF  SPIRAL  DESIGNS 

SPECIMEN  OF  A  BURU-MYSTERY 

SHOWING  THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  SUN-SERPENT 


THE     WORLD-EMBRYO     (BIRD— BRINGS     FORTH     THE     SERPENT'S     HEAD     (MlRl)  — 

AND    DEVELOPS    INTO     THE     OL\NT    COBRA     (WILINKI) 

(COMBINED    Sl'BJGCT) 

grot'nd-drawing  in  rice-flol'r  i'sed  in  the  malab.%r  ceremont  of  thb 

^nake:-totem.  (Soithebn  indl%),  and  paralleled  by  similar  drawings  in 

totemic  africa,  aistr.\ha.  and  north  america. 

"SIN-BONGA  BIRIDJANAI"    "O  SIN-BONGA.  SAVE  US  I" 

SEE  THIRSTON,  ETHNOGH.    NOTES   IN  S.  INDIA,    (MADRAS,    1908),   PI.   XVn. 


GOD  61 

INDO-ASIATIC  TOTEMIC  FORM 
(M,  1)  SIN-BONGA, — Central  India, — Kolarian  Aborigines,  (Munda-Kol) 

There  are  good  reasons  for  believing  that  Central  India  is  the  radiating- 
point  of  the  totem-culture,  that  phase  of  belief  which  can  be  traced  to  four 
continents, — the  Indo-African-Australian-North  American  cultural  con- 
nexion,—  (late  pleistocene?).'  The  Indo-Kolarian  or  Dravidian  races  are, 
with  the  Australians,  perhaps  the  nearest  approach  to  the  undifferentiated 
glacial  type,  (Neanderthal),  and  of  these  the  Munda-Kol  tribes  of  Western 
Bengal  are  the  best  representatives  of  an  "unclaimed  ignoble  horde,  who 
occupy  the  background  of  Indian  history  as  the  jungle  once  covered  the 
land,  to  prepare  the  soil  for  better  forms  of  life".^  Although  this  is  no 
longer  strictly  true,  the  Mundas  having  been  largely  civilised  by  their 
Hindoo  neighbors,  (agriculture,  metallic  arts),  they  are  sufficiently  back- 
ward in  many  ways  to  reveal  many  of  the  more  prominent  features  of  the 
palaeolithic  belt,  (mid-glacial).  Among  these  are  the  general  tendency  to 
the  nomadic  life  as  shown  by  the  minimum  of  their  clothing,  the  instability 
of  their  habitations,  (mud-huts),  and  the  general  popularity  of  the  buffalo- 
hunt  by  means  of  simple  bows  and  arrows,  wooden  spears,  throwing- 
sticks,  etc.  The  discovery  of  numerous  caves  with  rude  ornamentation, 
(comp.  Australia),  and  the  existence  of  undoubted  palaeoliths,  (of  native 
manufacture),  secures  their  geologic  past  and  their  continuity  with 
palaeolithic  culture.'  The  carved  wooden  bowl  and  the  bamboo-flute  point 
in  the  same  direction.  Finally  we  have  the  hereditary  chief,  the  bachelor's 
dormitory,  the  practice  of  painting  and  anointing  the  dead,  and  above  all 
a  totemic  system  of  marriage  and  consanguinity  which  is  based  on  animal 
ancestors,  all  of  which  suggest  the  conclusion  that  "here,  more  perfectly 
than  elsewhere  in  India,  do  we  find  preserved  the  ancient  systems  of  totem- 
ism  and  exogamy".* 

These  Kolarian  tribes  worship  a  Light-god,  known  as  Sin  Bonga, 
whose  name  is  commonly  rendered  "Sun-Spirit",  the  supposed  Austro- 
nesian  equivalents  being  Sina, — sunlight,  daylight — ,  and  Bona,  the  gen- 
eral term  for  God,  Spirit.  This  being  seems  to  possess  the  attributes  of 
divinity.  He  is  the  ever-beneficent  God  of  gods,  the  author  of  the  universe 
and  man,  including  the  entire  host  of  bongas,  or  minor  spirits.  He  is 
apparently  judge  of  man  and  is  invoked  in  prayer,  rice-offering,  or  bird- 
sacrifice,  with  the  words :  "0  Sin-Bonga,  save  us!"  At  death  the  soul  re- 
incarnates, either  as  man  or  beast,  according  to  merit,  and  this  is  the  dis- 
tinctive feature  of  the  Munda  religious  beliefs.  Where  before  we  had  a 
comparative  freedom  from  metempsychosis,  we  now  have  an  explicit 
doctrine  of  animal  descent  with  a  possible  return  into  animal  forms.* 


'  Frazer,  Totemism  and  Exogamy,  Vol.  IV.  p.  15.  W.  Schmidt,  in  the  Compte  Rendue  of 
the  Louvain  Congress  (1913),  p.  265.  See  also  the  Introduction  above,  pp.  XLV.  *  S.  C. 
Roy,  The  Mundas  and  their  country,  (Calcutta,  1912),  p.  2ff.  361ff.  'Roy,  op.  cit.  p.  X,  and 
24-26.  *  Frazer,  op.  cit.  Vol.  II.  p.  285.  "Roy,  1.  c.  p.  467flF.  Comp.  W.  Schmidt,  in 
Anthropos,  VIII  (1913),  p.  273.    «  Roy,  1.  c.  p.  471. 


62  GOD 

INDO-ASIATIC  TOTEMIG  FORM 

But  what  is  the  nature  of  this  deity,  and  where  did  he  come  from? 
May  he  not  be  of  Hindoo  or  Brahminical  origin  in  view  of  the  reincarna- 
tion-doctrine with  which  he  is  associated? 

It  is  satisfactory  to  note  that  we  have  excellent  reasons  for  believing 
that  this  is  a  native,  pre-Aryan,  pre-Brahministic  divinity.  In  the  first 
place  his  name  cannot  be  derived  from  Aryan  sources,  but  is  pure  Austro- 
asiatic  or  Austronesian,  belonging  to  the  group  of  languages  that  were 
spoken  in  India  long  before  the  Hindoos  ever  were  heard  of,  and  whose 
radiating  center  is  now  believed  to  be  Southern  Asia,  and  not  impossibly 
Central  India. ^  In  the  second  place,  his  unique  and  personal  position 
differentiates  him  toto  caelo  from  any  Brahminical  triads,  and  the  fact 
that  he  is  worshipped  without  temples,  law-books,  or  ascetical  rites,  and 
that  the  Hindoo  intrusion  can  always  be  separated  as  something  sporadic 
and  out  of  harmony  with  the  national  life,  something  tliat  the  Mundas 
have  ever  detested  from  time  immemorial,  makes  his  derivation  from 
Hindoo  or  Mussulman  sources,  to  say  the  least,  a  precarious  proposition. 
Should  we  not  expect  to  find  some  traces  of  Hindoo  or  Islamic  notions, — 
some  account  of  Vishnu,  some  faint  echo  of  Allah,  with  his  distinctive 
laws  and  ceremonial  observances?  Now,  not  only  are  these  conspicuously 
absent,  but  the  Munda  belief  and  practice  is  rather  opposed  to  them,  it  is 
strictly  territorial,  peculiarly  national,  underivable  either  from  strongly 
ascetical  or  strongly  polygamous  peoples.  Furthermore,  the  existence  of 
pre-Aryan  divinities  of  a  similar  nature  has  now  been  firmly  established 
by  Prof.  Oppert,  and  the  parallel  case  of  the  Todas  and  other  races  of 
supposed  Turanian  (?)  origin,  makes  the  figure  of  Sin  Bonga  more  and 
more  natural  and  easy  to  understand.'  Finally,  those  who  would  derive 
the  doctrine  of  reincarnation  from  Brahminism  are  hopelessly  at  sea  with 
the  facts,  as  this  is  one  of  the  earliest,  though  not  the  earliest,  persuasions 
of  mankind,  found  among  peoples  where  no  such  Brahminical  influence 
can  be  suspected,  as  it  is  far  out  of  their  reach.  It  would  be  more  true  to 
say  that  the  Aryans  have  borrowed  this  belief  from  the  Dravidians,  which 
belief  binds  the  latter  with  the  far-off  Australians,  North-Americans,  and 
other  primitive  peoples.  In  the  words  of  Roy,  "the  Munda's  idea  of 
rebirth  is  yet  in  a  rudimentary  stage,  and  not  half  so  elaborately  worked 
out  as  by  his  Hindoo  neighbors".  Moreover,  the  Brahministic  reincarna- 
tions, though  ostensibly  realistic,  have  no  essential  relation  to  the  laws  of 
marriage,  nor  are  connected,  as  far  as  we  know,  with  any  definite  matri- 
monial interdicts.' 


'  Roy,  op.  cit.  p.  18-22.  Foy,  op.  cit.  p.  227.  W.  Schmidt,  Die  Mon-Khmer  Volker  als 
Bindeglied  zwischen  den  Volkern  Central  Asiens  und  Austronesiens,  (Braunschweig,  1906). 
•  G.  Oppert,  Die  Gottheiten  der  Inder,  Zeitschrift  f ijr  Ethnologie,  1905,  p.  719-726ff.  Idem, 
The  original  inhabitants  of  India,  (London,  1893)  p.  78,  188.  "Roy,  1.  c.  p.  471.  Comp.  also 
P.  T.  Iyengar,  "Did  the  Dravidians  of  India  obtain  their  culture  from  the  Aryan  Immi- 
grant?" Anthropos,  IX  (1914)  pp.  1-15. 


GOD  63 

INDO-ASIATIG  TOTEMIG  FORM 

As  to  the  inner  nature  of  this  divinity,  he  is  certainly  a  "light"-god,  and 
though  Father  Schmidt  insinuates  a  possible  lunar  origin,  (Austronesian 
Svia-Bona,  light-month?),  this  is  of  no  great  import  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  his  name  might  have  travelled  from  India  to  Oceanica,  and  that  among 
the  Mundas  he  is  universally  identified  with  the  sun.  "Sin-Bonga,  the 
Sun-God,  is  the  supreme  deity  of  Munda  mythology".^"  What  then  is  his 
relation  to  nature,  to  the  universe,  to  man?  It  is  true  that  the  expression 
"sun-god"  is  not  in  itself  decisive.  The  great  luminary  is  too  common  an 
object  in  the  heavens  not  to  attract  the  attention  of  all  men  in  all  ages. 
Moreover  he  is  apparently  a  Creator  and  evidently  a  Person,  as  he  com- 
mands in  the  imperative  mood.    To  take  an  illustration — 

"In  the  beginning  of  time",  runs  the  old  Mundari  legend,  "the  face  of 
the  earth  was  covered  with  water.  Sin-Bonga,  the  Sun-God,  brooded  over 
the  waters  and  the  first  beings  that  were  born  were  a  tortoise,  a  crab,  and 
a  leech.  Sin-Bonga  commanded  these  first-born  of  all  animals  to  bring 
him  a  lump  of  clay  from  the  depths  of  the  ocean.  And  with  this  clay 
Sin-Bonga  made  this  beautiful  earth  of  ours.  At  his  bidding  the  earth 
brought  forth  trees,  plants,  herbs  and  creepers.  He  next  filled  the  earth 
with  birds  and  beasts  of  all  sorts  and  sizes.  Finally  a  certain  swan  laid 
an  egg,  and  out  of  this  Qgg  came  forth  a  boy  and  a  girl,  the  first  human 
beings","  etc. 

This  legend  has  a  dignified,  almost  biblical  ring.  Nevertheless  there 
are  certain  points  that  are  strangely  suggestive  of  a  nature-god,  of  a 
being  who  is  not  clearly  transcendent: — 

(1)  There  is  no  statement  that  the  Sun-God  created  the  waters,  but 
that  he  "brooded  over"  the  waters,  which  seem  to  be  anterior,  or  at  least 
coeval  with  him,  though  such  a  creation  might  be  implied  in  the  context. 
(2)  The  absence  of  any  creation  of  sun,  moon,  and  stars  is  a  point  that 
suggests  their  eternity,  more  especially  as  Sin-Bonga  is  himself  the  Sun- 
Spirit.  (3)  Throughout  the  idea  of  "hatching"  by  sun-power,  of  "brood- 
ing" over  the  waters,  of  evolving  things  out  of  "eggs",  is  too  strong  to  be 
lightly  dismissed.  It  shows  that  Sin-Bonga,  though  a  person,  is  intimately 
connected,  if  not  identified,  with  the  sun,  that  he  acts  by  "solar"  power. 

This  idea,  harmless  and  even  beautiful  as  it  may  seem,  has  colored  the 
entire  mythological  system  of  the  Mundas,  it  has  drawn  the  divinity  into 
the  world  of  lifeless  matter,  it  has  made  Him  part  and  parcel  of  the  world, 
it  is  the  first  indication  of  a  half-naturalised  Creator, — of  a  "totem"-god. 


^"Roy,  op.  cit.  p.  XX.  note.     ''Roy,  1.  c.  p.  V.-IX,  described  as  the  most  valuable  of 
the  Mundari  mythical  legends. 


64  GOD 

INDO-ASIATIG  TOTEMIG  FORM 

Now  such  a  naturalisation  is  bound  to  leave  its  impress  on  the  social 
and  eschatological  aspects  of  the  question.  A  deity  who  is  himself  related 
to  nature  as  the  sun-light,  is  apt  to  produce  the  conviction  that  his  chil- 
dren are  also  related  to  her,  nay  that  they  are  bound  to  her  by  fetters  that 
can  never  be  completely  shaken  off.  Hence  the  general  persuasion  of 
these  people  that  they  are  not  only  connected,  but  in  some  way  related  to 
the  lower  creation,  tliat  plants,  animals,  and  even  the  "red  earth"  are  their 
direct  ancestors.  Tiiis  genetic  relation  between  a  man  and  his  "totem" 
has  produced  a  feeling  of  identity,  which  forbids  not  only  the  killing  or 
eating  of  the  totem,  but  the  intermarriage  of  those  who  belong  to  the  same 
fotemic  kill  or  clan,— this  evidently  on  the  score  of  incest.  But  more  than 
this,  there  is  no  deliverance  from  nature  at  the  hour  of  death.  The  soul 
is  not  summoned  to  the  judgment-seat  of  God,  but  is  condemned  to  be 
reborn,  whether  as  man  or  animal, — there  is  no  escape  from  palingenesis. 
Now  this  is  a  point  of  no  small  importance.  Father  Schmidt  finds  no 
evidence  for  the  belief  in  the  descent  of  men  from  their  totems,  though  he 
admits  a  close,  a  parallel  relation.  But  surely  the  transformation  info 
bird,  beast,  or  reptile  implies  a  return  into  the  totem  and  a  vital  relation  to 
nature  of  no  ordinary  kind.  Frazer  also  testifies  that  the  Oraons,  their 
neighbors,  "like  many  other  totemic  peoples  conceive  themselves  to  be 
descended  from  their  totems".'^ 

Then  again  the  growth  of  magical  and  spiritistic  practices  is  a  striking 
feature.  The  Soso-Bonga  ceremony,  in  which  the  "ghost-finder"  draws  a 
figure  on  the  ground  with  coal-dust,  red  earth,  and  rice-flour,  inserts  an 
egg  with  a  5o*o-slip  in  the  center,  sprinkles  the  whole  with  rice,  and 
starts  a  long  incantation  to  the  Soso-  (or  Bhelva-tree)  spirit,  in  which 
Ihe  story  of  Sin-Donga  is  related,  shows  without  a  question,  that  although 
the  supreme  divinity  is  not  forgotten,  the  efficacy  of  the  entire  function 
depends  on  the  Soso-iree,  whose  branch  the  worshipper  then  religiously 
plants  in  his  fields  to  increase  the  harvest, — a  sort  of  fructification-rite." 

To  conclude, — there  is  less  of  prayer  and  more  of  magic  in  this  religion, 
and  its  "sun-god",  though  theoretically  supreme,  has  become  otiose,  less 
exacting  in  morals.  For  among  the  Mundas  divorce  is  openly  recognised 
and  there  is  at  times  considerable  sexual  laxity.'*  They  have  local  exogamy 
with  tribal  endogamy  and  male  descent  of  the  totem.  The  clan-totems,  of 
which  there  are  no  less  than  339,  are  the  chief  regulators  of  the  tie.  This 
and  the  formerly  common  practice  of  cannibalism  and  human  sacrifice 
shows  that  we  have  entered  a  different  world  of  ethical  consciousness,  we 
are  dealing  with  a  new  mental,  social  and  cultural  complexity." 


"  Frazer,  1.  c.  II.  290.    "Roy,  1.  c.  p.  482.    "Roy,  p.  455.    "  Frazer,  II.  292. 


GOD  65 

INDO-ASIATIG  TOTEMIC  FORM 

It  may  bo  objected,  however,  that  this  estimate  of  Muuua  belief  and 
practice  is  needlessly  severe,  that  the  picture  of  deity  as  sun-spirit  is  surely 
harmless  enough,  that  the  supposed  magical  practices  are  in  reality  invo- 
cations to  the  supreme  divinity  under  the  form  of  a  flower-stalk,  which 
is  thus  brought  into  close  relation  with  the  Giver  of  all  and  cherished  with 
a  peculiar  atTection  as  sacred  to  him, — a  beautiful  harvest-ceremony, 
reminding  with  its  evident  symbolism  of  the  sacred  palms  of  Holy 
Week(?). — of  the  life  and  resurrection  symbols  of  all  nations. 

This  is  a  well-timed  observation,  and  I  for  one  do  not  wish  to  place 
any  obstacles  in  the  path  of  those  to  whom  the  religious  data  suggest  such 
an  interpretation.  The  alliance  between  the  deity  and  the  solar  orb  is  in 
many  respects  an  advance  upon  the  crude  anthropomorphisms  that  we 
find  among  many  primitive  peoples,  and  the  sun  is  as  good  a  "represen- 
tation" of  God,  himself  unpicturable.  as  any  miserable  mannikin  or  ideal- 
ised thunder-man,  sitting  on  the  clouds,  and  hurling  his  lightnings.  But 
the  point  that  I  wish  to  bring  forward  is  simply  this,  that  the  idea  of  per- 
sonality is  more  easily  suggested  by  "man"  than  by  "sun",  and  that  where 
we  have  an  elaborate  sun-cult,  we  require  special  proof  that  the  sun  is  a 
person,  that  he  is  invoked  and  treated  as  a  person,  not  a  mere  force  or 
principle.  In  the  present  case  we  have  a  "sun-man"  who  seems  to  furnish 
the  proof,  and  yet  his  want  of  direct  control  over  the  life  and  destiny  of 
man  seems  to  indicate  that  his  cosmic  preponderate  ov5r  his  personal 
traits,  that  he  is  simply  a  buru-bonga,  a  vague  deity,  partly  identified 
with  his  own  creation. 

Hence  the  interpretation  of  the  Soso,  or  Bhelva-Tree  totem  as  a  "mys- 
tery", as  a  sacred  "medicine",  nay  as  a  possible  "sacrament", — the  ghost- 
finder  devouring  the  egg,  if  not  the  Soso-slip — ,  is  one  which  I  would  not 
exclude  but  would  rather  approve  as  in  harmony  with  similar  practices 
in  all  ages  of  humanity, — the  desire  of  union  with  the  divine.  The  above 
data  show  moreover  that  the  sun-spirit  is  not  forgotten,  that  he  is  appar- 
ently the  object  of  the  ceremony.  But  even  with  these  concessions  it 
would  surely  be  premature  to  conclude  that  the  God  of  Heaven  is  actually 
believed  to  present  in  any  of  the  burns  or  sacred  totems  in  unadulterated 
form.  We  cannot  of  course  penetrate  beneath  the  surface  of  tilings,  but 
the  entire  mytliology  and  practice  of  these  people  tends  to  show  that  a 
Father  in  Heaven  is  no  longer  as  vivid  to  them  as  in  the  earlier  days  of 
the  world,  that  his  action  is  less  direct, — more  mysterious,  more 
"mystical".'" 


^'  Comp.  A.  Lang,  Magic  and  Religion,  Chap.  XIV.  "First-fruits  and  Taboos",  p.  256- 
269,  esp.  p.  265.  Frazer,  Totemism  and  Exogamy,  I.  120,  II.  590.  IV.  230-232. 


66  GOD 

INDO-ASIATIC  TOTEMIC  FORM 

Of  these  Bwrw-mysteries  we  have  ample  evidence  both  here  and  in 
other  parts  of  the  Indian  peninsula.  The  custom  of  offering  up  this  or 
tliat  plant  or  animal  to  the  local  deity  of  the  village  or  to  the  household- 
god  is  too  common  a  practic  lo  be  call  d  in  any  sense  distinctivi',  nor  is 
it  necessarily  polytheistic  because  llie  name  of  the  Marang  Bitru  or  "Great 
God"  is  not  explicitly  mentioned. 

Thus  at  the  Sohorai  festival  of  the  Sacred  Buffalo,  the  Munda  owners 
of  buffalos  remain  fasting  all  day  until  the  evening,  when  the  buffalos 
are  brought  home  and  lamps  are  lighted  near  them.  A  handful  of  rice  is 
then  thrown  over  the  cattle  by  way  of  a  benedictory  rite.  At  the  door  of 
the  buffalo-shed  a  black  fowl  is  sacrificed  and  rice-beer  otTered  up  to  the 
Gorea-Bonga,  or  Cattle-deity.  This  ceremony  is  repeated  the  next  morn- 
ing, and  finally  the  buffalos  and  other  cattle  are  washed  and  anointed  with 
oil  or  lard,  and  are  sent  out  to  the  pasturage  bedecked  with  gay  marigolds, 
yellow  fiovvers  that  are  particularly  abundant  in  this  region." 

In  so  far  as  all  these  bongas  are  in  control  of  a  supreme  Sun-Spirit,  the 
Function  may  be  interpreted  as  a  simple  dedication-ceremony  to  the 
"patrons"  of  all  the  buffalos,  who  is  himself  a  representative  of  the  sun- 
god.  There  is  a  striking  similarity  between  these  and  the  dedication-rites 
of  the  Todas  of  Southern  India, — another  race  of  Turanian  or  pre-Aryan 
origin.  Here  also  the  buffalo  is  sacred,  and  cannot  be  killed  or  eaten 
except  on  sacrificial  occasions." 

In  the  Malabar  ceremony  of  the  Snake-totem,  a  ground-drawing  is 
made  in  rice-flower  representing  the  convolutions  of  the  reptile  in  all 
possible  forms.  Then  follows  a  long  incantation  to  the  Snake-deity,  dur- 
ing which  the  performer  brandishes  a  fruit-stalk  (here  the  Cocoa-nut) 
in  the  hope  of  warding  off  the  serpent's  bite.'"  That  the  serpent  is  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  sun  is  revealed  by  the  stone  slabs,  etc.  repre- 
senting the  "Sun-Serpent",  a  particularly  favorite  theme  among  the  Mallas 
and  other  aborigines  of  Southern  India,  the  leading  idea  being  that  of 
divine  protection.^" 

Thus  the  concept  of  deity  as  the  Sun,  the  Bhelva-Tree,  the  Buffalo,  and 
the  Serpent,  is  to  say  the  least  a  prominent  feature  among  the  Dravidian 
races.  To  what  extent  this  involves  an  identification  of  One  Deity  with 
the  totems  among  the  Munda-Kol,  I  have  endeavored  to  indicate  in  the 
above. 


"Roy,  op.  cit.  p.  481.  '»  W.  H.  Rivers,  The  Todas,  (London,  1906).  Comp.  G.  Oppert, 
The  Original  Inhabitants  of  India,  (London,  1893),  pp.  186-188.  ">  E.  Thurston.  Ethno- 
graphic Notes  in  Southern  India,  (Madras,  1908),  p.  290,  (PI.  XVI).    J"  Idem,  PI.  XXIII. 


THE  AGE  OF  ROCK-PAINTINGS 
AND  OF  SPIRAL  DESIGNS 

THE  SECRET  OF  LIFE 

OR  THE  AFRICAN  SNAKE  MYSTERY 

THE  EVOLVTNG  MIXITNGU 
BEING  ANOTHER  VERSION  OF  THE  SUN-SERPENT  WITH  A  VAGIE  PERSONAL  FORCE 
IN  THE  BACKGROUND. 


DESIGNS  rSED  BY  THE  NANDI  AS  SHIELD  ORNAMENTS  ANTJ  FOUND  ALSO  ON  BOCKS 

OVEB  LARGE  SECTIONS  OF  THE   EAST-AFRICAN  AREA,  WITH  THE  E^TDENT  MOTIVE 

OF  DmNE  PROTECTION.     BANTU  INVOCATION  TO  THE  SUN-F.ATHER: 

■•O  MULUNGU.  MERCYl " 

BEE  MGR.  LEROV,  LA   RELIGION  DES  PBIHITIFS,    (PARIS,   1911),   P.    126 


GOD  67 

CENTRAL  AFRICAN  TOTEMIC  FORM 
(M,  2)  MULUNGU, — East  Central  Africa, —  (Eastern  Bantu) 

The  cultural  connexion  between  India-Africa,  like  ttiat  between  India- 
Australia,  India-North  America,  makes  it  more  than  probable  that  they 
form  in  a  sense  a  religious  unit,  in  which  the  institution  of  totemisra 
forms  a  primary  if  not  a  paramount  element.  Among  the  Bantus  of 
Eastern  Africa  nearly  all  the  items  of  this  culture  may  still  be  traced, 
more  especially  the  bark-belt,  the  round-house,  the  fire-drill,  the  half- 
round  bow,  the  carved  figurine,  circumcision,  platform-burial,  etc.  though 
in  nearly  every  case  the  Western-Asiatic  neolithic  wave  has  driven  the 
older  civilisation  into  the  background,  with  the  result  that  many  of  these 
elements  appear  in  the  far  South-West,  as  among  the  Hereros.^ 

For  this  region  the  form  Mulungu  is  fundamental  for  deity,  extending 
with  slight  variations  from  the  Tana  to  the  Zambezi,  and  far  into  the 
interior.  Mgr.  Schneider,  late  bishop  of  Paderborn,  has  already  treated 
these  central  figures  of  Bantu  mythology  with  considerable  detail,^  but  his 
reports  must  be  supplemented  by  those  of  Mgr.  LeRoy,  which  are  more 
recent  and  more  direct.^    The  following  are  the  main  points  of  the  report : — 

Mulungu  is  a  great  Sky-  or  Light-Lord,  and  is  believed  to  be  the  author 
of  the  world  and  of  all  existence.  He  has  many  mulungus  or  minor 
spirits  under  him,  but  he  himself  is  unique  and  indescribable,  "neither 
man  nor  spirit,  nor  ghost,  nor  heaven,  nor  earth  nor  anything,  though  he 
is  in  all  and  through  all".*  In  many  parts  his  name  is  still  invoked  in 
prayer  and  sacrifice,  but  in  others,  as  among  the  Zulus,  his'worship  has 
long  since  been  abandoned,  and  he  is  simply  known  as  Vnku-lunkulu, 
the  "Old,  Old  One",  the  "Ancient  of  Days",  etc.  Some  of  the  old  invoca- 
tions breathe  quite  a  lofty  spirit: — "Mulungu!  Send  us  rain!  We  are  in 
misery,  we  hunger!  and  we  are  thy  children.  Send  us  clouds  of  rain,  that 
we  may  obtain  food.  We  ask  it  of  thee,  0  Mulungu,  our  Father!"  "0 
Mulungu,  send  us  peace,  tranquillity",  etc.^ 

Such  aspirations  are  a  clear  indication  of  a  personal  beneficent 
divinity. 

But  as  to  the  inner  nature  of  Mulungu,  He  is  mysterious.  The  name  is 
variously  translated  as  '"He  who  is  in  heaven",  {Mu-lungu, — Mu-ingu, 
Mungu),  or  as  the  equivalent  of  Molimo,  Modimo,  Morimo,  South-African 
for  "spirit"  "soul"  etc.*  There  is  evidence,  however,  to  show  that  the  name 
and  the  idea  may  be  taken  in  a  very  different  sense,  a  sense  which  we 
cannot  afford  to  ignore.  Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  the  various  appella- 
tions for  divinity  in  these  Bantu  lands  and  note  the  widely  divergent  mean- 
ings that  are  assigned  to  words  of  similar  if  not  identical  sound. 


'  Foy,  op.  cit.  p.  182-185.  B.  Ankermann,  Kulturkreise  in  Africa,  Zeitschr.  fiir  Ethnologic 
(1905)  p.  54-84.  2  Schneider,  Die  Religion  der  afrikanischen  Naturvolker,  (1891),  pp.  28- 
48,  59-100.  3  LeRoy,  La  Religion  des  Primitifs,  (Paris,  1909).  « LeRoy,  op.  cit.  p.  184ff. 
» Idem,  p.  298ff.  « Idem,  p.  176ff.  and  comp.  Schmidt,  Ursprung,  p.  139.  Comp.  Lang,  Magic 
and  Religion,  p.  235.  Making  of  Religion,  p.  213flF. 


68  GOD 

CENTRAL  AFRICAN  TOTEMIC  FORM 

I  am  not  in  a  position  to  speak  with  any  linguistic  certainty,  but  thie 
form  mu-longo  as  a  designation  for  the  totemic  taboo  is  too  suspiciously 
near  the  above  to  be  passed  over  in  silence.  It  is  found  among  the  Wa- 
gogo  and  other  tribes  of  German  East  Africa,  admittedly  one  of  the 
centers  of  African  totemism,  where  it  occurs  side  by  side  with  the  form 
mu-ziro. 

"As  a  Wa-goyo  clan  has  its  muziro  (forbidden  thing),  so  each  Wa- 
gogo  family  has  its  mulongo  (forbidden  thing),  which  is  transmitted 
from  the  father  to  his  children.  The  wife  may  have  a  different  mulongo 
from  that  of  her  husband,  but  her  children  do  not  inherit  it.  The  mulongo 
is  apparently  forbidden  only  after  marriage.  To  eat  the  mulongo  involves 
the  loss  of  hair  and  teeth;  to  eat  the  muziro  is  said  to  cause  the  skin  to 
fall  off.  From  this  account  it  would  seen  that  the  Wa-gogo  have,  like  the 
Herero,  a  double  set  of  totems,  one  set  (muziro)  being  appropriated  to  the 
clans,  and  the  other  set  (mulongo)  to  the  families.  The  latter  are  heredi- 
tary in  the  male  line".' 

In  view  of  the  conflicting  etymologies  given  above  and  its  additional 
derivation  from  the  Kanioka  molongo,  a  word  apparently  meaning  "row", 
"line",  "descent",'  we  are  equally  justified  in  inferring  that  mulungu  is  an 
abstract  for  anything  sacred  or  mysterious,  and  more  especially  for  the 
genetic  relation  of  things,  the  family  taboo,  the  occult  ancestor.  "The 
Wa-gogo  think  that  tf  a  person  kills  or  eats  the  animal  which  is  the  totem 
of  his  clan,  he  thereby  endangers  his  relations,  but  not  himself".*  More- 
over, throughout  the  Bantu  domain,  there  is  a  very  general  belief  in  the 
transmigration  of  souls  into  the  lower  animals,  especially  into  snakes  and 
serpents,  which  shows  that  the  supposed  divinity  is  incapable  of  deliver- 
ing man  from  the  shackles  of  nature,  that  he  is  himself  to  a  certain  extent 
a  nature-god.'* 

What  then  is  Mulungu?  It  would  be  premature  to  reach  any  dogmatic 
conclusions  from  the  existing  material.  But  although  the  ancient  picture 
of  a  Father  in  Heaven  is  still  in  evidence,  there  are  strong  reasons  for 
believing  that  he  has  lost  much  of  his  original  purity,  that  he  has  been 
drawn  into  this  own  creation  as  a  family  totem,  that  he  is  simply  "taboo". 
Morality  in  this  region  is  not  flawless.  "At  time  of  circumcision",  says  Mr. 
Cole,  "abusive  language  is  very  much  indulged  in,  and  the  women  espe- 
cially lose  all  sense  of  modesty,  and  the  country  becomes  a  mighty  bed- 
lam"." While  this  is  doubtless  an  exaggeration  or  at  most  a  sporadic 
phenomenon,  the  inroads  of  moral  laxity,  of  general  polygamy,  is  a  fact 
that  can  hardly  be  denied.'' 


'  Frazer,  Totemism  and  Exogamy,  Vol.  II.  p.  404.  ■'  Schmidt,  Ursprung,  p.  140.  "  Frazer, 
I.e.  II.  403.  '0  Frazer,  1.  c.  II.  388-392  (Theory  of  Bantu  Totemism).  Dr.  Theal's  theory  is 
vet  to  be  proved  false.  "  H.  Cole,  Notes  on  the  Wagogo  of  German  East  Africa,  Journ. 
Anthr.  Inst.  XXXII  (1902)  p.  307.  Frazer,  II.  403.    "  LeRov,  op.  cit.  p.  lOlff 


GOD  69 

CENTRAL  AFRICAN  TOTEMIC  FORM 

But  the  character  of  a  divinity  is  best  described  by  the  legends,  rites 
and  practices  of  a  people  in  his  regard.  How  far  does  he  help  or  direct 
them?    To  what  extent  is  he  a  personal  power  in  their  lives? 

Now  it  is  interesting  to  observe  that  throughout  the  Eastern  Bantu 
domain  the  Sun  and  the  Hyaena  are  intimately  interconnected,  that  they 
are  in  a  peculiar  sense  sacred, — mulungu.  Not  only  is  the  hyaena  sac- 
rified  to  Mulungu,  the  Heaven-God,  but  among  many,  as  among  the  Nandi, 
the  bodies  of  the  dead  are  given  to  the  hyaenas  to  eat,  in  the  hope  that 
their  spirits  may  share  the  occult  powers  of  the  animal,  that  they  may 
communicate  with  their  ancestors."  Here  there  are  special  Sun-  and 
Thunder-men  that  drive  away  thunder-storms  by  throwing  an  axe  into 
the  clouds  with  the  exclamation: — "Thunder!  Be  silent  in  our  town!  ^* 
We  have  little  information  of  the  higher  Nandi  beliefs,  so  that  it  would  be 
premature  to  conclude  that  this  is  a  mere  thunder-charm,  (compare  the 
Malakkan  negritos).  But  the  custom  such  as  it  is,  savors  strongly  of 
sympathetic  magic,  of  the  control  of  nature  by  means  of  parallel,  dispro- 
portionate forces, — impersonal  power. 

Further  South,  among  the  Bechuanas,  there  is  a  whole  tribe  dedicated 
to  the  Sun.  The  members  of  this  "Sun-Tribe"  say  that,  when  the  sun 
rises  in  a  cloudy  sky,  he  is  afHicting  their  heart (!).  All  the  food  of  the 
previous  day  is  then  given  to  the  old  women,  who  alone  may  touch  it  or 
give  it  to  the  children  whom  they  nurse.  The  people  go  down  in  a  body 
to  the  river  to  wash  their  bodies.  On  returning  to  the  village  after  this 
ablution  the  chief  kindles  a  fire  in  his  hut,  and  the  people  come  and  get 
fire  for  themselves  from  his.  Then  follows  a  "Sun-Dance",  accompanied 
by  a  monotonous  chant,  on  the  public  place  of  the  village.  In  this  dance 
he  who  has  lost  his  father  lifts  his  hat  towards  the  sun ;  he  who  has  lost 
his  mother,  his  right  hand;  while  orphans  who  have  lost  both  parents, 
raise  neither,  but  cross  both  hands  on  the  breast." 

It  is  not  easy  to  interpret  this  ceremony  with  anything  like  satisfac- 
tion. But  the  saluting  of  the  sun,  and  the  raising  and  crossing  of  the 
hands  in  honor  of  the  dead  ancestor,  seem  to  reveal  some  connexion 
between  the  Sun  and  the  ancestor,  while  the  fire  in  the  hut  of  the  Sun- 
chief  is  best  explained  by  supposing  that  the  kindling  of  the  fires  of  the 
earth  will  re-kindle  the  fires  of  the  solar  orb. — the  celestial  ancestor, — a 
probable  case  of  long-distance  magic.  The  similar  customs  among  many 
savage  and  semi-civilised  peoples  tend  to  confirm  this  view,  founded  as 
it  is  upon  detailed  and  repeated  observations  among  numerous  and  widely 
separated  races  of  mankind.^* 


"A.  C.  Hollis,  The  Nandi,  (Oxford,  1908),  p.  70ff.  "Ibidem.  "  Arbousset  et 
Daumas,  Voyage  d'Exploration,  pp.  3S0ff.  Frazer,  II.  373.  "Idem,  II.  374.  Comp.  Lang, 
Magic  and  Religion,  p.  3,  235.  Making  of  Religion,  p.  65fl. 


70  GOD 

CENTRAL  AFRICAN  TOTEMIC  FORM 

Among  the  Hereros  of  the  far  South-West  there  are  curious  stories  of 
the  origin  of  the  Sun  and  Rain-clans,  but  they  shed  little  light  on  the  real 
origin  of  the  cult,  they  are  evidently  mythical  and  extremely  simple. 
"Once  upon  a  time  there  were  two  sisters,  whose  uncle  was  dead,  and  they 
thought  they  would  go  to  the  funeral.  The  one  said,  'It  is  very  hot,  let 
us  wait  for  the  rain'.  But  the  other  had  no  fear  of  the  heal,  and  away  she 
went  to  the  funeral.  So  the  one  who  waited  for  the  rain  was  called  'She 
who  was  related  by  marriage  to  the  rain',  and  the  one  who  had  no  fear 
of  the  heat  was  called  'She  who  is  related  by  marriage  to  the  Sun'.  That 
was  the  origin  of  the  Sun  and  Rain  clans." 

It  cannot  be  said  that  these  stories  carry  much  conviction,  either  on 
the  subject  of  the  origin,  or  on  the  equally  difTicult  question  of  the  nature 
of  these  beliefs.  Some  allowance  must  always  be  made  for  the  pictorial 
and  symbolic  method  by  which  savages  commonly  convey  their  meaning, 
more  especially  to  strangers.  But  the  combined  picture  can  hardly  be 
rejected  in  those  points  that  are  particularly  prominent,  and  these  are  the 
more  or  less  direct  cult  of  the  Sun  and  the  Hyaena,  and  the  belief  that 
these  objects  are  in  some  way  related  to  man,  that  they  are  his  ancestors. 
A  realistic  interpretation  is  suggested  by  the  fact  that  the  disembodied 
spirit  speaks  "through"  the  Hyaena,  and  that  in  both  cases  the  Sun-cult 
is  associated  with  the  souls  of  the  deceased,  with  the  funeral  of  a  relative. 
Hence  the  strong  expression  "to  be  married  to  the  Sun"  implies  at  least  this 
much,  that  the  ancestor  has  migrated  to  the  Sun,  which,  for  this  reason, 
obtains  the  closest  relation  to  the  survivor  expressed  by  the  marriage-rela- 
tion. Finally,  the  production  of  rain  and  sunshine  by  more  or  less  occult 
agencies,  and  the  general  absence  of  personal  prayers  to  the  great  Mulungu, 
except  in  isolated  sections  of  the  North  East,  makes  it  more  and  more 
probable  that  this  is  a  vague  divinity  whose  name  is  invoked  in  parts,  but 
whose  personality  has  been  dimmed  in  others  by  the  growing  importance 
of  nature-powers.  In  so  far  as  Mulungu  is  the  Father  of  All,  he  is  trans- 
cendent, in  so  far  as  he  is  Sun,  Serpent,  or  Hyaena,  he  is  the  totem,  sacred 
or  profane  just  in  proportion  to  the  degree  in  which  his  All-Father  char- 
acter is  still  recognised.  To  what  extent  this  is  the  case  in  each  individual 
instance,  it  is  impossible  from  the  existing  material  to  determine,  but  the 
above  data  show  with  sufficient  clearness,  that  the  concept  has  been  largely 
naturalised,  whether  for  better  or  for  worse,  must  remain  for  the  present 
a  disputed  question. 


THE  AGE  OF  ROCK-PAINTINGS 

AND  OF  SPIRAL  DESIGNS 

THE  GIANT  WOLLUNQUA 

OR  THE  AUSTRALIAN  WORLD-SERPENT 

I'ABTLY   EXPRESSIVE  OF  CREATIVE   ACTION,   AND   PARTLY   DESCBXPTIVE   OF  THE 
MYTHICAL  FEATS  OF  THE  REPTILE  AS  HANDED  DOWN  IN  THE  POPULAR  LEGENDS 


^^unq.o'^ 


THE    WORLD-SERPENT   ISSUES   FROM   THE    EMU-SUN    AND   GIVES   BIRTH    TO   THE    SPXRIT- 

ANCESTORS  OF  DREAM-TIME. 

MOTIVE:  MULTIPLICATION  OF  FOODS 

GROUND-DRAmNG  ASSOCIATED  WITH  THE  WARRAMUNGA  CEREMONY  OF  THE  WOLLUNQUA 
SNAKE  AND  INTERPRETED  BY  THE  SIMILAR  DRAWINGS  CONNECTED  WITH  THE 
INTICHIUMA  CEREMONIES  OF  THE  EMC  TOTEM  (ARUNTA  TRIBE),  HERE  THE  CIRCLES 
ORIGINALLY  REPRESENTED  THE  EMU-SUN,  AND  WERE  LATER  CONVENTIONALiaED  INTO 
TREES,  WELLS,  ROCKS.  ETC.   ARUNTA  INVOOATIONi 

•'O  ALTJIRA,  HELP!" 

SEE  SPENCER  AND  GIXLEN,  THE  NORTHERN  TRIBES  OF  CENTBAI,  AC8TKAUA    (LONDON 

1904),  PP.  177,  226,  737  FF. 


GOD  71 

CENTRAL  AUSTRALIAN  TOTEMIG  FORM 
(M,  3)  ALT JIRA,— Central  Austr.\lia,— (Arunta  Tribe) 

But  if  the  preceding  divinities  are  partly  related  to  nature  and  man, 
either  as  the  "sun-spirit",  or  vaguely  as  the  "taboo",  their  counterpart  in 
Australia  is  still  more  immersed  in  the  nature-complex,  his  personality 
has  been  largely  forgotten.  Of  this  being,— Altfira,  (Aboriginal  One?)—, 
a  few  reliable  facts  have  been  gathered  by  C.  Strehlow,  a  recent  mission- 
ary,^ of  whom  W.  L  Thomas  says  in  his  Source-book  that  "his  reports  are 
important  as  supplementary  to  and  corrective  of  those  of  Spencer  and 
Gillen  in  the  same  region".^ 

Altjira  is  an  eternal  being,  and  is  represented  as  a  big  strong  man  of 
ruddy  complexion,  whose  long  flaxen  hair  hangs  over  his  shoulders.  This 
is  the  first  indication  of  his  solar  character,  the  long  glistening  hair  repre- 
senting the  sun's  rays.=  Like  the  Indian  divinity  he  lives  in  the  Sun,  he 
has  several  beautiful  wives  and  many  sons  and  daughters,  who  carry  out 
his  behests.  But  though  his  image  is  human,  he  and  his  family  have  emu- 
or  dog's  feet,  he  is  not  the  creator  of  the  world,  which  is  eternal,  and  though 
"good"  {7nara),  he  has  no  ethical  relation  to  man,  who  neither  fear  nor 
love  him.  These  were  not  created,  but  evolved  from  shapeless  masses 
during  the  primaeval  age  of  evolution,  Alcheringa,  ("Dream-Time"),  and 
partly  fashioned  by  totemic  lizard-gods,  or  serpents,  {amunga-quinia- 
quinia),  who  instituted  the  rites  of  circumcision  and  subincision.  It  is 
from  these  inaperiwas,  inter-interas,  or  shapeless  ancestors,— called  also 
altjira-inkaras,  (the  uncreated,  immortal  ones)—,  of  partly  human,  partly 
animal  form—,  that  the  Arunta  derive  the  whole  universe  of  being.  More- 
over in  every  Central-Australian  tribe  without  exception  there  exists  a 
beUef  that  each  soul  is  a  reincarnation  of  a  totemic  ancestor,  to  which  he 
may  return  at  the  hour  of  death.  According  to  another  tradition,  how- 
ever, the  good  return  to  the  great  Altjira,  while  the  wicked  are  devoured 
by  evil  spirits.* 

The  main  outlines  of  this  system  seem  clear  enough.  Altjira,  though 
formerly  supreme,  is  now  an  evolutional  divinity  with  emu-feet(!),  who 
arose  out  of  nature  and  has  conquered  the  high  heavens.  In  other  words 
he  is  a  totemised  Heaven-God,  who  has  become  part  and  parcel  of  nature, 
of  which  he  forms  the  climax.'^  This  will  become  increasingly  evident  the 
more  the  Arunta  customs  and  beliefs  are  studied  as  a  whole  and  compared 
with  the  neighboring  cults.  Throughout  this  region  the  divinities  have 
been  mixed  up  with  the  forces  of  nature  to  such  an  extent  as  to  hide,  if  not 
to  entirely  eclipse,  their  original  features. 


1  C.  Strehlow,  Die  Aranda  und  Loritja  Stamme  in  Central-Australien,  edited  bv  F.  Leon- 
hardi,  in  Veroffentlichungen  aus  dem  stiidtischen  Volkermuseum  der  Stadt  hrankturt, 
(Frankfurt,  1907-1910)  Vol.  I.  ^  Thomas,  Source-book,  p.  913.  J  Strehlow,  1.  c.(  Aranda)  p. 
1  16  (Loritja)  p.  1,  8.  '•See  Spencer  and  Gillen,  The  Northern  Tribes  of  Central  Aus- 
tralia, (London,  1904),  pp.  145ff.  174fr.  for  "Dream-Time",  reincarnation,  and  eschatology. 
'  Schmidt,  Ursprung,  p.  124,  372. 


72  GOD 

CENTRAL  AUSTRALIAN  TOTEMIC  FORM 

For  it  seems  clear  that  this  another  case  of  an  otiose  divinity,  a  forn>er 
Creator,  a  forgotten  God.  The  fact  that  Altjira  is  eternal,  of  superhuman 
outlines,  of  righteous  ethical  cfualities,  this  alone  suggests  that  He  was  at 
one  time  supreme,  and  probably  worshipped.  It  is  difilcult  to  explain  such 
a  "rudimentary  survival"  unless  we  suppose  that,  like  the  divinities  of  the 
South-East,  he  was  at  one  time  a  "living"  God.  But  with  this  more  ancient 
concept  there  has  been  blended  a  different  set  of  ideas.  Of  these  ideas  that 
of  the  "Emu-Sun"  is  one  of  the  most  important.  The  identification  of 
Altjira  with  the  Sun  and  the  Emu  is  the  first  indication  that  we  are  deal- 
ing with  a  naturalised  divinity,  an  impersonal  force,  an  evolutional  god. 
This  is  not  putting  the  case  too  strongly.  His  very  name  has  been  applied 
to  the  shapeless  "monads",  lizards,  grass-seed  totems,  and  the  like,  who 
as  the  altjira-inkaras  are  unborn,  undying, — the  germs  of  all  life,  of  all 
existence.  But  more  than  this.  They  are  the  centers  of  an  elaborate  cult, 
in  which  they  alone  are  recognised  as  all-powerful. 

Thus  at  the  Intichiuma.  ceremony  of  the  Emu-totem,  elaborate  draw- 
ings representing  primarily  the  sun,  but  secondarily  the  emu-intestines, 
feathers,  eggs,  etc.  are  made  upon  the  ground  in  red  or  black  ochre.  Then 
two  men, — bedaubed  with  paint  and  emu-feathers,  take  their  place  in  the 
center,  one  personifying  the  tribe,  the  other  a  "sun"-ancestor  (sic).  The 
former  brandishes  a  fiower-stalk,  while  the  latter  holds  a  small  disk  with 
a  central  patch  representing  the  navel  of  the  original  sun-ancestor.  Both 
performers  kneel  one  behind  the  other,  and  by  swaying  their  bodies  from 
side  to  side  seek  to  obtain  supernatural  power  from  the  emu-sun  to  the 
accompaniment  of  a  rude  incantation,  Wah,  Wah,  IVah!,  by  the  sur- 
rounding tribesmen.* 

Now  in  so  far  as  Altjira  is  behind  the  sun,  a  certain  notion  of  trans- 
cendence is  here  implied,  it  is  through  Altjira  that  the  "charm"  is  operated. 
But  the  fact  is,  his  personality  is  hardly  recognised,  there  are  few  suppli- 
cations to  a  Heavenly  Father,  but  rather  crude  magical  incantations  to 
the  sun  for  the  increase  of  food,  for  the  multiplication  of  totems.  This 
ceremony,  suggestive  though  it  be,  is  magical  rather  than  religious,  though 
it  is  capable  of  a  religious  interpretation  with  a  personal  god.  Such  a 
personality  may  still  be  traced  in  part,  but  he  is  a  married  divinity,  of 
half  animal  nature,  unloved  and  unrespected.  The  Aruntas  have  4-class 
totemism  with  male  descent.  Monogamy  is  in  vogue,  but  polygamy,  wife- 
loaning,  cannibalism,  and  infanticide,  are  all  represented  in  this  region. 
In  fact,  it  is  these  practices,  which,  with  the  revolting  custom  of  "sub- 
incision,"  have  given  the  proverbially  shady  reputation  to  the  modern 
"savage"  as  most  of  us  hear  of  him.' 


•  Spencer  and  Gillen,  The  Northern  Tribes  of  Central  Australia,  pp.   182,  737.     Idem, 
Across  Australia,  (1912),  Vol.  II.  pp.  268-273ff.    'Ibidem. 


GOD  73 

CENTRAL  AUSTRALIAN  TOTEMIG  FORM 

Among  other  strongly  totemised  cults  of  this  region  those  of  the  neigh- 
boring Loritja  deserve  to  be  mentioned,  for  the  reason  that  their  chief 
divinity  Tukura  is  in  many  respects  a  duplicate  of  the  foregoing, — a 
quondam  Creator,  whose  personality  has  been  lost  by  excessive  naturalism. 
All  the  remarks  that  have  been  made  of  the  former  apply  with  equal  force 
to  the  latter,  and  it  is  sufficient  in  the  present  place  to  indicate,  that  the 
above  data  are  corroborated  by  the  appearance  of  a  parallel  divinity  among 
a  people  who  are  culturally  and  industrially  on  nearly  the  same  level.' 

If  the  same  cannot  be  said  of  the  Dieri  nation,  a  group  of  tribes  inhabit- 
ing the  Lake-Eyre  region,  it  is  precisely  for  the  reason  that  here  more 
than  elsewhere  animism  and  spirit-worship  have  made  more  than 
ordinary  progress,  it  is  the  defunct  ancestor  that  alone  is  recognised.  There 
may  be  some  doubt  as  to  the  exact  meaning  of  the  term  Mura  Mura, 
whether  with  Gason  we  take  it  as  "the  Good  Spirit", — Mooramoora — , 
written  as  a  proper  name,  or  whether,  as  seems  more  likely  from  the 
practices  of  these  people,  it  is  simply  the  generic  designation  for  anything 
mysterious, — spirit,  ghost,  ancestor,  rainmaker,  etc."  The  attempt  of  Lang 
and  others  to  read  a  unique  divinity  into  this  term  is  one  that  does  not 
commend  itself  to  an  impartial  criticism.'"  To  substantiate  such  a  prop- 
osition, a  personal  cult  would  have  to  be  clearly  proved,  but  of  such  a 
cult  there  is  no  direct  evidence.  On  the  contrary,  the  existing  data  tend 
to  show  that  mura-mura  is  either  generic,  or,  if  anything  specific,  the 
Dieri  designation  for  the  alcheringa  of  the  Aruntas,  the  half-animal 
indescribables  who  are  the  origin  of  all  existence.  Nay  more,  the  mura- 
mura  ceremony  of  the  snake-totem,  in  which  two  men  dig  up  the  fossil 
reptile,  here  distinctly  called  mura-mura,  sprinkle  the  remains  with  blood 
drawn  from  the  arm,  collect  the  supposed  excrement  of  the  animal,  and 
then  scatter  the  mixture  over  the  sandhills  in  the  hope  of  increasing  the 
supply  of  carpet-snakes, — this  is  as  good  evidence  as  can  be  desired  that, 
whatever  other  meanings  may  have  been  attached  to  the  term,  the  name 
is  certainly  applied  to  the  snake  and  lizard  totems  from  which  the  Dieri 
believe  themselves  to  be  descended."  It  also  shows  that  here,  as  in  the 
intichiuma  ceremonies  to  the  North,  entities  are  multiplied  by  occult  forces 
which  are  not  clearly  in  control  of  a  personal  divinity.  At  the  most,  the 
mura-mura  is  a  wonder-working  ancestor,  and  he  of  half-animal  form. 
Such  an  interpretation  will  gather  additional  force  when  we  consider  the 
numerous  parallel  cases  in  this  immediate  area  in  which  the  divinity  is 
identified  with  emu,  falcon,  snake  or  spider.  If  the  neighboring  deities 
are  of  such  a  nature,  it  is  hardly  probable  that  this  supposed  "ancestor" 
is  much  more  than  a  mysterious  magical  agency.'* 


*  Strehlow,  op.  cit.  supra.  "  S.  Gason,  The  Dieri  Tribe,  (Adelaide,  1874),  p.  260ff. 
Frazer,  I.  350.  ^•>  Lang,  Magic  and  Religion,  p.  62-63.  Schmidt,  Ursprung,  268,  269.  Howitt, 
Native  Tribes  of  South-East  Australia,  p.  480-482.  "  Idem,  p.  798,  for  the  Minkani 
ceremony.    '^  Thus  it  is  probable  that  Frazer's  view  comes  very  near  the  truth. 


74  GOD 

CENTRAL  AUSTRALIAN  TOTEMIC  FORM 

This  is  of  course  mostly  negative  evidence,  based  on  the  apparent 
absence  of  personal  invocations  to  a  supreme  Being.  But  that  such  a 
belief  is  entirely  absent,  I  do  not  pretend  for  one  moment  to  assert.  It 
may  be  a  concealed,  symbolic  belief,  expressed  in  ritual  rather  than  words, 
and  there  are  one  or  two  vague  indications  that  Miira-Mura  was  at  one 
time  invoked  by  the  mythical  ancestors,  though  the  few  items  collected  by 
Fr.  Schmidt  are  too  vague  and  isolated  to  carry  conviction.  They  show  at 
the  outside  that  the  deity  was  formerly  worshipped,  but  has  since  been 
abandoned  in  favor  of  a  more  alluring  belief,  in  itself  an  important  point 
as  it  helps  to  explain  the  genesis,  if  not  the  deterioration  of  the  idea 
expressed  by  mura-mura.  But  that  such  a  deterioration  has  here  set  in, 
can  hardly  be  questioned,  and  until  it  can  be  proved  that  the  Great  mura- 
mura{?)  has  made  the  totem  his  own,  that  He  is  working  in  and  through 
the  supposed  ancestor, — which  is  not  in  itself  impossible — ,  the  religion 
of  these  people  can  hardly  be  called  more  than  a  disguised  form  of  nature 
and  ancestor-worship.  With  this  the  social  and  ethical  data  are  in  sus- 
picious accord.  This  is  one  of  the  few  regions  of  Australia  where  the  pure 
8-class  system  with  maternal  descent  is  in  vogue.  While  there  is  no 
essential  connexion  between  this  and  a  lower  standard  of  practice,  we 
have  reasons  to  believe  that  spiritism,  cannibalism,  and  head-hunting  are 
the  accompaniments  of  a  culture  which  is  typically  late-Melanesian  and 
which  is  here  represented  in  its  most  vivid  form.  In  any  case,  it  is  a  note- 
worthy fact  that  here  alone  do  we  find  the  strange  practice  of  group-mar- 
riage,— technically  called  the  Pirauru-relation — ,  not  simply  as  an  aberrant 
phenomenon,  but  as  a  legally  recognised  matrimonial  state." 

We  will  now  be  able  to  appreciate  how  sharply  the  divinities  of  Central 
Australia  are  marked  off  from  those  of  the  far  South-East,  as  well  as  to 
trace  the  origin  of  those  elements  in  the  latter  which  are  clearly  disfigure- 
ments. If  the  All-Father  is  strong  in  the  South-East  and  weak  in  the 
Center,  it  is  because  the  sun  and  the  emu,  the  lizard  and  the  carpet- 
snake,  are  paramount  in  the  interior  and  comparatively  unknown  or 
unheeded  on  the  coast.  Altjira,  the  Emu-Sun,  has  supplied  Baiame  with 
Emu-feet,  it  has  associated  Daramulun  with  the  Lizard,  but  in  neither  case 
has  the  totem-culture  dethroned  the  ancient  Father  in  Heaven  in  the  most 
primitive  region  of  the  Australian  continent  as  yet  known  to  us.'* 


"  Howitt,  Native  Tribes  of  Central  Australia,  p.  73  N.  W.  Thomas  Kinship-organisation 
and  Group-marriage  in  Australia,  (Cambridge,  1906).  '<  See  under  Baiame,  etc.,  pp.  37(1. 
above. 


THE  AGE  OF  ROCK-PAINTINGS 
AND  OF  SPIRAL  DESIGNS 

THE  GREAT  MEDICINE 

OR  THE  NORTH  AMERICAN  SUN-MYSTERY 

THE  ATI-SEEING  WAKANDA 
SHOWING  SVN-  AND  SEBFENT-THEMES  SEPABATED 


MYSTERY-DECORATIONS    PAINTED    BY    THE    OMAHAS    AND    OTHER    8IOUAN    TRIBES    UPON 

ROCKS,    BLANKETS,    OB    Dtt'ELLLNGS,    TO    EXPRESS    THE    TRIBAL    CILT    TO    THE    SIN,    THE 

SNAKE,  THE  CEDAR  ANT)  THE  CORNSTALK,  WHICH  ARE  PECULIARLY  SACRED. 

"HAIL,  MYSTEKIOIS  POWER,  THOU  WHO  ART  THE  SIN!     I  WISH  TO  FOLLOW  THY  COURSE! 

O  WAKANDA,  PITY  ME  I     YOU  REGULATE  EVERYTHING  THAT  MOVES,  YOU  DECIDE  WHEN 

MY  LAST  HOUR  SHALL  COME!" 

TAKEN  FR03I  J.   O.  DOKSEY,   A  STUDY   OF  SIOUAN  CULTS,    IITH.  REP.   OF  THE  BUREAU   OP 
AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY,    (WASHINGTON,  18W),  PP.  872-480. 


GOD  75 

NORTH  AMERICAN  TOTEMIG  FORM 
(M,4)  WAKANDA— Prairie  Belt— (Sioux-Dakota-Omaka) 

It  is  in  the  broad  Prairie-belt  of  the  Missouri  basin  that  the  more 
advanced  totem-culture  of  North-America  has  been  preserved  in  its  most 
distmctive  form.^  We  have  the  nomadic  life,  the  buffalo-hunt,  the  fur- 
blanket,  the  face  and  body  paint,  the  round-house,  the  fire-drill '  the  half- 
round  bow,  the  flint-headed  spear,  the  throwing-stick,  the  carved  figurine 
the  polychrome  picture,  the  bone-flute,  the  bark-canoe,  the  patriarchal  sept- 
system,  the  tribal  initiation,  the  totemic  marriage,  the  platform  and  tree- 
burial.^  It  is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  these  elements  have  been  largely 
fused  with  a  later  neolithic  and  copper  wave  of  industry,  and  some  allow- 
ance must  therefore  be  made  for  the  possible  intrusion  of  later  stages  of 
belief. 

Of  Wakanda  of  the  Omaha  an  early  authoritv,  Edwin  James,  writes 
as  follows:  "The  Wakanda  is  believed  to  be  the  best  of  beings,  the 
Creator  and  Preserver  of  all  things,  and  the  Fountain  of  Mystic  Medicine. 
Omniscience,  omnipresence,  and  vast  powers  are  attributed  to  Him,  and 
He  is  supposed  to  afflict  them  with  sickness,  povertv  or  misfortune,  for 
their  evil  deeds.  ...  He  seems  to  be  a  Protean  god,  he  is  supposed  to 
appear  to  different  persons  under  different  forms.  ...  He  appears  to 
one  in  the  shape  of  a  grizzly  bear,  to  another  in  that  of  a  bison,  to  a  third 
in  that  of  a  beaver,  owl,  etc.  All  the  Magi,  in  the  administration  of  their 
medicine  to  the  sick  and  afflicted,  mimic  the  action  and  voice,  variously 
exaggerated  and  modifled,  of  the  animal,  which,  they  say,  is  their 
respective  medicine,  or,  in  other  words,  that  in  which  the  \vakanda 
appeared  to  them." ' 

Now  it  is  objected  by  J.  Owen  Dorsey  that  the  writer  mistook  the 
generic  name  Wakanda  for  a  specific  one,  that  it  stands  for  any  great 
spirit,  anything  sacred,  anything  wonderful,  not  necessarily  the  supreme 
Being.*  This  no  doubt  is  possible.  The  name  ivakan  is  used  indeflnitely 
for  anything  marvellous,  mysterious,  incomprehensible.  It's  best  equiv- 
alent is  /a6oo,— "sacred".'  But  on  the  one  hand,  the  wording  of  the  report, 
even  if  exaggerated,  seems  inconsistent  with  the  idea  of  a  merely  tutelary 
power,  on  the  other  hand,  his  personal  nature  is  attested  among  other 
things  by  the  "Smoke"  ceremony  of  the  Buffalo  men,  in  which  smoke  is 
blown  up  to  heaven  with  the  exclamation,  "Here,  Wakanda,  is  the  smoke!" 
They  say  they  do  this  because  Wakanda  "gave"  them  the  pipes,  and  that 
he  "rules"  over  them.* 


iprazer,  Totemism  and  Exogamy,  III.  p.  87ff.  '^Yot  each  of  these  items  consult  F  W 
Hodge,  Handbook  of  American  Indians,  (Washington,  1907-10),  2  volumes,  an  excellent  com- 
pilation. 3  See  Frazer,  III.  398.  "J-  O.  Dorsey,  A  Study  of  Siouan  Cults,  llth.  Rep.  B.  A. 
E.  (Washington,  1894),  pp.  372-430.  'Frazer,  III.  108.  «  Ibidem.  See  also  the  Sun-Dance 
prayers  on  the  opposite  page. 


76  GOD 

NORTH  AMERICAN  TOXEMIC  FORM 

But  this  question  is  not  so  easily  disposed  of.  The  fact  that  Wakanda 
is  the  general  term  for  "Mystery",  and  that  there  is  practically  no  supreme 
or  absolute  worship  attached  to  him,  makes  it  difficult  to  believe  that  he 
is  in  any  real  sense  a  unique  divinity.  There  are  also  no  clear-cut  crea- 
tion-myths to  show  that  he  is  above,  superior,  or  anterior  to  the  world, — 
a  transcendent  being.  On  the  contrary,  the  beliefs  and  practices  of  the 
Omahas  tend  to  reveal  a  vague  nature-worship  in  which  the  wakans  are 
the  primary  germinal-units,  which  contain  within  themselves  the  power 
to  produce  all  things,  to  operate  all  wonders.  Here  again  it  is  the  Sun 
and  the  Buffalo  that  figure  as  the  most  important  agencies, — as  witness: 

During  the  BufTalo-Dance  of  the  Omaha  Ghost-Society  the  members 
prance  about  disguised  in  the  skins  and  horns  of  the  animal  and  then 
come  together  for  the  purpose  of  making  rain.  This  they  do  by  dancing 
around  a  vessel  of  water  and  spurting  the  water  into  the  air  in  imitation 
of  rain.  Then  they  upset  the  vessel,  spill  the  water  on  the  ground,  fall 
down,  and  lap  the  water  up,  besmirching  their  faces  in  the  act.'  Members 
of  the  Turtle-clan  draw  a  figure  of  the  turtle  on  the  ground  and  place 
some  pieces  of  cloth  on  the  figure  in  the  hope  of  dispelling  a  fog.*  The 
same  tribes  have  an  order  of  Thunder-shamans,  who  predict  the  weather 
by  what  they  see  in  dreams  and  visions  of  the  Thunder-being, — in  this 
case  the  Sun,  the  Moon,  and  other  celestial  phenomena."  But  the  most 
distinctive  ceremony  of  all  the  Plains  tribes  was  the  Sun-Dance,  in  which 
the  performers  gyrat:  d  for  hours  before  a  buffalo-skull  and  a  sacred  pole 
representing  the  Sun.  This  ceremony  is  rich  in  symbolism,  mostly 
astrological,  but  it  shows,  in  the  words  of  Dorsey,  that  "the  Sun,  or  a  god 
spoken  of  as  the  'Great  Mystery,'  'Great  Medicine'  {Wakanda),  or  'Man 
above',  was  even  more  prominent  in  their  eyes,  being  symbolised  by  the 
center  pole".'" 

It  will  be  noticed  how  close  is  the  approach  to  the  Intichiuma 
ceremonies  of  Auslralia  and  the  Soso-bonga  rites  of  Central  India.  This 
is  carried  still  further  in  the  death-ceremony.  "You  are  going  to  the 
animals  the  bu.Talos",  the  dying-man  is  told,  wrapped  in  bufTalo  skins. 
"You  are  going  to  rejoin  yoiu'  ancestors!"  "  This  shows  with  considerable 
clearness  that  the  Wakanda  is  essentially  a  nature-god,  that  he  appears 
under  a  niyri:id  forms,  t!;e  highest  of  which  is  the  Sun, — the  Great 
Wakanda.  Though  theor  tically  sujjreme,  he  has  lost  his  hold  upon 
human  life,  upon  human  destiny.  For  any  god  that  can  suffer  his  clients 
to  reappear  as  bufl'alos  can  hardly  be  described  as  a  wise  and  benevolent 
Creator;  there  is  something  essentially  deficient,  something  essentially 
sinister  in  his  make-up. 


'].  O.  Dorsey,  Omaha  Sociology,  3d.  Rep.  B.  A.  E.  (Washington,  1884),  pp.  347ff. 
'  Uorscy.  1.  c.  p.  2A0.  ''Idem,  A  Study  of  Siouan  Cults,  11th.  Report,  p.  395.  '"Idem,  in 
i.'odKC.  Himdhook,  II.  p.  651.     "  Idem,  Omaha  Sociology,  p.  229. 


GOD  77 

NORTH  AMERICAN  TOTEMIC  FORM 

Are  we  then  to  conclude  that  this  is  typical  for  the  entire  continent, 
that  what  W3  find  is  at  most  a  nature-worship  disguised  by  the  term 
wakanda?  This  in  the  pr  sent  state  of  our  knowledge  wou  d  be  a  som  - 
what  premature  induction.  The  fact  that  hints  o;  a  "Man  above",  of  a 
Maker,  a  Giver,  a  Ruler,  are  distinctly  thrown  out  to  us,  and  that  acknowl- 
edged authorities  like  Dorsey  and  Fletcher  are  able  to  read  a  personal,  and 
even  a  creative  meaning  into  the  term,— this,  together  with  the  com'mon 
tendency  of  man  to  personify  nature,  to  make  it  human  and  lifelike,  should 
make  us  hesitate  in  associating  this  idea  with  the  unknown  X,— the  mere 
sum-total  of  all  the  powers  in  existence.  While  Wakanda  "is  the  name 
given  to  the  mysterious  all-pervading  and  life-giving  power  to  which 
certain  anthropomorphic  aspects  are  attributed,  the  word  is  also  applied 
to  objects  or  phenomena  regarded  as  sacred  or  mysterious.  These  two 
uses  of  the  word  are  never  confused  in  the  minds  of  the  thoughtful. 
When,  during  his  fast,  the  Omaha  sings— 'Wakanda!  Here  needy  he 
stands,  and  I  am  he!',  his  address  is  to  'the  power  that  moves',  'causes  to 
move',  that  is,  gives  life;  for  the  ability  to  move  is  to  the  Omaha  mind 
synonymous  with  life.  In  this  prayer  the  Omaha  is  not  crying  to  those 
forces  or  forms  spoken  of  as  ivakanda  in  songs  that  relate  to  objects  seen 
in  dreams  or  to  symbols  of  magic."  ^^  If  then  we  have  some  standing- 
gi'ound  for  a  personal  divinity,  a  transcendent  Wakanda.  it  is  no  1  ss  evi- 
dent that  this  divinity  is  associated  if  not  identified  with  the  Sun.  and  the 
above  remarks  are  at  least  in  part  justified,  the  solar  predominating  over 
the  human  features,  with  the  result  that  a  direct  personal  worship  is  here 
at  a  minimum,  it  is  shrouded  in  magical  and  totemic  practices  which 
may  have  an  intimate  relation  to  Him,  but  of  whose  "sacred"  character 
there  is  no  clear  proof. 

Thus  it  is  not  impossible  that  the  Great  Wakanda  may  be  concealed 
under  some  lesser  wakan,—h&?iV,  buffalo,  snake,  turtle—,  to  whom  He 
imparts  His  divine  character  in  a  secret  and  incomprehensive  manner, 
the  whole  process  being  described  as  the  "Great  Mystery",  offered  up  to 
the  Supreme  Being  as  a  sacrifice  of  atonement,  and  even  partaken  of  by 
the  worshipper  as  a  sacrament  of  union  with  the  divine.  Such  a  "com- 
munion"-rite  is  indoed  beautiful  to  contemplate,  more  especially  under 
the  "Sacred  Corn",  but  it  is  yet  to  be  proved  that  Wakanda  is  present  as 
a  Person,  that  He  is  not  simply  a  magic  force  or  potency.  In  so  far  as  He 
is  above  the  totems,  unique  and  incommunicable,  such  an  imparting  of 
power  is  not  inconceivable,  but  in  so  far  as  simply  the  X  of  existence,  the 
Great  Unknown,  such  a  function  is  hardly  more  than  a  charm. 


"See  the  article  on  the  Wakanda  by  Miss  Alice  B.  Fletcher  of  Washington,   (1910),  in 
Hodge,  Handbook,  II.  p.  897.     Also  on  the  Totem  by  J.  N.  B.  Hewitt.  Ibid.  p.  787. 


78  GOD 

NORTH  AMERICAN  TOTEiMIG  FORM 

II  is  iiiturestiug  to  note  in  ttiis  connection  that  the  generic  idea  of 
"mystery"  as  a  common  designation  for  the  Godhead  is  particularly 
strong,  and  especially  developed  on  the  North  American  continent.  The 
Algonquin  Mauitoo  and  the  Iroquois  Orenda  have  practically  the  same 
meaning. — that  which  surpasses  tlie  ordinary  powers  of  man  to  compre- 
hend— ,  anything  extraordinary,  whether  in  the  mental  or  physical  world. 
Here  too  the  term  cannot  be  interpreted  as  a  personal  one  without  qualifi- 
cation. Mauitoo  is  an  appellative,  designating  'ihe  mysterious  and 
unknown  potencies  and  powers  of  life  and  of  the  universe."  "  As  the 
Kitchi  Manito,  or  "Great  Spirit",  it  has  been  brought  into  connexion  with 
a  personal  divinity,  nay  with  a  Creator  of  all.  and  this  in  view  of  the 
undoubted  existence  of  parallel  cases  elsewhere,  makes  the  Chippewa 
deity  a  strong  figure,  though  convincing  evidence  is  in  most  cases  ditlicult 
to  obtain.'*  The  ISapi  divinity  of  the  Blackfeet  and  the  Ahone-goA  of  the 
Virginians  are  unquestionably  prominent  and  apparently  personal,  but 
tlie  Blackfeet  have  outgrown  totemism.  and  of  the  Virginians  we  know 
loo  little  to  be  able  to  pass  any  final  judgment  as  to  the  nature  of  their 
beliefs  as  a  totemic  people."  Moreover,  as  a  branch  of  the  Iroquois,  they 
belong  to  the  Orenda-vegion,  of  which  Mr.  Hewitt  thus  writes: — 

"This  hypothetic  principle  was  conceived  to  be  immaterial,  occult, 
impersonal,  myterious  in  mode  of  action,  limited  in  function  and  etficiency, 
and  not  at  all  omnipotent  (sic),  local  and  not  omnipresent,  and  ever 
embodied  and  immanent  in  some  object,  although  it  was  believed  that  it 
could  be  transferred,  attracted,  acquired,  increased,  suppressed,  or 
enthralled  by  the  orenda  of  occult  ritualistic  formulas  endowed  with  more 
potency."  '*  How  a  "local"  force  can  be  always  "immanent  in  some  object" 
is  difficult  to  understand,  but  consistency  is  hardly  to  be  expected  in  this 
place,  and  the  entire  catalogue  of  attributes  that  are  assigned  to  the 
Orenda  shows  how  confused  and  entangled  the  notion  is,  how  far  from 
satisfying  the  rigid  demands  of  a  theistic  notion.  Hence  the  existence  of 
"High  Gods"  in  the  Iroquois  region  must  be  interpreted  by  the  parallel 
light  of  the  orenda.  While  a  personal  dominance  can  be  proved  in  this 
or  that  instance,  the  sources  are  too  far  off  to  allow  of  any  exact  defini- 
tions as  to  its  nature.  From  what  has  already  been  found  of  existing 
divinities,  it  appears  to  be  more  and  more  probable  that  although  a  com- 
manding figure  is  for  the  most  part  traceable  in  single  outline,  the  orenda- 
wakan-maniloo  system  ha-s  either  expanded  the  notion,  or, — what  is  more 
likely — ,  it  has  obscured  it  by  a  confused  jumble  of  nature-beliefs. 


"A.  F.  Chamberlain  under  "Manito"  (Hodge,  I.  800).  '♦  W.  Warren,  A  History  of  the 
Oiibways,  (St.  Paul,  Minn.,  1885),  pp.  63-65.  Frazer,  HI.  382ff.  >' Cp.  Lang,  Making  of 
Religion,  230-237ff.    i«J-  W.  B.  Hewitt,  under  "Orenda",  (Hodge,  H.  147). 


GOD  79 

NORTH  AMERICAN  TOTEMIG  FORM 

The  social  and  moral  statistics  tend  to  bear  this  out.  While  the  noble 
and  the  ignominious  are  mysteriously  intertwined  in  all  the  ages  of  man, 
there  is  here  no  longer  that  delicate  perception  of  the  moral  fitness  of 
things  that  we  find  in  the  earlier  stages  of  human  society.  Polygyny  and 
divorce  exist  side  by  side  with  the  stricter  code  of  an  earlier  age,  and  there 
is  evidence  to  show  that  irregular  unions,  even  at  sacred  functions  were 
by  no  means  unknown.  There  was  also  less  regard  for  the  sanctity  of  life. 
Cannibalism  in  some  form  or  another  was  at  one  time  practised  by  all 
these  tribes,  whether  confined  to  cases  of  hunger,  or  to  those  of  sharing 
the  brave  qualities  of  an  enemy.  Wars,  duels,  and  blood-revenge  were 
once  the  order  of  the  day,  though  striking  instances  of  kindliness,  hos- 
pitality and  the  like  are  also  on  record.  The  picture  in  short  is  a  two- 
fold one,  but  the  growing  inroads  of  a  weaker  standard  are  distinctly 
noticeable.^^ 

(M,  5)  CHINIGCHINICH,— Pacific  Belt— (Califor>-i.\  Region) 

The  Rocky  Mountain  divide  separates  the  Plains  and  Plateau  Indians 
from  their  more  primitive  forbears  on  the  Pacific  slope,  to  whom  pottery, 
weaving,  agriculture,  and  mocassin-raiment,  are  largely  unknown,  or 
exist  only  as  sporadic  features.  They  lead  the  half-naked  life  of  the  deer- 
hunter  that  goes  hand  in  hand  with  the  loin-cloth,  the  round-house,  the 
fire-drill,  the  unpolished  flint,  the  self-bow,  the  throwing-stick,  the 
wooden  boomerang,  the  bull-roarer,  the  bone-whistle,  the  basket-canoe, 
and  the  balsa-raft — (California  region)."  Father  Boscana  in  his  labors 
among  the  Acagchemem  tribes  of  Southern  California  thus  writes  of  their 
religious  beliefs :— '*  "Although  ignorant  as  they  were  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  true  God,  the  moral  instruction  given  by  parents  to  their  children 
was  contained  in  the  precepts  of  Chimgchinich,  which  were  strongly 
impressed  upon  their  minds,  that  they  might  become  good,  and  avoid  the 
fate  of  the  evil.  The  perverse  child  invariably  was  destroyed,  and  the 
parents  of  such  remained  dishonored.  At  the  age  of  six  or  seven  years 
they  gave  him  a  kind  of  god  as  protector, — an  animal,  in  whom  they  were 
to  place  entire  confidence  who  would  protect  them  from  harm,  etc.  They 
were  not,  however,  to  consider  this  animal  as  the  real  God,  for  He  was 
invisible,  and  inhabited  the  mountains  and  bowels  of  the  earth,  but  if  He 
did  appear  to  them  at  any  time,  it  was  in  the  shape  of  an  animal  of  the 
most  terrific  description. 


'2  Hodge,  op.  cit.  I.  200,  571,  808.  "Items  in  Hodge,  passim.  "  Fr.  Geronimo  Boscana, 
Chinigchinich,  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Origin,  Customs,  and  Traditions  of  the  Indians 
at  the  Missionary  Establishment  of  S.  Juan  Capistrano,  Alta  California,  called  the  Acagche- 
mem Nation,  in  "Life  in  California",  by  an  American  [A.  Robinson],  N.  Y.  1846,  pp.  270,  a 
very  rare  work.     (Frazer,  HI.  404.) 


80  GOD 

NORTH  AMERICAN  TOTEMIC  FORM 

This  was  not  Chinigchinich,  but  another  called  Touch,  signifying  a 
Devil.  That  they  might  know  the  class  of  animal,  which  the  God, 
Chinigchinich,  had  selected  for  their  particular  veneration,  a  kind  of 
drink  was  administered  to  them,  made  from  a  plant  called  Pibat,  which 
was  reduced  to  a  powder,  and  mixed  with  other  intoxicating  ingredients. 
Soon  after  taking  this  preparation  they  became  senseless,  and  for  three 
days  were  deprived  of  any  sustenance  whatever."  The  report  then 
describes  how  the  neophyte  is  commanded  to  obey  implicitly  whatever 
visions  are  vouchsafed  him  during  the  trance,  how  he  imagines  an  inter- 
view with  a  bear,  crow,  or  rattlesnake,  how  he  finally  divulges  the  secret 
to  the  by-standers  and  the  commands  of  the  mysterious  apparition. 

This  report  is  of  value  because  it  reveals  a  distinction  between  the 
supreme  divinity  and  the  totems.  While  the  former  is  invisible  and 
benevolent,  the  latter  are  visible  and  of  animal  form.  This  is  characteristic 
of  the  totem-culture  in  its  earlier  stage,  for  though  an  advanced  clan- 
system  is  here  absent,  matrimonial  totemism  of  the  undeveloped  form 
(individual  and  local),  is  now  known  to  exist.  Moreover  Merriam  assures 
us  all  these  Galifornian  tribes  believe  that  they  "came  from"  certain  ani- 
mals, trees,  or  rocks,  which  suggests  the  conclusion  that  they  may  also 
return  to  the  same  by  re-birth."  This  and  the  narcotic  ceremony  recorded 
above  shows  with  some  force  that  the  divinity  has  lost  much  of  his  power 
to  control  the  life  and  destiny  of  man  by  rational  sanctions,  that  he  is 
after  all  only  a  nature-god.  Institutions  appear  to  be  patriarchal  and 
plutocratic,  with  local  exogamy  and  male  descent. 


It  will  thus  be  seen  that  throughout  the  totemic  zone  there  exists  a  cer- 
tain similarity  of  belief  and  practice  which  is  too  striking  to  be  put  down 
as  a  mere  coincidence.  In  every  case  the  divinity  has  been  drawn  into 
closer  relations  with  nature,  whether  as  the  Buru-Bonga  of  India,  the 
Mulungu  of  Africa,  the  Altjira-lnkara  of  Australia,  or  the  Wakanda  of 
North  America.  This  is  evidenced  by  his  role  as  a  married  hunter,  by  his 
cosmic  and  solar  character,  by  his  possible  confusion  with  the  tribal 
totem,  and  by  his  want  of  direct  control  of  the  moral  law.  Throughout 
this  region  there  is  also  a  strong  belief  in  metempsychosis  and  in  tlie 
multiplication  of  entities  by  impersonal  magic.  To  what  extent  these 
elements  have  afTected  the  combined  picture  of  the  divinity,  will  be  dis- 
r'ussed  later  on. 


''Merriam,  in  the  American  Anthropologist,  X.  (1908),  No.  4.  Compare  Hodge,  II.  793. 


GOD  81 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND   RECENT  FORM 

(N)  EURASIAN-POLYNESIAN-CORDILLERAN  GrOUP,— NEOLITHIC  BeLT,  (Recent) 

The  association  of  the  European  NeoUthic  with  the  Caucasian  race  of 
historic  memory  is  one  of  the  most  daring  achievements  of  modern  ethnol- 
ogy. It  is  believed  to  be  solidly  probable  by  reason  of  the  striking  homo- 
geneity of  that  culture,  by  the  fact  that  the  modern  ethnical  boundaries 
correspond  very  largely  to  the  ancient  ones,  (Nordic,  Alpine,  Mediterranean 
Group),  and  by  the  survival  into  historic  times  of  certain  elements  that  are 
believed  to  be  peculiar  to  the  Indogermanic  races,— among  others  the 
Dagger  and  the  Blow  horn,  which  are  well  certified  for  the  middle-Euro- 
pean Pile-period. 1  Whether  this  will  be  substantiated  by  further  evidence, 
remains  to  be  seen.  In  the  meantime  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that,  as  the 
character  of  this  culture  was  fundamentally  Caucasian,  it  was  at  least  in 
part  Indogermanic,  and  we  are  therefore  justified  in  using  the  latter  as 
one  of  our  sources.  On  this  system  it  will  be  possible  to  read  the  religion 
of  the  lake-dwellers  and  megalithic  architects  partly  in  the  linguistic 
records  of  the  past,  (Aryan  religion),  partly  in  the  existing  Austronesian 
and  Cordilleran-American  traditions,  which  are  still  associated  with  a 
very  similar  culture,  (Advanced  neolithic  and  bronze  age).  It  is  essen- 
tially a  highland  culture,  encircling  the  earth  in  almost  unbroken  con- 
tinuity,—from  the  Alps  and  Carpathians  to  the  Caucasus,  and  through  the 
?Iimalayan  region  to  Indo-China  and  Polynesia  on  the  one  hand,  and  to 
Alaska,  Mexico,  Peru,  and  Patagonia  on  the  other.  (Polynesjan-Cordilleran 
extension). 2 

But  if  the  Aryan  race  was  a  conspicuous  figure  during  the  second  stone 
age,  it  was  by  no  means  the  earliest  or  only  one,  and  it  seems  certain  that 
we  must  go  beyond  Europe  to  Western  Asia  in  order  to  find  the  real  begin- 
nings of  neolithic  civilisation.  The  threefold  dispersion  of  Caucasian 
races,  to  Arabia,  Egypt,  and  Iran,  seems  to  postulate  some  common  radiat- 
ing center  from  which  the  proto-Caucasian  race  must  first  have  emerged 
into  prominence.  Now  such  a  center  is  fonnd  in  that  portion  of  Western 
Asia  which  is  racially  and  territorially  neutral, — neither  Aryan,  Semitic, 
Hamitic  nor  Mongolic— ,  but  which  is  associated  with  the  beginnings  of 
all  four,  and  tenanti'd  by  a  people  whose  physique  and  language  are 
irreducible,— the  so-called  "Sumerian"  race  of  the  Mesopotamian  plains. 
Whatever  be  the  exact  interrelation  of  these  peoples  in  prehistoric  ages, 
some  remote  binding-link  seems  to  be  called  for,  and  such  a  link  is  siilTi- 
ciently  prominent  in  the  "land  of  the  four  rivers"  to  merit  our  serious  con- 
sideration.^ 


^  F.  Graebner,  Die  Melanesische  Bogenkultur,  (Anthropos,  IV.  1909)  pp.  1029-1030. 
O.  Schrader,  Sprachvergleichung  und  Urgeschichte,  (Jena.  1907)  pp.  349f.  Idem,  Reallexicon 
der  indogermanischen  Alterthumskunde,  (Strassburg.  1901)  p.  824ff.  A.  Schliz,  in  Prae- 
historische  Zeitschrift,  (Berlin,  1912),  pp.  36ff.  (Craniology),  Comp.  also  Keane,  Ethnology, 
p.  108.  Haddon,  Wanderings,  p.  40.  2  Graebner,  op.  cit.  pp.  998ff.  '  Comp.  L.  W.  King,  A 
History  of  Sumer  and  Akkad,  (London,  1912).  pp.  321-348.  (Cultural  influence  on  Egj'pt, 
Asia,  and  the  West). 


82  GOD 

WESTERN  ASIATIC  AND  RECENT  FORM 

It  is  not  prelended  that  this  was  the  direct  ancestor  of  any  of  the 
''white"  races  as  we  now  linow  them.  It  was  not  even  Caucasian  in  the 
modern  sense,  but  is  better  described  as  proto-Caucasioid,  revealing  per- 
haps some  Mongolic  atTmities.  Their  ethnic  position  is  still  largely  proble- 
matical, while  their  language  has  been  atTdiafed  with  nearly  every  known 
tongue.  This  agrees  well  with  the  theory  above  supported  and  is  only  to 
be  expected  on  the  supposition  that  they  antedate  any  existing  represen- 
tatives of  the  Caucasian  stock,  forming  a  possible  Jink  between  the 
Dravidians  of  Central  India  and  the  pre-Aryan  Ligurians  of  the  middle- 
European  Pile-belt.* 

Here  we  have  a  people  whose  prehistoric  past  ascends  indefinitely,  and 
not  impossibly  to  the  eighth  millennium  before  Christ.'  For  these  remote 
ages  the  alluvial  mounds  of  Mesopotamia  have  revealed  a  culture  which 
is  characteristically  neolithic,  and  this  in  its  earlier  Stages.  We  have  the 
simple  mat-garment,  or  apron,  (hand-weaved),  the  mud-hut  and  the  clay 
architecture,  (indigenous),  the  fire-flint,  the  sling-bow,  the  developed 
boomerang,  the  polished  flint-knife,  the  bone-needle,  the  simplest  kind 
of  pottery,  (unmarked),  the  clay  figurine,  the  wooden  lyre,  the  xylophone, 
the  reed-boat,  the  "patesi"-kingship,  the  free  marriage,  (iion-tofemic), 
and  above  all  the  tomb-burial  with  contracted  corpse,  which  is  now 
believed  to  antedate  the  cremation-rite  of  the  later  Caucasian  and  Indoger- 
manic  peoples."  It  will  be  seen  that  most  of  these  elements  fit  in  well  with 
what  we  know  of  the  early  pre-megalithic  lacustrian  age,  though  the 
nature  of  ttie  soil  will  account  for  its  strongly  "alluvial"  character. 

If  then  we  raise  the  Sumerian  problem  to  the  forefront  of  ethnic  pos- 
sibilities in  relation  to  early  neolithic  man,  it  is  because  the  finger  of 
archaeology  points  strongly  in  this  direction,  because  we  require  a  neutral 
Caucasioid  race  as  the  bearer  of  the  earliest  neolithic  culture,  and  because 
it  carries  us  back  to  a  time  when  the  whole  of  Western  Eurasia  formed  as 
it  were  a  unit, — a  time  which  was  pre-Sargonic  in  Babylonia,  predynastic 
in  Egypt,  and  generally  prehistoric  in  Persia.  Finally,  as  our  present 
appeal  must  be  to  the  buried  records  of  the  past,  it  is  only  in  Egypt  and 
Mesopotamia  that  we  possess  the  earliest  extant  syllabic  or  alphabetic 
writing,  as  distinct  from  mere  pictographs,  and  this  must  always  be  a 
heavy  denominator  in  any  attempt  to  evaluate  in  their  true  proportions 
the  early  beliefs  and  practices  of  a  civilisation  which  has  been  buried  for 
five-thousand  years.' 


<Comp.  F.  Weissbach,  Die  Sumerische  Frage,  (Leipzig,  1898)  (Linguistic  theory)  King, 
op.  cit.  pp.  1-15  (General  Introduction)  pp.  40-55  (ethnical  affinities).  '  Ur-Nina.  3000. 
Cuneiform,  3-4000.  Hieroglyphic,  4-5000.  Lowest  straU,  8-10000.  « Items  in  S.  P.  Handcock, 
Uesopotamian  Archaeology,  Index.  (New  York,  1912). 


THE  AGE  OF  TABLETS 

AND  THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  SYLLABIC  WRITING 

TO  ANU  AND  ISHTAR 

VOTIVE-TABI.ET    OF    H  GAL-T.\R8I.    KING    OF    KISH, 
OF  THE  AGE  OF  ME8II-IM,  CA.,  SlOO  B.   C. 


E 


3r 


AN 


LUGAJ-- 


<5  < 


-KUFV-KUR— F\A 


(asiWGIR) 


Nl  NN? 


NIN!         (DlNlGl'Ps')  ^;!^^Mi 


KA 


LUGAU 


R St 


LUGAL 


BAD 


KISAL- 


Cl  NEirORM  TEXTS  FROM  THE  BAB^^-0^•I.\N  TABLETS  OF  THE  BRITISH 
MVSEIM.  PIBI.ISHED  IN  LONDON   (1902)    VOL.  UI,  No.   1S155,  DECIFHERED 

AND   TRANSLATED    BY    F.    THl  REAl -DANGIN. 

DIE  SIMEBISCIIEN  IND  AKKADLSCHEN  KONIGSINSCHRIFTEN,   (LEIPZIG. 

1B07).   P.    IBO. 


(By  Permission  of  the  BritlHb  Museum.) 


GOD  83 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  RECENT  FORM 
(N,  1)   ANU— EN-LIL— EN-KI— Sumerian  Triad 

The  three  ideograms  for  Heaven-Earth-Underworld  (An-Li-Ki)  are  well 
represented  on  the  earliest  tablets  from  Nippur  and  Lagash.  The  ques- 
tion arises:  (1)  Can  any  precedence  be  established  for  them  as  signs? 
(2)  Do  they  stand  for  abstractions,  persons,  or  things?  (3)  Is  there  any 
evidence  to  show  that  either  has  held  a  personal  supremacy  over  the 
other  from  time  immemorial? 

One  of  the  earliest  inscriptions  as  yet  known  to  us  is  that  on  the  votive- 
tablet  of  Lugal-Tarsi,  king  of  Kish,  in  which  he  dedicates  the  great  temple 
of  Kish  to  Anu,  (and  the  Lady  Ni7ini),  at  a  date  which  can  hardly  be  less 
than  3000-3100  B.  C.  (Age  of  Mesilim).     It  runs  as  follows:— 

"To  Anil,  King  of  the  lands,  and  to  Ninni — the  Lady  Ninni — hath 
Lugal-Tarsi,  king  of  Kish,  erected  the  wall  of  this  temple."  ^ 

Now  the  use  of  the  Anu-sign  in  this  passage,  first  absolutely,  "to  Ami," 
and  then  determinately,  as  a  mere  prefix  to  Istar-Ninni,  shows  with  some 
force  that  in  the  first  instance  we  are  dealing  with  the  "divinity"  par 
excellence,  the  "High  One",  while  in  the  second  case  he  is  speaking  of  a 
deity  who  shares  something  of  this  exalted  position,  but  is  more  of  the 
nature  of  a  patron  saint,  a  protecting  goddess.  This  determinative  use 
marks,  in  fact,  all  the  lesser  divinities,  while  in  the  case  of  Anu  himself 
it  was  unnecessary  to  add  any  other  ideogram:  He  is  Himself  the  God  of 
all  gods,  the  Heavenly  One.  Moreover,  His  high  antiquity  is  proved  by  the 
fact  that  the  same  ideogram  can  be  read  as  a  hieroglyph  far  into  the 
pre-dynastic  age  (4000),  and  that  a  very  similar  sign  has  been  certified 
among  the  pictographs  of  the  early  neolithic  age,  from  the  mounds  of 
Europe  to  the  clifTs  of  Arizona.'' 

As  to  the  nature  of  Anu,  though  the  symbol  is  unquestionably  a  solar 

or  astral  one,  its  evolution  being      "^^fe      "Tfx        ''^V      ^'m —      ^^^' 

(compare  the  Chinese       yi\    Egyptian      --^    Indogermanic   *^^    )• 

He  is  a  Person.  For,  to  take  the  test  of  worship,  Gudea  calls  his  patron 
saint  Bau,  "the  daughter  of  Anu,"  "King  of  the  gods,"  in  whose  honor  he 
builds  a  temple,'  Ur-Engur  invokes  Nannar  (the  'moon)  as  the  "mighty 
bull  of  Anu"  (the  sun?),*  Lugal  Zaggisi  (2800)  calls  himself  the  high- 
priest  of  Anu,  the  "loving  Father  of  Enlil,"  to  whom  he  sacrifices"  and 
Lugal-Tarsi  builds  the  great  temple  of  Kish  in  honor  of  Anu,  "King  of  the 
lands",  the  tablet  quoted  above.  While  the  hieroglyphic  evidence  tends 
to  show  some  connexion  with  the  sun  in  very  remote  times,  the  title 
"king"  or  "father"  points  with  equal  force  to  a  great  Personality. 

^  Cun.  Texts,  (British  Museum),  Vol.  Ill,  No.  121SS.  Thureau-Dargin,  Die  sumer- 
ischen  und  akicadischen  Konigsinschriften  (Leipzig,  1907).  p.  160.  ^  Barton.  Babylo- 
nian Writing  (Leipzig-Baltimore),  p.  5.  Wilson,  The  Swastika  (Wash.  1896).  p.  926  ff. 
3Th.  Dangin,  1.  c.  p.  79,  101.  «  Idem,  p.  189.  i*  Idem,  p.  ISSflf.  Hilprecht,  Old  Babylonian 
Inscriptions,  I.  2. 


84  GOD 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  RECENT  FORM 
Thus  the  expression  hi-gal,  for  "king"  is  literally  "great  man",  and  this, 
together  with  adda  for  "father",  shows  that  the  astral  divinity  Ati  is  not 
simply  a  nature-power,  but  a  living  personal  character,  symbolised  by 
the  orb  of  heaven  or  the  star  as  the  most  appropriate  expression  of  his 
mysterious  nature.  I  even  venture  to  suggest  that  the  term  dingir  as  the 
common  appellative  for  divinity  may  contain  the  notion  of  "life-power" 
{tin-gir?)  in  the  sense  that  the  divine  nature  is  conceived  as  "life"  and 
therefore  not  as  a  mere  force  or  tendency  of  matter.  But  apart  from  this, 
ttie  above  inscriptions  reveal  a  fatherly  ruler,  a  celestial  patesi,  with 
sulTicient  clearness. 

Side  by  side  with  the  God  of  Heaven,  we  have  En-lil,  the  god  of  the 
earth,  the  winds,  or  the  air,  and  En-ki,  the  god  of  the  deep.  In  both  cases 
the  prefix  En  is  ideographically  represented  on  the  earliest  tablets  by  the 

hand  and  scepter,  rf-ti  ^&*^^'^  denoting  lordship,  dominion,  kingship. 
Thus    En-lil    is    written     U  .  „  Wm- ,  later    ..    R   3Jii|jiili  ,  and  finally 

*^  'f  1  ^ffi  r  rjy  -"  lilliln 

^-3?T    ^ZfVy  signifying  "Lord"  of  the  earth,  clouds,  or  air.     His  worship 

is  almost  as  old  as  that  of  Anu  and  equally  prominent.  Gudea  calls 
Ningirsu  the  "son  of  En-lil,"  the  "mighty  warrior"  of  En-lil,  "  En-shag- 
kush-an-na  attributes  his  victories  to  En-lil,  the  god  of  battles,  '  Eannatura 
calls  him  "King  of  heaven  and  earth,"  Entemena,  "King  of  the  Lands," 

"Father  of  gods,"  etc.     In  like  manner  En-ki  is  the  first  ^—jr-i; 


then  Y^n    ^^^  ,  and  finally  ^1  Vlpzj      .     This   is  com- 

monly translated  "Lord  of  the  Land."  but  the  fact  that  he  is  universally  as- 
sociated with  tiie  liquid  element,  Aa,  "Water,"  and  that  he  is  identical  with 
E-A  Ea,  "House  of  Water."  makes  it  more  probable  that  the  above  should 
be  read  "Lord  of  the  Deep,"  of  the  "Underworld."  In  any  case  he  figures 
as  such  from  the  earliest  times,  and  for  many  he  is  not  only  the  Lord  of 
the  Deep,  but  the  "I'ountain  of  Wisdom"  as  well, — En-zu, — a  singularly 
abstract  designation.® 

Now  what  is  tlie  relation  of  these  deities  to  one  another?  Are  they 
ttiree  independent  divinities,  or  three  aspects  or  manifestations  of  a  single 
divinity?  This  for  want  of  unimi)eachal)le  evidence  can  never  be  known 
with  certainty.  The  designation  of  deity  as  "Highness,  Dominion,  and 
Wisdom",  is  a  tempting  device,  but  the  same  logic  would  force  us  to 
include  many  of  (he  minor  diiigirs  as  equally  manifestations  of  the  divine. 
From  the  fact  that  Ann  is  called  the  "Father  of  En-lil",  whereas  no  other 
deity  is  over  called  the  "Father"  of  A)ni,  we  may  conclude  with  some 
probability  that  Anu  is  the  Father  of  all  the  gods,  but  to  what  extent  identi- 
cal or  of  the  same  nature  with  one.  or  any  of  them,  we  shall  indeed  never 
know.'" 

»Th.-D.  26,  96.  98ff.  '  Th.-D,  157.  «  Th.-D.  14.  37.  »  Th.-D.  18,  40,  60,  124.  '»  Cp.  J. 
Hehn,  Die  biblische  und  bab.vlonische  Gottesidee,  (Leipzig,  1913),  pp.  1-29,  the  latest  and 
best  work  on  the  subject. 


GOD  85 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  RECENT  FORM 

But  a  mere  Sky-lord,  however  heavenly,  does  not  satisfy  the  full  defi- 
nition of  deity.  There  must  be  some  evidence  that  he  is  looked  on  as  a 
Maker,  if  not  a  Creator  of  all.  Now  of  such  evidence  we  have  in  the 
present  instance  only  the  barest  fragments,  and  these  from  the  later 
Semitic-Babylonian  period,  when  the  ancient  pantheon  had  already  been 
swallowed  up  by  the  single  commanding  personality  of  Bel-Marduk,  the 
saviour-god  of  Mesopotamia.  In  the  well-known  Creation-Epic  we  find 
the  following  concatenation : — 

1  2  3         4  5      6     7 

Mummu-Apsu,  Lachmu-Lachamu,  Ansar-KiSar,  Anu-Bel-Ea,  War,  etc.— 
symbolising: — 

Chaos-Deep  (?)   Day-Dawn  (?),  Heaven-Earth,  Sky-Lord-Deep,  Mistress." 

If  Mummu-Apsu-Htar  be  excluded,  the  former  as  an  indeterminate 
void,  (Tianiat?),  the  latter  as  a  mere  patronal  goddess,  we  have  the 
famous  "septette"  of  divinity  which  is  so  characteristic  of  later  Babylonian 
thought.  But  what  is  more  important,  the  entire  system  seems  to  insinuate 
an  evolution  of  gods,— a  theogony— ,  in  which  Anu  himself  is  pictured  as 
rising  out  of  heaven  and  earth,  which  are  themselves  the  children  of  the 
day  and  dawn,  and  these  again  the  children  of  Mummu,  the  Chaos,  the 
"mother  of  them  all".  It  is  still  a  disputed  point  to  what  extent  these  are 
poetical  personifications  or  real  personalities,  for  even  here  it  is  the  Baby- 
lonian iria.(i,~Ami,  Bel,  £•«,— that  alone  are  recognised  as  real,  personal, 
producing  agencies,  their  great  enemy  being  Mummu,  who  as  the  Serpent 
Tiamat,  figures  in  the  celebrated  story  of  Bel  and  the  Dragon.  In  this 
legend  it  is  En-lil  [Bel),  who  cleaves  the  great  Serpent  in  twain,  out  of 
which  he  makes  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea,  and  all  that  is  therein,  while 
man  he  fashions  in  an  extraordinary  manner,  by  cutting  off  his  head  and 
mixing  his  blood  with  the  shme  of  the  earth,— surely  a  vivid  creation- 
legend.  But  this  account  is  not  isolated.  In  the  parallel  Adapa-myih,  it 
is  En-ki  (Ea)  who  creates  the  Adapa-m&n,  and  in  the  Gilgamesh-Epic  it  is 
distinctly  stated  that  E)i-ki  created  the  first  man  in  the  image  of  Anu 
through  Aruru  (the  Earth?),  whence  the  name  allotted  to  him  was  Ea- 
bani, — "God-created". 

If  then  we  have  reasons  to  suspect  that  Anu-Bel  {EnHl)-Ea  formed  a 
cosmic  triad  even  in  the  earliest,  pre-Sargonic  times,  the  functions  assigned 
to  the  one  may  be  safely  transferred  to  the  other,  and  Anu  thus  becomes 
a  Creator  by  means  of  his  "generated"  divinities.  At  the  same  time,  the 
divine  hieroglyph  and  the  above  "theogony"  seem  to  point  to  the  pos- 
sibility that  he  and  his  entire  hierarchy  were  at  one  time  more  closely 
related  to  nature,  more  directly  associated  with  its  immanent,  evolutionary 
forces." 


"For  the  text  see  L.  W.  King,  The  Seven  Tablets  of  Creation,  (London,  1902),  in 
Luzac's  Semitic  Text  and  Trans^lation  Sej:ies,  Vols.  XII,  XIII.  12  Compare  Hehn,  1.  c.  and 
J.  Nikel,  Die  Genesis  in  KeilschriftTorschung   (FreiBurg,  1903)   p.  113. 


86  GOD 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  RECENT  FORM 

Here  again  we  find  those  strange  echoes  of  a  "tree  of  life",  a  serpent,  a 
temptation  and  fall,  in  which  Ea,  the  God  of  the  Deep,  plays  such  a  con- 
spicuous part, — yet  evidently  in  conjunction  with  A7iu,  the  Heaven-God. 

"At  Eridu  a  palm-tree  grew,  in  holy  place  it  blossomed. 

Its  roots  were  bright,  as  crystal  white,  they  spread  fortii  to  the  waters. 

The  shrine  of  Ea  was  its  home,  at  Eridu,  the  fertile. 

Its  seat  the  center  of  the  earth,  its  leaves  the  couch  of  Ba-u. 

Into  its  holy  house,  which  like  a  forest  spread  its  shade, 

Hath  no  man  ever  entered.    Alone  the  God  of  Light,  He  dwells  within, 

On  lowland  coast,  between  the  parting  rivers".'^ 

But  the  moral  of  the  story  is  not  fiawless.  Adapa  has  lost  the  "Bread 
and  Water  of  Life"  because  he  follows  the  advice  of  the  Ocean-God  to 
reject  the  latter,  and  to  ask  of  Ami  clothing  and  oil,— hardly  a  straight- 
forward action.  In  the  Gilgamesh-Epic,  the  hero  travels  to  the  "Isles  of 
the  Blest"  and  obtains  a  marvellous  root  from  his  ancestor,  the  translated 
"Noah",  but  on  his  return  a  serpent  darts  up  and  he  loses  the  precious 
treasure.  In  the  Deluge  story  again,  it  is  the  Ghaldaean  "trinity"  that 
decrees  the  destruction  of  man  and  saves  the  righteous  few  very  much  as 
in  the  biblical  legend. 

There  is  in  fact  ample  evidence  for  the  personal  leadership  of  the  triad, 
but  of  his  worship  in  those  remote  times  we  know  very  little.  From  the 
title,  lugal  kurkiirra  and  the  temple  remains,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that 
each  guardian  deity  had  his  own  shrine  at  the  summit  of  the  Zikkurat,  or 
the  E-kur,  temple-tower,  in  imitation  of  a  mountain.  The  discovery  of 
beads,  statues,  and  temple-lamps  shows  that  it  took  place  under  plastic 
forms,  the  Patesi,  or  Priest-King,  acting  as  the  vice-gerent  of  the  Almighty. 
Here  no  doubt  the  great  sacrifices  took  place,  of  the  sheep,  the  ram,  and 
the  ox,  and  bloodless  oll'erings  were  made  of  bread  and  wine, — recalling 
the  First-Fruit  sacrifice  of  the  far  East  and  of  Central  Africa.  This  was 
accompanied  by  the  burning  of  incense  or  aromatic  spices,  and  by  a 
musical  performance  on  the  rude  harpsichord  or  wooden  lyre,  to  judge  by 
the  representations  on  many  of  the  early  steles."  There  is  no  evidence  to 
show  that  at  any  time  human  sacrifices  were  olTered  up  to  the  deity,  nor 
is  there  any  proof  that  the  bodies  of  the  dead  were  burnt  in  supposed 
"crematories",  the  custom  of  tomb-burial  of  the  dead  being  now  well  cer- 
tified, even  for  the  earliest  period.  Thus  the  worship  was,  as  far  as  we  can 
conjecture,  both  humane  and  dignified.  For  further  particulars  on  these 
and  similar  subjects  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  succeeding  chapters,  more 
especially  the  one  on  Sacrifice." 


"Text  in  C.  T.  XVI.  PL.  46,  183ff.  "God  of  Light"  lit:  "Sun-god"  "Tammuz"  (ibid). 
'♦Compare  E.  J.  Banks,  Bismya,  the  lost  city  of  Adab,  (N.  Y.  191J)  (latest  excavations). 
">  Further  details  in  S.  P.  Handcock,  Mesopotamian  Archaeology,  (N.  Y.  1912)  and  P. 
Dhorme,  La  Religion  Assyro-babylonienne,   (Paris,  1910). 


SUMERIAN  PRAYERS  TO  BEL 

FROM  THE   Cl'NKIFORM   TKXT8   OF  THR   BRITISH    HVSBl'M 
Vol.    XV.    ri.    10,    3-11,    ft    PI.    U.    1-9. 


"FATHER.    ENJLIU.LOFUD  OFTHE    LAfJOS  " 

A—  A  lt>\  MU  UL  LIU  U MO  0"^ E       KUHKUR — -RA 

A — A  lt>\  MU UU t-IL  U tviU  DM  SUa  — GA        X( i)A 

A A  i»l  MU Ol. LIU  2>l» — SAC  (3l<a Q* 

A— A  lE'  N>u  UL UIU  I OK S>u  |M xt NA 

A— A  (D^  MU uu UU  AMa    eUlN tSA  SA SA 

A— A  (Dl  MU uu UIU  U  UUU UA  .BUR  -  DUR. 

"1=«.ETUR.M.  LOOK  DOWN    UPON  TVTY  CITV" 

>-T>  x=l  <fcffl3  ^  4-53  < 

NITUW  NldlS U  URU  3U  "  (.aC  —  OUft) 

EUtSI M'^  NIXUK         •>l(a>«4 U  URU XU  U  -  tClC  -IJUil) 

U MU Uf*  KOKKUH. KA Gt  MICIM U  UUU  — ZU 

U MU UN  &A4  —  QA         31 X)A       mci»4 u  uf>.u-(.Z>J) 

(155  MU  uu UIU  A A  K.A MA  AO  CA 

GICJ  QA  MIGIN U  URU-CJU) 


6ia  SAC   GIQ  QA  MIGIN U  U«U-CJU> 

■» » < 

•» < 

I    DK       DU  IM1 TS •**  NIOIN-U    URU- 


AMA         eWIM NA  Sa SA         MICIN U  UW.U-C 


■UA  UUI* Oum.  NICIN  U  unU-C«U> 


SKK    I.AI«OI>ON.    SI  MKRI.IN    AND   B.\BVI,0>iIAN    raAI.M8.    (LONDON     !»•»)    F.   tl«. 

Ml.       JA8TBOW.     RKLJUION     BABV1.0NIKN8     I'ND     ASSVRIENS,     (UIK8BKN,     l»Oa), 

n.  P.  SI,  ST.     VANDKRBl'HOH.  IN  J.  A.  O.  8.  VOLj  XXX   (l»l»>   P.  «1-7I. 


GOD  87 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  RECENT  FORM 

As  to  the  expression  of  worship  by  prayer,  the  oldest  Sumerian  hymns 
reveal  a  deep  fooling  of  dependence  upon  an  all-morciful  Father.  Hut 
we  must  not  be  surprised  if  these  supplications  are  directed  chiefly  to 
Enlil,  the  second  member  of  tlie  triad.  A  "Heaven-God"  was  too  distant 
and  abstract  a  conception  to  withstand  the  encroachments  of  a  "Lord 
of  the  lands",  one  who  was  in  a  peculiar  sense  the  national  savior.  At 
the  temple  of  Bel  in  Nippur  the  lamentation-ritual  of  this  kind  was  par- 
ticularly vivid : — 

1,  "Father  Enlil,  Lord  of  the  lands!  2,  Father  Enlil,  Lord  of  the 
living  command!  3,  Father  Enlil,  shepherd  of  the  blackheads! 
4,  Father  Enlil,  who  seest  by  thine  own  power!  5,  Father  Enlil, 
strong  Lord  directing  mankind!  6,  Father  Enlil,  who  causest  mul- 
titudes to  repose  in  peace!"  " 

1,  "0  miglity  Enlil,  return,  took  down  upon  thy  city!  2,  O 
strong  and  mighty  one,  return,  look  down  upon  thy  city!  3,  Lord 
of  the  lands,  return,  look  down  upon  thy  city!  4,  Lord  of  the 
living  command,  return  look  down  u}x>n  thy  city!  5,  Faiher  of 
the  land,  return,  look  donm  upon  thy  city!  G,  Shepherd  of  the 
blackheads,  return,  look  down  upon  thy  city!  7,  Who  regardest 
us  with  eyes  of  mercy,  return,  look  down  upon  thy  city!  8,  Who 
bringest  forth  the  light,  return,  look  down  upon  thy  city!  9,  Who 
protcctest  the  weak  against  the  strong,  return,  look  (town  upon 
tliy  city!"  and  so  on  in  endless  refrain." 

Again,  Lugal-Zaggisi,  king  of  Uruk,  thus  addresses  the  god  of  Nippur: — 
"0  Enlil,  King  of  the  lands,  my  beloved  Father!  Grant  me  long 
life!  Give  rest  and  peace  unto  this  land!  Make  my  armies  lo 
flourish!  Preserve  the  sanctuaries,  look  favorably  upon  this  land! 
Have  mercy  upon  the  people!  Give  me  power  to  rule  with  a  firm 
hand!"  " 

Again,  take  the  following  formula  for  the  general  confession  of  sins: — 

"0  Lord,  my  transgressions  are  many,  greai  are  my  sins! 
0  God,  my  transgressions  are  7nany,  great  are  my  sins! 
O  God,  whoever  it  be,  my  transgressions  are  nuiny,  great  are 
my  sins!"  '• 

But  there  is  evidence  of  another  kind  that  may  prompt  us  to  modify 
this  conclusion  to  some  extent.  The  existence  of  divination,  augury,  hep- 
tascopy,  and  demoniacal  obsession,  with  an  elaborate  incantation-ritual 
for  the  expulsion  of  witches,  this  is  a  fact  which  cannot  be  passed  over 
without  revealing  a  belief  in  magical  and  spiritistic  agencies,  which  is 
generally  branded  as  "superstitious,"  and  which  seems  to  detract  from 
the  simplicity  and  purity  of  an  All-Father  cult. 

>•  Cun.  Texts.  XV.  PI.  lo,  3-8.  "  Cun.  Texts.  XV.  PI.  13,  1-9.  Elima  nituki. 
Assyrian  transcription  f&r  Enlil  (Bel).  Compare  the  versions  of  Langdon,  Jastrow, 
and    Vandcrburgli,    cited    on    the    opposite    page.      '»  Hilprecht,    Old    Babyl.    Inscript. 

I,  2,  no.  87.  Thur.   Dang.   op.   cit.   p.    154;   Jastrow    I.   394.      '"  Rawlinson,    Cun.    Inscr. 
of   Western    Asia,    IV.   pi.    10  ff.    ("whoever    it    be":="known    or    unknown"),   Jastrow, 

II,  102. 


88  GOD 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  RECENT  FORM 

I  have  already  liad  occasion  to  remark  that  a  ceremony  can  only  be 
called  "magical"  if  a  sii|)reme  Being  is  deliberately  and  explicitly  excluded. 
The  invocation  of  a  patron  saint  and  the  expulsion  of  a  harmful  demon  is 
the  most  natural  of  religious  actions,  and  even  the  diagnosis  of  future 
events  by  inspecting  the  liver  of  llie  sacrificial  animal  is  more  or  less 
excusable  in  proportion  as  the  whole  action  is  referred  to  the  deity,  is 
believed  to  be  the  expression  of  his  divine  will.  Hence  the  6fl/'»-inspections 
and  the  .s/ii/>/i<-incantations  must  be  interpreted  in  the  light  of  a  higher 
belief,  in  which  they  become  the  expressions  of  a  divine  power  acting 
through  the  kabittu,  the  soul  or  "liver"  of  the  animal,  which  for  the  time 
was  identified  with  the  soul  of  the  deity.  Such  a  practice,  however  repre- 
hensible, led  to  the  study  of  the  science  of  medicine.  Moreover  in  the 
shiptu-ritua]  for  the  expulsion  of  demons  we  find  the  higher  divinities 
often  invoked : — 

"May  Anu  and  Antum  arise,  lo  disijel  the  disease! 

May  Bel,  the  Lord  of  Nippur,  arise,  lo  give  life  by  his  irrevocable  decrees! 
May  Ea,  the  Lord  of  humanity  arise,  he  who  n-ith  his  hands  made  man- 
kind". &c. 

It  is  a  long  litany  for  the  sick,  in  which  by  means  of  prayers  and  purga- 
tions, water-aspersions  and  so  on,  the  imprisoned  demon  is  let  loose,  and 
the  sufferer  restored  to  health, — surely  an  appropriate  custom.^" 

Yet  with  all  this  the  intrusion  of  demon-worship,  with  many  spiritistic 
and  occult  practices,  is  too  pronounced  a  fact  to  be  put  down  as  a  mere 
side-issue.  The  growing  importance  of  the  nature  powers,  not  simply  as 
mystery-forces,  but  as  personal  life-centers  endowed  with  ":i" — ,  "life- 
or  spirit-power" — ,  has  produced  a  hierarchy  of  strong  independent  divin- 
ities which  is  frankly  polytheistic,  the  distinction  between  god  and  demon 
being  often  difiicult  to  trace.  They  are  all  dinffir-ilu,— high  and  mighty 
personalities,  whose  kabittu  or  liver-soul  decides  the  fate  of  humanity, 
sometimes  to  their  great  misfortune.  It  is  Shamash,  the  god  of  divination, 
who  is  the  father  of  this  science,  by  which  stars  and  entrails,  bird-flights 
and  the  "evil  eye",  are  in  direct  control  of  human  life,  the  manu  or 
"ghastly  look"  being  the  chief  exponent  of  this  secret  power.  I  do  not 
venture  to  hazard  any  etymologies,  but  the  combination  shamah-manu 
is  loo  suggestive  of  "Shamanism"  as  a  doctrine  of  "fire-spirits"  to  be 
lightly  dismissed.^'  Manistic  animism,  with  occasional  phallic  develop- 
ments, was  destined  to  be  one  of  the  most  important  moulding-forces  of 
early  neolithic  region, — as  we  shall  see.  And  this  is  the  one  point  thai 
should  never  be  ignored  whenever  we  attempt  to  read  the  exact  meanings 
into  terms  which  have  long  since  changed  their  original  significations. 


-o  Surpu,  IV.  68-87.  in  Zimmern,  Beitrage  zur  Kenntniss  der  babylonischen  Religion, 
(Leipzig,  1901).  PI.  X.  (Incantation-text).  =>  Comp.  the  ritual-tablets  in  Zimmern,  loc.  cit. 
&  Shiptu-tablets,  No.  57,  1.  14.  viinulu.  (i7)  Samcs  (iniamiu.)  .Mso  Dclitzscli,  Ass\t.  Hand- 
worterbuch,  under  shainit,  maim,  etc.   (Leipzig.  1896). 


GOD  89 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  OR  NEOLITHIC  FORM 

What  then  is  the  idea  expressed  by  :i2  Does  it  stand  for  life  in  gen- 
eral, or  for  a  special  form  or  manifestation  of  life,  the  disembodied  spirit, 
the  soul-double?    Hieroglyphically  :i  is  expressed  by  the  flowering  stalk, 

Assyr.  ^J^Im  i  and  is  generally  translated  "life",  Assy- 
rian nisu."  It  occurs  very  early,  being  found  in  the  inscriptions  of  Ean- 
natum  and  Gudea  between  two  and  three  thousand  B.  C.='  Here  it  is  appar- 
ently used  as  an  abstract,  the  "Life"  of  Ea  {zi  dingir  Ea)  being  interpreted 
by  the  parallel  en-zd,  the  equivalent  of  en-ti, — "Lord  of  Life" — ,  and  by 
such  combinations  as  :i-kum  or  zd-kura,  which  as  the  "Life  of  Heaven  and 
Earth"  became  the  standard  formula  for  the  expulsion  of  demons.  Thus 
a  well-known  siptu-labM,  which  begins  with  an  invocation  to  the  Ocean- 
god,  ends  with  an  incantation  to  the  heaven  and  earth : — "0  Life  of  Heaven, 
maijest  thou  conjure  it!  0  Life  of  earth,  mayest  thou  conjure  it!" — in 
which  zi  appears  to  have  no  other  meaning  than  that  of  life  in  general, 
as  it  is  not  applied  to  the  tigillu,  or  iiealing  herb,  which  cures  the  patient 
on  such  occasions.'-*  But  even  admitting  that  zi  was  originally  the  flower- 
ing reed,  as  suggested  by  the  ideogram,  there  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  it 
was  a  disembodied  spirit,  much  less  a  demon,  as  the  latter  are  known  as 
lilu,  lilitu  (airy  ones),  alu,  yalu,  shedu,  utukku  (great  ones),  ekimmu, 
akkhasu  (capturers),  laba^u,  labartu,  (tormentors,  destro-yers),  but  never 
to  my  knowledge  described  as  zi,  which  was  evidently  the  Sumerian 
symbol  for  the  gesh-tin,  or  "Tree  of  Life",  the  shammii  balati  of  the  Baby- 
lonians,— the  source  of  immortality,  (    y\f    K-rf^T"   =ti).-' 


^^ 


Again,  the  Assyrian  transcriptions  show  with  considerable  clearness 
that  the  Semitic  invaders  understood  the  expression  in  a  similar  sense,  the 
nis  Hani,  being  the  "Life  of  the  gods",  used  in  all  conjuration-formulas. 
Thus  nis  same  lu-u  ta-mat,  tiiS  irsiti  lu-u  ta-mat,  (general  form),  or  more 
specifically,  ni-is  Asur  beli-iarabi  .  .  .  sum-ma  ina  libbi  sabe  annuti  nam 
simtu  la  usahru, — "By  Ashur,  great  god !  ...  To  think  that  I  should  have 
dug  this  canal!"  Delitzsch  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  nisu  stands  for  exist- 
ence, essence,  or  personality,  "a  word  of  very  broad  signification",  though 
he  admits  its  application  to  spirits  or  demons  in  some  instances.-"  If  then 
the  Semitic  transcribers  read  such  a  lofty  and  refined  meaning  into  the 
term,  and  there  is  no  clear  proof  that  it  was  used  for  lilu  or  wandering 
spirits,  is  it  too  much  to  say  that  zi  stands  for  life-  or  spirit-power  in  gen- 
eral, even  though  it  might  also  be  taken  for  "spirits"? 


"Barton,  Babylonian  Writing,  (Leipzig-Baltimore,  1913),  PI.  23,  No.  91.  "  Sarzec, 
Decouvertes  en  Chaldee,  PI.  3,  A,  1,  11.  Cun.  Texts.  IX.  1.  1,  6.  Comp.  Price.—  The  great 
Cylinder-inscriptions  of  Gudea,  A.  1.  IS.  B.  1.  3.  9,  22.  Th.  D.  89.  -*  Rawlinson,  V.  1-58.  C.  T. 
XVII.  PI.  19.  Kol.I.  32-51.  "•Barton,  op.  cit.  PI.  18  No.  76.  -«  Delitzsch,  Assyrisches  Hand- 
worterbuch.  p.  482-483,  under  »isu. 


90  GOD 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  OR  RECENT  FORM 

Thus  the  application  of  zi  to  the  High  gods,  while  it  appears  to  be  ani- 
mistic, seems  to  reveal  a  deeper  notion  of  divinity  than  can  be  conveyed 
by  a  discarnate  form,  a  mere  phantasm.  "The  HI,  or  ghost",  says  Prof. 
Sayce,  "was  distinct  from  the  ^i.  While  the  zi  belonged  to  the  world  of 
the  living,  the  HI  belonged  to  the  world  of  the  dead".^'  .  .  .  "Unlike  the 
Hlla,  the  zi  represented  the  man  himself  in  his  personality;  if  that  person- 
ality were  destroyed,  it  also  ceased  to  exist".  It  is  true  of  course  that  on 
this  view  En-Hl  would  be  a  "Lord  of  ghosts",  but  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  earliest  picture-writing  gives  no  direct  intimation  of  a  malev- 
olent being,  but  is  vaguely  expressive  of  earth,  clouds,  air,  in  a  gen- 
eral sense,  the  identification  of  HI  with  the  demon  not  being  provable 
except  in  the  later  s/H'/>?u-ritual,  when  it  was  applied  to  the  night-spirits 
that  terrified  the  living  in  the  form  of  a  cloud.  That  ghost-hunting  was 
rampant  during  this  period  admits  of  no  doubt,  but  it  was  a  secondary 
development,  not  a  primary  one.  Though  magic  and  demonism  are 
strongly  developed  within  the  historical  period,  it  cannot  be  proved  that 
Bel  was  originally  evolved  from  the  ghost.  Rather  should  it  be  said  that 
the  zi  of  the  gods  represents  perhaps  the  first  attempt  to  define  the  nature 
of  the  supreme  Being  as  a  "Personal  Spirit",  one  who  was  more  than  a 
personal  "Father"  on  the  one  hand,  or  an  impersonal  "Mystery"  on  the 
other, — an  ethereal  Essence,  who,  though  clothed  in  the  garb  of  nature, 
was  above  all  totems,  the  life  and  animating  power  of  all  being.  If  it  is 
also  true  that  there  is  a  spiritistic  side  to  the  concept,  this  is  only  to  be 
expected  by  analogy  with  all  great  movements,  in  which  a  new  idea  is 
struggling  for  recognition,  but  is  at  once  distorted  and  applied  in  the  wrong 
direction, — the  ghost-god. 

This  represents  a  distinct  advance  upon  all  the  preceding  systems.  As 
an  offset  to  the  elaborate  fasts,  the  dreams  and  trance-visions,  by  which  the 
bonga  or  the  wakan  is  secured  as  a  personal  guardian,  union  with  the 
divine  is  once  more  obtained  by  the  more  direct  channels  of  prayer  and 
sacrifice,  though  fasts  and  penances  survive  as  a  secondary  means  for 
achieving  the  same  end.  All  culminates  in  the  "Bread  and  Water  of 
Life", — the  bloodless  immolation  oiTered  to  Ann  by  the  earliest  kings, — 
clearly  a  survival  of  the  paradisaic  or  first-fruit  libations  of  the  days  of 
man's  innocence.  After  that  the  outlook  is  gloomy.  There  is  no  clear 
vision  of  a  heavenly  Father,  but  Aralii,  the  land  of  shades,  the  abode  of 
"the  spirits  in  prison".  Yet  the  soul  has  crossed  the  rivers  of  death,  it  has 
no  more  need  of  earthly  necessities,  it  is  immortal, — it  has  arrived  at  the 
"Isles  of  the  Blessed". 


"'Sayce,  The  Religions  of  Ancient  Egypt  and   Babylonia,    (Edinburgh,   1903),  p.  280. 
«  Ihid.  p.  278. 


THE  CONTEMPORARY  AGE  OF 
WALL-PAINTINGS 

AND 

THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  ALPHABETIC  WRITING 

A  TIMELESS  CREATOR 

PYRAMID    TEXT:       PEPI    L 
SETHE,    VOL.    II.    P.    302,    SEC.    1410.      P.    663b.      P.    66  »r.      P.    664d. 

Me-SI  (MSI)PEP-t    »»EH    IN   ITFF    ATUM      EN    HEPER-Rer    PET       BH     HEVBR- 
1*£T       T-A         EM     HEPER-RCr  RENTTTr  EN  ME-Sl-T  NETeiMJ  EN     HEPEW-MT  MET 

INVOCATION 

TO  THE  NINE  PARTS  OF  THE  HEART  OF  ATUM 

'•O  MIGHTY  ENNEAD" 

PVRAillD   TEXT:    PEPI   II. 
SETHE,   VOL.   II.  P.   374.  8KC.    les.!.   X.  6G5o.   N.   66Sb.   X.  «6.1i-. 


HA  VESEUCX  CAT     l-Ml-T  I  -  UN    ATurw      «HU  TCPNVJT 

oeB     NUT  osiF<.is  ISIS      se-r    NePHTYS  mesu  ATUM^peD-iBET  ehmesup 


HIEKOtil.YPIIlC:  ORIGIXAI,  IN  K.  SETHE,  DIE  A1.TAGVPTI8CHEN  PYRAin- 
DENTE.XTE  N.4CH  DEN  P.VPIERABDRICKEX  IXD  PIIOTOC.B.VPHIEN  DES  BER- 
LINER MISEIMS.  XEi:  HEBAl  SGEGEBEN  IXD  ERI.AITERT  (LEIPZIG,  1008- 
l»tU).  VOL.  U  PP.  302  AND  314.  TRANSLITEBATIOX  AND  TRVNSLATION  BY 
PROF.  <i.  S.  Dl'NrAN.  OF  .IOHN8  HOPKINS  TXIVERSITY,  BALTIMORE.  TO  APPEAR 
IN  HIS  FORTHCOMING  WORK,  "THE  PYR.\BIID  TEXTS,  CRITICALLY  TRANSLATED 
AND  ANNOTATED".  (BALTIMORE,  1818),  AND  CO.^IPARE  P.  VIREY,  LA  RELIGION 
PK   L'AXCIENNE   EGYPTE,    (P.VRIS,    1010).   P.   6--,. 


GOD  91 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  REGENT  FORM 
(N,  2)   OSIRIS— ISIS— HORUS— Egyptian  Nome-Triad 
We  are  told  by  Prof.  Maspero  that  the  earliest  Egyptian  monuments 
that  we  possess,  those  of  the  III.  and  IV.  dynasties,  side  by  side  with  certain 
divine  persons,  frequently  mention  God,  the  one  God— Dieu,  le  dieu  un, 
le  dieu  unique.    These  startling  words  are  based  upon  the  disclosures  of 
certain  pyramid  texts  in  which  men  and  gods  are  pictured  as  the  result 
of  a  single  divine  action.'    But  the  first  strong  reference  to  the  monothe- 
istic concept  is  found  in  the  pyramid  of  King  Pepi  I.,  about  2500  B.  C. 
"This  King  Pepi  was  born  by  his  father  Atum,  before  the  sky    . 
was   created,   before   the   earth    was   created,   before   mankind 
was  created,  before  the  gods  were  created,  before  death  had  been 
made."' 

From  the  use  of  the  passive  voice  and  the  instrumental  -by"  in  this 
passage,  it  is  argued  that  a  single  personal  Creator  is  here  intended,  and 
that  the  appearance  of  the  same  hieroglyph  in  remote  antiquity,  Atum, 
Atem,  Turn,  tends  to  show  that  this  or  a  very  similar  figure  was  looked 
upon  as  the  maker  or  modeller  of  all.  This  divinity  is  always  depicted  in 
human  form,  he  is  sexless  and  wifeless,  and  he  is  described  in  the  Book 
of  the  Dead  as  the  "Creator  of  the  heavens,  the  Maker  of  all  existence,  who 
has  begotten  all  there  is.  who  gave  birth  to  all  the  gods,  who  created  him- 
self, the  Lord  of  life,  who  bestows  upon  the  gods  the  strength  of  youth".' 
At  last  equally  old  is  the  designation  Ra  or  Re  for  the  material  sun,  from 
which  the  combinations  arose — Atmn-Ra,  Horus-Ra,  Osiris-Ra,  Amon-Ra, 
etc.— and  soon  the  triads  began  to  appear,  among  which  Tum-Shu-Tefnut 
furnishes  probably  the  model  for  the  great  Egyptian  "trinity."  Osiris-Isis- 
fiorus,  the  famous  Nome-Triad. 

But  it  is  the  great  Ennead  of  Heliopolis  that  can  alone  interpret  this 
figure.    Here  we  find  a  generation  of  gods  in  the  following  order: 

12         345         6789 
Atum-Shu-Tefnut-Geb-Nut-Osiris-Isis-Set-Nephtys,  indicating 
Father-Air-Dew-Earth-Sky-Light-Land-Deep-Mistress. 

These  are  the  nine  parts  of  the  heart  of  Atum,  and  are  thus  invoked:— 
"O  mighty  Ennead  of  gods  which  is  at  Heliopolis,  Atum-Shu- 
Tefnut-Geb-Nut-Osiris-Isis-Set-Nephtys,  children  of  Atum,  whose 
heart  spreads  out  to  them!"  * 

This  is  as  clear  evidence  as  can  be  desired  that  although  Aiwn-Ra  is  a 
first  and  apparently  unique  divinity,  the  remaining  eight  parts  of  his 
"heart"  are  at  least  equally  essential,  and  the  position  of  the  national 
Osiris-  triad,  with  the  orginial  Set,  is  here  plainly  indicated. 


1  Evidence  in  Virey,  La  Religion  de  I'ancienne  Egypte,  (Paris,  1910),  p.  1-5. 
2  K.  Sethe,  Die  altagyptischen  Pyramidentexte  (Leipzig,  1910),  Vol.  IL,  p.  302.  Trans- 
lations by  Prof.  George  S.  Duncan,  of  Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore,  and 
Virey,  1,  c.  p.  6.  Heperet  lit.,  "came  into  being."  ^  Erman.  Agyptische  Religion 
(BjErlin,  1909),  p.  10  ff.  Book  of  .the  Dead,  LXX'IX,  i.  Virey,  1.  c.  p.  136.  ••  Sethe, 
Vol.  II,  p.  374.    Cornp.  Erman.  1".  c.  p.  44.  73ff.    Virey.  1.  c.  p.  7,  J46ff. 


92  GOD 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  RECENT  FORM 

Are  we  then  to  infer  that  the  different  "gods"  of  the  Egj'ptian  pantheon 
are  distinct  divinities  or  difTerent  aspects  of  one  and  the  same  divinity? 
This  will  depend  on  the  interpretation  of  the  "Holy  Nine",  and  their  rela- 
tion to  the  later  triads,  whether  of  Memphis  or  Thebes.  The  designation 
of  Tum-Ra  as  the  "All-Sun",  the  "great  god  Pan",  revealing  himself  in 
the  Ennead  through  increasingly  higher  forms,  the  whole  culminating  in 
OsiriS'IsiS'Horus  as  in  the  most  vivid  manifestation  of  the  divine,  is  one 
that  suggests  a  monotheistic  interpretation,  more  especially  as  the  sup- 
posed Sun-god  is  not  a  blind  nature-force,  but  a  creating  and  life-giving 
Personality,  apparently  timeless  and  eternal,  and  one  who  transmits  these 
attributes  to  his  apparent  "successors"  in  undiminished  brightness.  They 
are  all  Creators,  whether  as  Chnum-Ra  or  Shu-Ra, — modelling  the  egg 
which  conceals  the  light  and  the  germ  of  the  future  world  (a  direct 
moulder  of  man  after  the  analogy  of  the  potter's  wheel),'"  or  as  the  great 
Amon-Ra,  who  as  the  "concealed"  Sun  inherits  the  fulness  of  the  divine 
majesty  under  the  later  dynasty  of  Thebes."  In  every  case  the  similarity 
if  not  the  identity  of  attributes  points  to  an  underlying  unity  of  essence, 
of  which  the  difTerent  nome-gods  are  but  varying  expressions. 

This  is  a  plausible  argument,  but  cannot  be  allowed  to  stand  as  it  does 
without  considerable  qualification.  In  the  first  place  we  have  the  mys- 
terious Nun  at  the  beginning  of  the  series,  out  of  which,  as  out  of  the 
chaotic  deep,  there  arises  the  "World-Egg,"  and  from  this  again  the  Sun- 
light, Ra,  who  then  becomes  the  Father  of  all  existence,  etc.'-  This  has  the 
suspicious  ring  of  a  theogony,  of  a  rise  of  divinities  out  of  lower  powers, 
even  if  Nun  himself  be  personified  and  endowed  with  all  the  divine  pre- 
rogatives of  his  children, — wisdom,  power,  providence,  and  the  rest.  It  is 
possible  of  course  that  Nunu  is  an  interpolation,  (Bab.  Mummu),  but  even 
so,  it  shows  that  we  may  have  to  go  beyond  Tum-Ra  to  the  still  more 
archaic  Nunu  or  Water-chaos  as  the  Father  of  the  Light-god.  How  far  is 
this  genealogy  still  to  be  carried?  But  if  a  generation  of  gods  be  ruled  out 
as  unproven,  and  the  Holy  Nine  be  looked  upon  as  nine  aspects  or  revela- 
tions of  the  "All-Sun-God",  there  is  still  the  practical  difficulty,  that  this 
idea  of  transcendence  has  been  largely  lost  sight  of.  The  entire  theologj'  of 
the  Nile  reveals  a  series  of  independent  divinities,  who  however  unified  in 
the  abstract,  are  to  all  intents  and  purposes  separate  divinities.  This  belief 
is  neither  pantheistic  nor  monotheistic,  but  rather  polytheistic,  with  a 
strong  monotheistic  background, — a  phase  of  belief  analogous  to  thai  of 
ancient  Mesopotamia.  To  this  conclusion  most  of  our  authors  seem  to 
give  their  assent,  the  term  'Henotheism'  expressing  most  probably  its  rather 
complex  manifestation." 


'"Brugsch,  op.  cit.  p.  S02ff.  "Idem,  p.  22,  148.  '=  Idem,  p.  101.  '' Estimates  on  this 
question  in  Brugsch,  1.  c.  p.  90-99.  Sayce,  op.  cjt.  p.  127-152.  H.  Hy\ern3t,  Article  "Egypt" 
(Cath.  Encyl.  Vol.  V.  p.  J29ff.). 


GOD  93 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  REGENT  FORM 

Now  the  transfer  of  divine  attributes  from  one  personality  to  another 
is  one  of  the  commonest  features  of  Egyptian  religion.  If  such  a  transfer 
be  regarded  as  an  equivalence,  a  sign  that  one  divinity  is  tantamount  to 
another,  merely  a  wider  or  more  concrete  expression  of  what  has  been 
known  and  believed  before,  then  the  expression  Osiris  as  the  equivalent  of 
Tum-Ra  may  be  looked  upon  as  nothing  but  a  nominal  variation  of  the 
latter,  both  appellations  being  equally  ancient  and  designating  one  and  the 
same  Light-god  conceived  under  different  forms.  The  monumental  evi- 
dence tends  to  bear  this  out.    Osiris  is  both  lexically  and  ideographically 

the  "many-eyed",  the  "all-seeing  one",  symbolised  by  "^^^^  Hie  rising 

and  setting  sun,  and  this  is  precisely  the  symbol  of  Tum-Ra  in  all  astrologi- 
cal combinations.'  There  is  in  fact  good  reason  for  believing  that  Ra, 
Horus,  Turn,  and  Osiris,  are  but  four  designations  for  the  four  successive 
positions  of  the  sun,  hence  for  the  four  points  of  the  compass,  and  sec- 
ondarily for  the  four  seasons.  This  is  suggested  by  the  following  combi- 
nations, in  which  the  four  divinities  are  clearly  the  manifestations  of  a 
single  fla-power,  shedding  his  benevolent  rays  at  difTerent  angles  over 
his,  the  mother-earth.  If  Tum-Ra  be  taken  as 
the  "All-Sun",  the  sun  in  general,  then  Horus 
represents  the  sun  at  the  zenith,  the  midday-  or 
the  summer-sun,  while  Osiris  is  the  midnight 
or  winter-sun,  and  Isis  is  the  passive  generative 
principle,  the  earth,  the  symbol  of  fruitfulness, 
of  vegetation,  of  the  corn.'  This  symbolism  is 
not  without  its  deep  inner  meaning.  It  tends 
to  show  that  all  these  solar  deities  are  different 
aspects  of  the  All-Sun,  and  form  as  it  were  an 
essential  unity,  being  differentiated  only  by 
relative  position,  brightness,  and  power  of  influencing  the  earth,.  The 
analogj'  with  Babylon  is  apparent.  For  if  Anu-Bel-Ea  stands  for  Heaven, 
Earth,  and  Underworld,  the  original  Egyptian  triad,  Osiris-Isis-Set, 
admits  of  a  similar  interpretation.  But  in  the  conflict  between  light 
and  darkness,  (Osiris-Set),  and  the  murder  of  Osiris,  his  son  HoiMs 
becomes  the  King  of  Heaven  (Midday  Sun),  while  Osiris  takes  the  place  of 
Set  in  the  Underworld,  the  Typhon-god  having  been  slain  by  Horus  to 
avenge  his  father's  death.  In  this  manner  the  triad  has  become  inverted, 
Osiris  is  the  king  of  shades,  while  Horus  is  the  Sky-Lord.  Thus  the  so- 
called  Egyptian  "trinity"  is  to  some  extent  accounted  for.' 


'  Cp.  Erman,  op.  cit.  p.  10,  IS,  34.  '  This  is  an  original  sketch,  founded  partly  on  the  data 
of  Brugsch,  Religion  u.  Mythologie  der  alten  Agypter,  p.  231  ff.  *For  Osiris-legend,  Brugsch, 
1.  c.  p.  611ff.  Erman,  1.  c.  p.  42ff.  Virey,  1.  c  p.  149ff.  Comp.  also  J.  H.  Breasted,  Devel- 
opment of  Religion  and  Thought  in  ancient  Egypt  (N.  Y.  1912).  pp.  8-12,  18-48,  a  valuable 
summary. 


94  GOD 

WESTERN- ASIATIC  AND  RECENT  FORM 

But  is  not  Osiiis  identified  with  the  sacred  bull,  Os ins-Apis,  (Serapis)  ? 
Is  he  not  a  dying  and  murdered  god,  a  mere  mummy,  incapable  of  satis- 
fying even  the  most  elementary  definitions  of  deify?  The  strong  animal- 
worship  of  ancient  Egypt  is  a  glaring  fact  that  cannot  be  explained  away 
any  arbitrary  theory  of  symbolism.  The  ox,  the  crocodile,  and  the  serpent, 
are  unquestionably  the  objects  of  a  cult  even  in  the  earliest  times.  But 
the  important  point  to  consider  is  this:  The  lingering  vestiges  of  totemic 
ideas  are  only  to  be  expected  in  this  region,  but  of  the  institution  of  totem- 
ism  itself  there  is  so  far  no  direct  evidence.  Men  are  not  descended  from 
animals,  there  is  no  exogamy  but  rather  endogamy  in  the  clan,  and  of 
fasting  and  taboo  the  monuraenis  are  equally  silent.'"  The  incarnation  of 
the  divinity  in  the  form  of  a  bull  or  a  beetle,  of  Horus  in  the  form  of  the 
hawk,  of  Isis  in  that  of  the  sacred  Corn,  is  one  which  leaves  the  person- 
ality of  these  deities  unscathed,  they  are  still  transcendent,  they  speak  to  us 
in  the  language  of  superhuman  demigods.  This  is  evident  from  the  Osiris- 
legend  alone,  in  which  the  triad  speaks  and  acts  as  Father,  Mother,  and 
Child,  whatever  be  the  outward  form  in  which  they  appear.  That  this 
legend  may  be  very  ancient  in  Egypt  is  revealed  by  the  neolithic  graves, 
where  the  custom  of  dismembering  the  corpse  and  then  burying  the  frag- 
ments with  trinkets  and  food-stuffs  "for  the  journey"  recalls  the  dismem- 
berment of  the  body  of  Osiris  and  its  re-union  in  the  form  of  a  mummy, 
the  feeding  of  the  corpse  being  paralleled  by  the  feeding  of  Osiris  with  the 
Corn-fruit  libations  of  Egypt, — one  of  the  earliest  and  best  authenticated 
examples  of  Egyptian  sacrifice." 

But  the  nature  of  Osiris  is  more  clearly  revealed  by  the  Ka-Ba-Khu, — 
the  body,  soul,  and  spirit-"double",  which  like  the  Sumerian  zi,  {HI),  and 
the  Semitic  kabittu  (liver),  describes  the  invisible,  the  spiritual  part  of 
man, — his  ghost  or  "luminous  spirit".  For  whatever  be  the  fate  of  the  Ka, 
the  A'?/-spirit  of  man  follows  Osiris  through  the  limbo  of  darkness,  and 
rises  with  him  to  the  Paradise  of  Alu,  there  to  be  judged  by  him  and  his 
forty-two  assessors.  "Praise  be  to  Thee,  Osii-is,  Lord  of  the  twofold  Truth! 
Praise  to  Thee,  great  God,  Lord  of  the  twofold  Truth!  I  come  to  Thee,  my 
Lord,  I  draw  near  to  see  thine  excellences!"  .  .  .  such  was  the  greeting  of 
the  soul  to  the  Great  Ka-Ho-Tep,  the  "Shining  Spirit".  The  repudiation 
of  every  form  of  sin  on  the  part  of  the  penitent  proves  that  Osiris  is  a 
lover  of  charity,  chastity,  and  self-sacrifice.  "/  am  pure!  I  am  pure!"— 
such  was  his  repeated  exclamation.*- 


">See  J  Capart.  in  Compte  Rendu  of  the  Louvain  Congress,  (Paris,  1913)  p.  274ff. 
»'DeU  Saussaye,  Lehrbuch  der  Religionsgeschichte,  (1905),  I.  pp.  214-240.  >- Comp.  Saycc. 
op.  cit.  p.  46-70.  153-180.  Maspero.  op.  cit.  I.  p.  I66flf. 


GOD  95 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  RECENT  FORM 

It  is  evident  tliat  tlie  character  of  Egyptian  religion  cannot  be  appre- 
ciated witliout  taking  into  consideration  tlie  meaning  and  function  of  the 
Ka,—\he  philosophy  of  the  "double".  That  it  embodies  an  immaterial 
concept  seems  certain,  it  is  an  abstract  for  "life'\  yet  as  the  double  of  the 
body  it  is  subject  to  limitations,  nay  it  is  in  need  of  food  and  sustenance, 
and  as  such  it  partakes  of  a  material  nature,  it  is  but  a  rarified  body,  a 
"ghost".  This  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  Ka  of  a  dead  man  can  only 
communicate  with  his  entombed  mummy  by  means  of  a  pictured  door, 
through  which  the  Ka  passes  in  entering  the  iomb.  It  is  living  in  a  world 
of  shams  and  pictures,  and  these  for  if  are  as  good  as  the  reality.  Never- 
theless real  food-stuffs  are  offered  to  the  Ka,  and  in  this  it  is  distinguished 
from  the  Khu  or  pure  -'light-soul"  which  has  got  beyond  the  stage  of 
earthly  necessities.^'  This  is  illustrated  by  the  following  address  which 
the  dead  man  makes  to  his  Ka  on  the  day  of  resurrection : 

"Hail  to  thee,  who  wast  my  Ka  during  life !  Behold  I  come  to  thee,  I 
arise  resplendent,  I  labor,  I  am  strong,  I  am  hale.  I  bring  grains  of  incense, 
I  am  purified  thereby,  and  I  thereby  purify  that  which  goeth  forth  from 
thee  ...  I  am  that  amulet  of  green  feldspar,  the  necklace  of  the  god  Ra, 
which  is  given  to  them  that  are  on  the  horizon.  They  flourish,  I  flourish, 
my  Ka  flourishes  even  as  they.  The  scale  of  the  balance  rises.  Truth  rises' 
high  unto  the  nose  of  the  god  Ra  on  the  day  on  which  my  Ka  is  where  I  am. 
My  head  and  my  arm  are  restored  to  me  where  I  am.  I  am  he  whose  eye 
seeth,  whose  ears  hear.  I  am  not  a  beast  of  sacrifice.  TiTe  sacrificial 
formulae  for  the  higher  ones  in  heaven  are  recited  where  I  am"." 

Now  it  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  the  Egyptian  sign  for  the  Ka  ^      H^ 
corresponds   to   some  extent   with   the    Babylonian  ideogram    for   "life" 
^^,        (Sum,  zi,  Ideogr.      %^^        ) ,  not  so  much  in  their  external 

form,  as  in  the  context  in  which  they  are  found.>=  In  both  cases  we  are 
dealing  with  a  flowering  reed,  whether  single  or  double,  which  is  clearly 
symbolical  of  a  disembodied  form,  as  there  is  a  sharp  distinction  between 
the  Ka  or  zi  of  a  god  and  the  god  himself.  This  affects  such  forms  as  En- 
zi,  (En-ti),  En-til,  zi-an-ki,  zi-kum,  zi-kiira,  etc.,  the  zi  of  Eridu  being  the 
HI  of  Nippur,  and  both  the  equivalent  of  the  Assyr.  niSu,  the  niS  ilani  being 
the  "life"  or  spirit"  of  the  gods,  paralleled  by  the  Eyptian  ka-chepra,  ka- 
Turn,  ka-Ra,  ka-Hotep,  Osiris-ka,  the  life-double,  the  picture,  or  the  simil- 
itude of  the  divine.'" 


"A.  H.  Sayce,  The  Religions  of  ancient  Egypt  and  Babylonia,  (Edinburgh,  1903)  p.  56-70. 
"Book  of  the  Dead,  ch.  105.  Sayce,  1.  c.  p.  55.  »»  Sayce,  1.  c.  p.  58,  276ff.  Barton,  Baby- 
lonian Writing,  23,  No.  91.  Delitrsch,  Assyrisches  Handworterbuch,  under  nisu.  '*  Cun. 
Texts,  IX,  1.  6.  Erman,  p.  102.  Brugsch,  op.  cit.  p.  420,  306.    Virey,  1.  c.  p.  231flf. 


96  GOD 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  REGENT  FORM 

But  Ka  is  not  the  highest  expression  of  the  divine  nature.  There  is  ba, 
the  less  material  soul,  and  above  all  things,  khu,  the  completely  emanci- 
pated spirit,  the  "spark"  of  the  divine  intelligence,  symbolised  by  the  Phoe- 
nix, the  mythical  fire-bird.  This  expression  is  the  most  subtle  that  can  well 
be  conceived  for  conveying  the  notion  of  rarified  light  as  the  most  appro- 
priate picture  of  what  is  essentially  spiritual,  of  its  nature  immortal  and 
godlike.  The  four  Khu  of  Horus,  the  Sun,  are  the  four  major  stars  of  the 
Great  Bear,  and  they  became  the  "Manes"  or  Guardian-spirits  of  Manetho, 
the  semi-divine  dynasty  which  intervened  between  the  dynasties  of  gods 
and  men."  Their  Babylonian  equivalent  was  the  zi  of  the  gods,  the  zi  of 
heaven  and  earth,  the  zi  of  all  things,  the  invisible  life-power  concealed  in 
all  being.  It  was  essentially  personal,  even  if  it  worked  through  inanimate 
objects.^' 

This  sublime  and  apparently  advanced  concept  could  only  be  kept  pure, 
however,  in  so  far  as  it  was  separated  from  the  lower  Ka,  the  needy  or 
carnal  double,  which  as  the  HI  or  hobgoblin  of  the  Euphrates,  wandered 
about  from  tomb  to  tomb,  seeking  rest  and  finding  none.  But  this  was  only 
partially  to  be  the  case.  The  confusion  of  Ka  and  Khu,  of  hungry  ghost  and 
heavenly  spirit,  was  often  such  that  the  whole  system  degenerated  into  a 
demon-worship  with  the  most  baneful  moral  consequences  to  the  race. 
"The  double  did  not  allow  its  family  to  forget  it,  but  used  all  the  means  at 
its  disposal  to  remind  them  of  its  existence.  It  entered  their  homes  and 
their  bodies,  terrified  them,  waking  and  sleeping,  by  its  sudden  apparitions, 
struck  them  down  with  disease  and  madness,  and  would  even  suck  their 
blood  like  the  modern  vampire".''  Phallic  symbols,  both  in  Egypt  and 
Babylonia,  testify  to  the  preverted  nature  of  this  influence.  It  is  even  on 
record  that  Turn  begat  Shu  and  Tefnut  by  means  of  a  solitary  act, — surely 
the  limit  of  a  distorted  notion, — even  if  it  be  looked  upon  as  aberrant 
phenomenon,  an  isolated  case.=="  Throughout  the  attribution  of  personal 
spiritual  powers  even  to  lifeless  objects  of  whatever  kind,  while  it  broad- 
ened the  sphere  of  divine  action  in  its  better  manifestations,  entailed  a  cor- 
respondingly dangerous  tendency,  whenever  the  A'rt-worship  took  exclusive 
possession  of  the  field. 

We  are  here  in  presence  of  what  is  commonly  called  "animism", — belief 

.  in  a  spiritual  power  emanating  from  countless  life-centers.    "As  in  Eg>-pt, 

so  in  Babylonia,  animism  was  the  earliest  shape  assumed  by  religion,  and 

it  was  through  animism  that  the  Sumerian  formed  his  conception  of  the 

divine"." 


"  Sayce  op  cit  p.  61.  '« Idem,  p.  58.  >»  Maspero,  Dawn  of  Civilisation,  p.  114. 
20  Brugsch,' op.  cit.  p.  423,  founded  on  Pyr.  Text.  Unas,  467fT.  (Maspero).  For  similar 
stories  of  Horus,  etc.,  see  idem,  p.  309,  407.    "  Sayce,  op.  cit.  276. 


GOD  97 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  REGENT  FORM 

(N,3)  ASHUR-ISHTAR-ADAD— (Assyrian  Triad) 

"As  far  back  as  we  can  trace  the  history  of  Semitic  religion,  whether  in 
Babylonia,  Canaan,  or  Arabia,  its  fundamental  conception  is  always  the 
same,  the  gods  are  human,  and  men  are  divine".'  These  words  are  meant 
to  imply  that  divinity  is  always  personal,  that  humanity  has  been  elevated 
to  a  likeness  with  the  divine.  Whether  this  can  be  proved  by  evidence 
that  is  strictly  suasive,  remains  to  be  seen.  Certain  it  is,  that  by  contrast 
with  Egypt,  India,  and  early  Greece,  Semitic  religion  shows  comparatively 
few  traces  of  animal-worship,  though  animal  or  astral  symbolism  has 
rarely,  if  ever,  been  rejected.  This  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  Ashur,  the 
High  God  of  the  Assyrian  pantheon,  though  distinctly  human,  military, 
and  aggressive,  is  symbolised  by  the  winged  orb  of  heaven,  that  Ishtar  is 
the  morning  or  evening  star,  (Venus),  that  Adad  is  the  lightning-flash,  that 
the  Cherubim  are  winged  figures  with  the  heads  of  eagles.  But,  even 
admitting  that  these  divinities  are  garbed  in  the  nature-symbolism  of  the 
totem-age,  the  point  is  that  they  are  each  independent,  self-directing  per- 
sonalities, revealing  themselves  in  nature,  yet  not  identified  with  her.  Thus 
Ashur,  though  of  solar  form,  is  the  great  god  of  battles,  he  is  sexless  and 
childless,  and  though  he  produces  all  things,  he  is  not  linked  with  inferior 
divinities,  he  admits  of  no  rivals,  he  is  unique,  personal,  supreme.' 

Combinations  With  Ilu — Ayil — El 

It  will  be  diflicult  to  prove  that  the  Semitic-Babylonian  Ilu,  (goal, 
apex  meeting-point?),  was  ever  used  as  more  than  an  appellative,  that  is, 
for  divinity  in  general,  (Lat.  numen).  Only  among  the  Aramaeans  and 
Phoenicians  can  the  forms  El  and  Hut  be  certified  as  proper  names  for 
individual  deities.  Nevertheless  an  absolute  Ilu  cannot  be  excluded,  and 
is  indeed  quite  probable  in  view  of  the  similar  use  of  Anu  in  Sumerian 
antiquity.  In  any  case  Ilu  occupies  the  same  place  on  the  Euphrates  that 
Ra  occupies  on  the  Nile,  and  divine  combinations  are  at  least  equally  fre- 
quent. Thus  we  have  Ilu-suma,  sangu-Ilu-Asir,  "Servant  of  God,  High- 
Priest  of  Ashur",  one  of  the  earliest  authenticated  rulers,  (ca.  2300  B.  G.),' 
Sumula-Ilu,  Iluma-Ilu,  early  Babylonian  kings,  another  Ilu-Suma,  Sangu- 
llut-Utar,  builder  of  the  temple  of  Ishtar,  etc.,  not  to  speak  of  the  later 
Aramaic  combinations  with  El,  now  well  known.  The  antiquity  of  Ashur- 
Ilu  as  a  person  is  thus  supported  by  good  monumental  evidence,  but  how 
far  these  early  Semitic  ideas  extend  into  the  prehistoric  past,  it  is  impossible 
for  the  existing  records  to  determine. 


1  Sayce,  op.  cit.  p.  3S1.  ^  idem,  p.  366-372.  ^  See  L.  Pinches,  The  Cappadocian  Tablets 
of  Liverpool,  in  Annals  of  Archaeol.  &  Anthropology  (Liverpool,  19(»),  Vol.  L  p.  49ff.  for 
early  Assyrian  inscriptions  in  Cappadocia  (ca.  30(K),  B.  C). 


98  GOD 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  RECENT  FORM 

'i'lit'  fleveloprncnt  of  Aslnir-woi'sliip  can  be  tniced  in  outline  rrom  the 
above  remote  period  tliroiigli  tlio  times  of  Tiplatli-Pileser  down  lo  the  age 
i.f  Sai-gon  find  S;  iinacliefib.  From  the  fact  tliat  tlie  earliest  temple  at 
Ashur  was  dedicated  to  A)iu  and  Adad  about  2400  B.  C.*,  and  not  to  the 
national  god  wliose  temple  dates  from  the  time  oi  Samsi-Adad,  (ca.  1800),= 
it  has  been  inferred  that  the  Ashur-cult  was  originally  imageless,  which  is 
indeed  quite  probable,  though  of  little  importance.  Tiglath-Pileser  T. 
(1100),  places  Islitar  side  by  side  with  Anu-Adad,  with  whom  Ashtir  is 
also  invoked,  and  from  that  time  the  Assyrian  triad  became  more  and  more 
prominent,  until  by  the  time  of  Sargon.  we  find  the  following  concatena- 
tion:— " 

"To  Shamash,  who  grants  the  victory,  (Names    inscribed    on    the 

To  Adad,  who  gives  the  overflow,  Eastern  gale  of  the  palace) 

To  Bel,  who  lays  the  foundation  of  my  city,  (On    the    Northern    gate 

To  Belit,  who  gives  fertility  to  the  land,  of  the  palace) 

To  Anu,  who  completes  the  work  of  our  hands.      (On    the    Western    gate 
To  Ishtar,  who  brings  thrift  to  the  people,  of  the  palace) 

To  Ea,  who  conducts  the  waters,  (On    the    Southern    gate 

To  Belit  ilani,  who  multiplies  the  posterity,         of  the  palace) 
To  Ashur,  who  gives  years  to  the  king  (On  the  inner  wall 

and  protection  to  his  troops,  of  the  palace) 

To  Ninib,  who  founds  the  city  for  eternity. ""  (On  the  outer  wall). 

Now  the  fact  that  Ashur  occupies  the  inner  wall  of  the  palace,  while 
Ishtar  stands  at  the  Western,  and  Adad  at  the  Eastern  gate,  seems  to  show 
that  preferential  positions  are  assigned  to  the  distinctively  Assyrian 
divinities,  the  Northern  and  Southern  gates  being  inscribed  with  the  com- 
mon Assyrio-Babylonian  names, — [let,  Ea,  Belit, — though  Shamash  is 
coupled  with  Adad,  and  Ami  with  Ishtar,  precisely  because  these  are  the 
oldest  and  best  known  divinities  of  the  entire  Mesopotamian  plains.' 

We  arc  thus  brouglit  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Assyrian  pantheon  is  so 
closely  interlaced  with  tliat  of  Babylonia,  that  for  all  practical  purposes 
tliey  form  a  imit.  Hence  the  religion  of  the  Northern  kingdom  may  be 
safely  interpreted  by  that  of  the  Southern  in  its  more  advanced  form,  the 
.\ssyrian  belief  being  revealed  by  ttie  Semitic-Babylonian.  (See  under 
N,  1).  If  however  we  would  trace  the  development  of  ilu  in  its  highest 
form,  we  must  turn  to  the  land  of  the  Hebrews,  where  we  find  the  early 
Semitic  ideas  of  God  represented  in  their  greatest  purity. 


♦Andrae.  Dcr  Anu-Adad  Tempel.  (Leipzig,  1909).    »  Rawlinson,  I.  6,  No.  1.    "See  M. 
Jastrow,  Rel.  Babyl.  u.  Assyr.  (Gicsseii.  1905)  Vol.  I.  p.  244ff.  for  texts  and  references. 


A  HYMN  OF  PRAISE  TO  ASHUR 

•LORD  OF  LORDS  ALL-KNOWING" 


>0 


•5 


20 


K.3258    OBv. 

euR— JUI u  e — TIU       lUAHl  nu Oil u  «.*— lA  —  "* 

MAM—'TU     i\f~'ni  —  KU(ll.V4)BEU      ILANI  MU Slkl  £) MA A    Tl 

►4  ^  1  "^  iui- M[iri=     ':^:n^»==  ^^^B 

|ILU^  AiuR      »eU)  iU«— BU U  MU —  UU  VJ  K-A l>>—  MA 

KAS— TU       so— TU— KU(lLUl  »CI.     ILAMl  MU— t'lvl  «1 MA A  _T1 

(AVBt  (ItU)    A^Un      OAH-^OAM-MU  E-TIU       ILANI         »E  -  EL     MA-TA  — A-Tl 

MIR — Bl  E  £u  TA-HIT— TaJ^U       LU-uS-TAR-WJk^AH 

A^Uli     tU— iA — »»  21  — K1R-&U  UU— Sa(». —  Bl  SuM  4u 

(A'^ilB       C HAA— ^A&-«A1.KURKUR-^^A  T*  —  MIT— XA  -  lu      LU-U* -TA  _«VA  — "" 

UU  — UT— Ta)  —  KAR  KUR — U6   St)  UUP  ■  tUt. 

C  %AR »»A  (ILU)  AiuR    MU &IM  illMATt 

(AIMA-K)J).LU-MC         AE NA— -k  — Tl  A—  MAR— ml  UO OP Tl 

T^H  — ftl»  -TU  A— HA— ie-tvre-g  AR— KU— U— T* 

*._NA        »A l\A A— Tt  UU 4aR Bl  C  — NU—  U» »U 

(&U%HklA— U  RA»-i^       UZ-MI  AB-KAk.    lUAMI  HUT TAk— tt. 

SA-MU U         fck>-<rTO)&M(l  ^A-TI  K.O  >4UR-&* •> Ml 

»A— WU U  IIAMI  MU—   AL l-tO        flWU)       tt T»^^ 

(LIWBU)        1«U  U    »CU  KA  — RA%  NtK—    VA  — A    Tl 

MUT k.ll.^-^t.U U  *A  SI KUR  -  &U  4aH  TU 

•41— '  &U  Ot-U)    A&UR  4a  Kl BIT »U  RU— KA— ^XT 

.Cl  —  MA    fc«»-»t  B  OU        UT. ^T*_A        %A  l_SlO_»A 

(Kl)- MA     %l TIR     »U-RU— UM.>v<t  OL         ITt         I  <klO  — 4|^      *- PAM -■«* 

KA RU         Zl  — KIR— lo  K<  Bf»^»— eu  M.I  NA KT 


SEE    CRAIG.    ASHYBIO-BABYLOMAN    RELIOIOIS    TEXTS.     (LEIPZIG.    IMS)     I.    33, 

ANU     TK.    MARTIN,    TEXTEN    REIJGIEIX,     (P.*IU»,     1»M)     P.     1««    iASTROW,     RK- 

I.IUION    BABYI.ONIENS    \NI»    AKSVRIENS.     (<SIK-««EN.    l»0.tl.    I.    P.    5««. 


GOD  99 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  REGENT  FORM 

But  we  cannot  leave  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  without  calling  atten- 
lion  to  the  lofty  tone,  the  almost  Palestinian  ring,  of  many  of  the  hymns  and 
prayers  addressed  to  the  two  highest  members  of  the  Assyrian  pantheon: 

1,  -Mighty  Lord  of  Lords,  all-knowing!  2,  Prince  of  the  gods!  Master 
of  Destiny!  3,  0  Ashur!  Mighty  Lord,  all-knowing!  4.  Lord  of  the  gods  and 
Master  o/  our  fate!  5.  Father  Ashur!  the  Almighty!  Lord  of  Lords,  and 
Lord  of  the  lands!  6,  /  will  praise  his  greatness,  1  ivill  make  known  his 
majesty,  7,  /  will  exalt  his  memory,  I  will  glorify  his  name!  8,  /  unll  re- 
veal the  splendor  of  him  who  dwells  in  his  holy  temple,  9,  /  will  praise 
his  power,  I  will  extol  his  virtue,--lO,  heavenly  Ashur!— Lord  of  our  fate! 
ii  Jhat  I  may  reveal  his  greatness  to  all  nations,— \2,  thai  generations  to 
come  may  hear  of  his  name— IS,  I  will  praise  his  dominion  for  ever  and 
ever— the  wise  one— 14,  Him  of  great  Understanding,  Arbiter  of  the  gods, 
15,  Creator  of  the  heavens,  Former  of  the  mountains,  16,  Source  of  all 
gods,  Father  of  Ishtar,  17.  mighty  Heart,  subtle^  Intelligence,  18,  Glorious 
one!  Whose  name  evokes  fear,  whose  ivord  travels  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
20,  His  spirit  is  like  the  mountains,  his  foundations  cannot  be  seen,  21, 
he  shines  like  the  firmament— 22,  From  all  eternity  is  Thy  Name"?  ' 

Though  the  hymn  exists  only  in  fragments  and  requires  much  inter- 
linear reading,  the  analogy  to  Psalm  29  (28)  is  obvious.    Again— 

1,  "/  pray  unto  thee.  Lady  of  Ladies,  divinest  of  all  divinities!  2,  0  Ishtar  I 
Queen  of  all  people.  Directress  of  mankind!  3.  0  Irnini!  Thou  art 
raised  on  high.  Mistress  of  the  spirits  of  heaven!  4,  Thou  art  mighty,  thou 
hast  sovereign  power!  Exalted  is  thy  name!  5,  Thou  art  the  Light  of  heaven 
and  earth,  0  valiant  daughter  of  the  Moon!  6,  ruler  of  weapons,  arbitress 
of  battles,  7,  framer  of  all  decrees,  xoearer  of  the  crown  of  dominion! 
8,  0  Lady!  Majestic  is  thy  rank!  Over  all  the  gods  is  it  exalted!— iO,  Where 
thou  lookest  in  pity,  the  dead  man  lives  again,  the  sick  is  heated.  The, 
afflicted  is  saved  from  his  affliction,  when  he  beholds  thy  face.  42,  /, 
thy  servant,  sorrowful,  sighing,  and  in  distress,  cry  unto  thee.  43,  Look 
upon  me,  0  my  Lady,  and  accept  my  supplication!  44,  Truly  pity  me  and 
hearken  unto  my  prayer!  45,  Cry  unto  me  "It  is  enough!",  and  let  thy  spirit 
be  appeased.  46,  Hoiv  long  shall  my  body  lament,  which  is  full  of  rest- 
lessness and  confusion?  47,  How  long  shall  my  heart  be  afflicted,  which  is 
full  of  sorroiv  and  sighing?"  * 


'Craig,  Assyrio-Babylonian  Religious  Texts,  Vol.  I.,  Plates  32-34  (K  3258) 
(Leipzig  1895).  Retranslation  from  Jastrow,  i.  c.  (new  germ,  edit.)  Vol  I  p  S2o' 
Lomp.  Martin,  Textes  Religieux  (Paris,  1903),  p.  126.  "King,  The  Seven  Tablets  of 
w  ^  o"  )t°"  ^  •  ■^^^'  "^°'-  !•  P-  222-237  (Transcription  and  translation),  Vol.  II 
f'-  7.S-84  (Text).  Comp.  Jastrow.  i.  c.  Vol.  II,  pp.  66-68.  Dhorme.  Choix  de  Textes 
(Pans,  1907),  p.  3s6fr. 


100  GOD 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  RECENT  FORM 

Again,  though  Adad  is  the  god  of  storms  and  represents  the  fearful, 
the  terrible  side  of  divinity, — the  idea  of  justice — .  he  is  yet  capable  of 
acts  of  mercy,  he  listens  to  the  cry  of  the  penitent, — 

"Merciful  Lord  among  the  great  gods,  I  turn  to  Thee,  I  supplicate  Thee! 
Be  merciful  unto  me,  0  Lord,  and  hear  my  prayer.    Destroy  my  enemies, 
Dispel  my  antagonists,  Let  not  the  venom  of  the  sorcerers  come  near! 

Have  compassion  on  me  and  grant  me  thy  grace! 

My  god  and  my  goddess — (patron-saints) — procure  for  me  tranquillity. 
May  thy  heart  be  pacified,  may  thy  spirit  be  softened,  grant  me  thy  peace! 
Grant  me  thy  favor,  grant  me  thy  mercy,  grant  me  thy  grace! 
Then  will  I  praise  thy  majesty,  proclaim  thy  glory,  acknowledge  thy  rule".^" 

Now  in  reproducing  these  passages  in  the  English  vernacular,  we  must 
be  careful  not  to  read  a  meaning  into  the  text  which  cannot  be  found;  we 
must  beware  of  carrying  our  own  psychology  into  an  age  in  which 
animism  and  nature-worship  existed  side  by  side  with  a  higher  vision  of 
divinity,  an  age  in  which  theory  and  practice  were  often  as  violently 
opposed  as  they  are  commonly  said  to  be  in  all  the  ages  of  man.  Thus  the 
expression  "Lord  of  Lords"  and  "God  of  Gods",  however  suggestive  of 
Jewish-Christian  ideas,  dilTers  essentially  from  the  latter  in  that  the  en-lil 
Hani  or  itu  Hani  is  the  first  among  many  deities  of  the  same  nature,  each 
of  which  is  described  in  very  similar  terms,  a  "lord  of  the  lands",  a  "father 
of  all  the  gods".  Ashur  is  simply  the  greatest  of  great  ones,  not  the  unique 
Jehovah,  the  "I  AM"  of  Israel.  In  like  manner,  the  exalted  character  of 
"Our  Lady  of  Niniveh"  should  not  blind  us  to  the  numerous  corruptions  to 
which  her  worship  was  destined  to  give  rise,  corruptions  which  were  too 
constant  and  uniform  to  be  put  down  as  mere  accidentals.  Finally, 
although  the  High  Ones  are  invoked  against  sorcery,  they  are  themselves 
the  object  of  divination,  it  is  the  kabittu  or  liver  of  the  sacrificial  animal 
that  reveals  the  heart,  mind,  or  purpose  of  the  deity. — omens  are  his  divine 
"will". 

Yet  with  all  this  the  verdict  of  the  tablets  is  decisive  on  the  subject  of  a 
lofty,  comparatively  pure  cult  of  divinity.  Phallic  signs  in  the  alphabet 
were  the  most  natural  means  for  the  differentiation  of  sex,  and  probably 
meant  no  more  than  indications  of  gender.  From  the  penitential  formulas 
it  is  quite  certain  that  iiigh  and  noble  ideals  were  in  the  air,  and  perhaps 
it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  this  early  Assyrian  faith  represents  with  the 
Iranian  the  nearest  approach  to  a  supernatural  religion." 


'"King,    Babylonian    Magic,    (London,    1896),   No.   21,   lines    61-71.    Jastrow,    I.    p.    484. 
"  Comp.  Dhorme,  La  Religion  .^ssyro-Babylonienne,  pp.  210-241    (La  Loi  morale). 


A  PRAYER  TO  ISHTAR 

"QUEEN  OF  HEAVEN- 
KNOWN  AS 
THE    PRATER    OF    THE    RAISING    OF    THE    HAND 


'K) 


45 


2.6187  OBV. 

&iTnu    u— SAL— n Ki     BB-urr  Be— ui  —  e— -n        i-u»a-    ■— ua-a-ti 

LlLU\     IR— Nl— HI  MO TA LA— A-TI  ».A— arr        (ILU)  IGI— _Q,| 

CiJ^—HA. —    A Tl  MA-  AV. KA_A T«  liu^MU— W.I  %|  — .  lt.u 

A-r XI MA      MA-AM-KA-RAT    ^Me     U     m^lTlM       MA-«»ATflLU)^lN    KA-RiT-T> 

MUT— "TAB-Bl lA  AT  KAK  KB  4a-K1-MA-AT  TU— KU  —  ON— Tl 

KA —  Ml-MAX        ai— —  Pv*in.         P&f(-SI  /^—  t>|_RA.T      A CI e       BE — lu— Tl 

(lUU)  BCIIT    SUP-PU U  KAR SU Kl  BUI         K>—  l>        lUAMI  «t— <^U 

"  WHERE  THOU  UOOKEST  IN  PITY  " 

A — SaK     tap— «»L—  la— S»  > &AL-LUT       MITU  I TE >■-»»     MAR-SU 

l$— £|—  in,  LA  I — 4a RU  A—  Ml Ru   »A— Nl W.I 

AMA-KU  Al. &I K.«  AN— HU        Su — NU —  NU  ^UM—  RU  —  SU       ADDI— Kl 

A — MUR •« N' MA  (ILUl  seen  —  I  A  Ul  X\ — 6        u>«— Ml-*tl liV 

Kl  — Nl$     NAP-H  —  ^IM-Nl—  MA         Si Ml G  TAS Ul  Tl 

A  — HU-LAP lA  Kl Bl—    MA        KA-BIT— TA —   K<  UIP PA-aS— «A 

A HU-LAP    2HMB.I— lA         MA — AS SI        Sa    MA-UU-U      E  -  Sa-A-TI    U   JJAij-HA-A-T* 

A — HU— VAP  LI6-BI  —  I A       SuM-Ru  — au    Sa  ma-uu-u      i>im-t>      o     ta— ^4\— hi 


TEXT    AND    TRANSLITERATION    BT     L.    W.    KING,    THE    SEVEN    TABLETS    OF 

CREATION,    (LONDON,   1902),   VOL.   I.   PL.   L3tXV-LXXIX,   VOL.   It   P.  232FF.  AND 

COMPARE  P.  DHORHE,  CHOCS  DE  TEXTES  RELIGIECX,   (PARIS.  1S07),  P.  35«FF. 

JASTROW,    R.   B.    A.  n.  66-68. 


THE  TRANSCENDENCE  OF  THE  GOD 
OF  ISRAEL 

AS  ILLCSTBATED  BY  THE  24TH  PSALM,   DOi  Al,   i-S.   33 

:nn  nan  >2n  n^it>Qi  r^^n  nin^>  i 

THE   BAWTH   IS  THE  LOGO'S  AKD  TMB    FULNess    THEREOF 

:  n33D'  nnn3''>vi  mo^  D*ry-i>v  ^w:>  2 

POR    He    HATH    rOUKJset>   it   UFON  THr    SEA=, 
AND   HATV*    T>RePAReD   IT     UPON   THS    RIVSRS. 

VA(0    SHAt.t.  ASCCSD    INTO    THE     MOUNTAIN   OF    THE    LOPUi. 
OR     WHO    «KAl.l.  «TANa    Ih4     VAlS     HOI.V  T^UACE-  ? 

TMC     IHKOCENT   OF   HANDS   AIH3>  THE  CV_GAN    OF    HEAKT, 
WHO    HATH   NOT  TAKEN  H»3     90UU   IH    VAIN  ,    NOR    SWORN 

©rceirruuuv  to  h\*  Ne<cHBOf»..    he  shall  receive  a  blessing 

PROM    TMG    LORO,  ANO    MERCY  FROM  GO»    HI*  SAVIOR.  . 

THIS     IS  TMC    GENERATION     OF  THEM  THAT    SEEK  HIM. 
OF  THBM  THAT    SEEK.    THC     FACE     OF  THE  00»  OF   J-ACOB. 

D>]v  ^nriD  i^\ii2m  d:^^\ii^"i  Dnv\u  i^w  t-.tt^ld 

UPT     U^      YOUR    GATe«  ',   O    ve     'RRINCeS.ANS   ■BE   VE     LirTEB   UP.YE 
■%/CRJUASnNQ     r>OOR»  ,    AKID   THE    KING    OF  GLORY  SHALL  ENTER  IN. 

riry  ttiit  io:)n  i>q  nr  *ii  s  nn:)^  "w  ^ni 

WHO   Ift  THE  RINQ  or  CLORY  ?        THC   l.OR»  STRONG  AN»  MICHTiT, 
THE  LORD    MIGHTY   IN  BATTUE. 

D>TOi  Dfi^  \w  9 :  nDn>D  icn  niiT  "imi 

urr'ui*  vouR"cA"rcar©'vB  princes,  and  bbve  urrec  up. ve 

^in  ^rs  10 :  in:)n  TO  01  Dt>iy  ^nriD  m^i 

.    SWWLASTINa  SOORS,  AND  THC  KtNC  OF  OLORV  SHAUt.  6NTCR  IM . 

WHO  l%TMe  KING  or  OtORY?  TV»C  tORB  OF  HOSTS,  WC  l»THS  K\N8  OPCIAW: 

V.    7.    B.    V.    "LIFT   I'P   YOIB   HEADS,   O   YE   GATES".    A    LITERAL   TR.VXSLATION    OF 

THE   MA880RITIC   TEXT.     "EVERLASTING    DOORS".    DOL'AI.   "GATES."    FITCHE   LIT. 

OPENINO    DOORWAY.    ENTRANCE    (GESENll  S-BROWN,    P.    835) 


GOD  101 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  REGENT  FORM 

(N.  4)  The  Divine  Names  and  the  Tetragrammaton, — Hebrew  Form 

In  the  treatment  ot  tlic  divine  names  as  used  in  tlie  Old  Testament  it  is 
important  to  distinguisli  between  the  occurrence  of  a  parallel  root  in  pre- 
historic antiquity  and  its  use  by  the  inspired  author  in  exactly  the  same 
sense  as  tliat  which  characterised  its  prehistoric  signification.  While  a 
borrowing  of  roots  is  unquestionable,  a  borrowing  of  ideas  is  more  and 
more  difficult  to  maintain,  especially  in  view  of  the  unique  position  occu- 
pied by  Jahwe. 

(1)  Elohim  IS  the  universal  cause  of  existence,  the  "almighty" 

Whatever  be  the  root-meaning  of  ilu,  alah,  el,  eloah,  there  is  a  general 
consensus  of  opinion  tiiat  the  idea  of  power,  cause,  origin,  destiny,  is 
vaguely  concealed  in  their  symbols  or  in  the  context  in  which  they  are 
found.  Thus  Ilu  is  the  Sumerian  Aim,  the  eight-ray  star  or  sun,  which 
is  the  source  of  life  and  tlic  goal  of  human  destiny  and  divination.  It  is 
the  equivalent  of  qadmu.  [qadam).  to  be  "the  first",  to  be  "in  front  of".» 
also  of  digint,  dimmerii.  Sum.  diiujir,  (perhaps  tin-gir).  "'Life-Power" (?),» 
as  well  as  of  Inlibu,  (-kuzbu),  a  rare  ideogram  for  "productive  power" 
"splendor"  etc.'"  also  of  malku,  Sarru,  baal,  lugal,  "king"  "ruler"."  The 
Western-Semitic  El  is  possibly  connected  with  a-yil,  or  a-ul,  to  be  "first", 
to  be  "strong",  and  in  prepositional  form  motion  is  clearly  implied.'-  With 
El  the  intensitive  Eloah,  and  the  majestic  plural  Elohim  are  closely  con- 
nected. It  is  significant  that  the  author  uses  the  abstract  Elohim,  already 
in  circulation  for  "gods"  in  general,  for  "divinity",  in  order  to  bring  out 
the  spirituality  and  transcendence  of  the  Divine  Being,  One  who  is  not 
necessarily  identified  with  any  local  god,  but  who  is  Himself  the  "septes- 
sence"  of  all  the  gods,  in  a  unique  sense  the  ■.\Imighty".  [El  Shaddai). 

(2)  Jahwe  {Adonai)  is  the  revealing  "lord"  of  the  supernatural  order 

The  indiscriminate  coupling  of  Jahwe-Elohbn,  or  their  equivalence, 
shows  that  Elohim  is  unquestionably  singular  and  unique,  quite  apart 
from  the  use  of  bara  in  the  singular  number  ("created"),  a  word  which  is 
used  only  of  divine  action.'-  But,  unlike  Elohim,  Jahwe  ("He  is"),  can- 
not be  certainly  traced  to  non-Jewish  parallels,  the  Babylonian  Jau  is 
hardly  a  divinity  but  rather  an  appellative  or  pronoun  (as  it  lacks  the 
determinative),  and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  Tetragram  was 
directly  revealed  to  the  great  Lawgiver  as  related  in  Exod.  3,  14.  This 
means  that  Elohim-Jahwe  stand  for  "Power"  and  "Subsistence",  two 
deeply  metaphysical  concepts,  which  raises  them  far  above  the  astral  and 
half-naturalised  divinities  of  their  time." 


'  Brit.  Mus.  Cun.  Texts.  XXV,  16-18.  Rawlinson,  Inscriptions.  II.  9ff.  K,  21000.  »  Ibidem. 
'"Ibid.  &  Texts,  XIX,  19,  28.  Inscr.  II,  48,  26.  "Texts,  XVIII,  29,  Iff.  Ins.  V.  30,  8. 
'2  Delitzsch.  Assyr.  Handworterbuch,  p.  i2.  '^  is.  45,  7.  4g_  7.  65,  18.  Jer.  45.  Amos.  4,  13. 
'*  Compare  Hehn.  Die  biblische  und  babylonische  Gottesidee,  (Leipzig,  1913),  pp.  1 50-271  ff. 


102  GOD 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  RECENT  F^ORM 

The  physical  and  ethical  attributes  of  the  "Lord  of  Hosts'  are  sufTi- 
cienfly  wcli-i<no\vn  to  be  summed  up  in  a  few  remarks.'^ 

That  \vc  are  dealing  witii  a  single  personal  Creator  is  evident  from  the 
above  analysis  and  from  the  general  cast  and  color  of  the  creation-nar- 
ratives. At  the  very  beginning  Bara  Elohim  eth  hmhammnyim  tvc-eth  ha- 
aretz  "God  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth", — the  strongest  and  widest 
expressions  that  can  well  be  used  in  the  language.  Moreover  Elohim 
"speaks".  He  commands  in  the  imperative  mood,  He  forms  man  "out  of 
the  dust  of  the  earth.  He  "breathes"  into  him  "the  breath  of  life".  He 
"blesses"  the  work  of  His  hands  and  declares  it  "good",  He  "plants  a  gar- 
den eastward  in  Eden",  and  there  He  "places"  the  man  whom  He  has 
made.  In  the  Paradise-story  the  "voice"  of  Jahwe-Elohim  is  heard,  He 
"walks"  in  the  garden  "in  the  cool  of  the  day",  He  issues  the  solemn  decree 
whose  violation  cost  humanity  their  life, — "In  the  day  that  thou  eatest 
thereof,  thou  shall  surely  die!" — He  pronounces  the  three-fold  curse.  He 
promises  a  Redeemer, — one  that  shall  crush  the  serpent's  head. 

Again,  the  institution  of  sacrifice  is  traced  to  the  very  gates  of  Eden. 
It  is  the  otTering  of  Gain  which  is  the  first  unbloody  mincha,  the  first 
latreutic  action  offered  by  man  to  the  Creator,  and  demanded  by  Him  as  an 
acknowledgment  of  his  supreme  dominion.  Like  the  institution  of  mar- 
riage, it  is  one  of  the  first  precepts  of  God,  it  is  a  divinely  ordained  act  of 
worship.  With  the  ages  of  man  the  nature  of  this  sacrifice  becomes 
more  severe.  It  is  only  the  unblemished  firstling  that  can  now  atone  for 
his  sins,  the  ritual  becomes  more  and  more  bloody,  more  and  more  pro- 
tracted, till  finally  the  Lamb  of  God  Himself  comes  down  from  Heaven 
and  offers  His  life  for  the  redemption  of  many,  while  the  mincha  survives 
in  the  Holy  Eucharist.  Throughout  the  ritual  is  founded  on  that  of  Baby- 
lonia, while  the  ideas  have  been  purged.'"  The  ruach  Elohim  has  no  con- 
nection with  ghosts,  while  magic,  sorcery,  and  witchcraft,  together  with 
the  violent  and  unnatural  crimes  that  so  often  accompany  them,  find  no 
sterner  rebuke  than  in  the  opening  pages  of  the  Torah: — 

"Hear,  0  Israel,  the  Lord  thy  God  is  one  Lord!""  .  .  .  "If  there  arise 
among  you  a  prophet,  or  a  dreamer  of  dreams,  and  giveth  you  a  sign  or 
a  wonder,  and  the  sign  or  the  wonder  come  to  pass,  .  .  .  you  shall  not 
hearken  unto  the  words  of  that  prophet,  or  that  dreamer  of  dreams".'" 
"You  shall  not  suffer  a  witch  to  live".'"  "He  tluit  sacrificeth  unto  any  god, 
save  unto  the  Lord  only,  shall  be  utterly  destroyed".-"   "I  AM  THAT  I  AM".-' 


"  Comp.  Oehler.  Old  Testament  Theolog>-,  (London,  1903),  a  general  synopsis.  '•  Haupt, 
Babylonian  elements  in  the  Levitical  Ritual  (Journ.  of  Biblical  Literature,  1900.  pp.  5S-81),  and 
see  below  under  "Sacrifice",  p.  3S5flf.  "  Deut.  6,  4.  >»  Id.  13.  1.  ••  Ex.  22.  18.  -•»  Id.  22.  20. 
=•  Ex.  3,  14. 


GOD  103 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  RECENT  FORM 
The  Question  op  Trinitarianism 

While  the  divine  Unify  is  thus  conspicuously  safeguarded  from  the 
very  beginning,  there  are  nevertheless  indications  that  such  a  unity  of 
nature  is  not  inconsistent  with  a  plurality  of  manifestations,— whether  as 
message-bearing  angels,  (maleachim),  or  as  cryptic  insinuations  of  a 
plurality  of  persons  concealed  in  the  structure  and  phraseology  of  certain 
passages  which  have  long  been  a  serious  difficulty  to  critic  arid  apologist 
alike.    To  what  extent  are  they  of  any  serious  dogmatic  import? 

Wc  pass  over  the  interpretations  of  some  of  the  Fathers,  who  see  in 
every  combination  of  divine  attributes,  in  every  description  of  the  divine 
operations,  a  direct  reference  to  a  mystery  which  was  not  to  be  revealed 
until  the  fulness  of  time.  Thus  bereshUh  was  taken  as  the  Logos,  the 
divine  "Son",  Elohim  as  the  "Father",  nmch  Elohiin  as  the  "Holy  Ghost", 
and  in  the  later  Wisdom-literature  every  allusion  to  the  "Word"  of  God, 
whether  as  the  memra  or  dibra  of  the  targums,  was  at  once  applied  in 
the  full  hypostatic  sense  to  the  Redeemer,  the  "Wisdom"  of  God  being 
reserved  for  the  "Holy  Spirit",  which  expression  is  actually  found  in  the 
Greek  text  of  the  same  passages  a  few  verses  below.--  But  quite  apart  from 
the  very  late  redaction  of  the  Book  of  Wisdom,  a  verdict  of  "not  proven" 
is  the  only  safe  one  in  the  present  case.  "All  these  ideas  which  do  not 
denote  concrete  hypostases  of  the  Deity,  but  abstractions,  originally  served 
the  single  purpose  of  guarding,  during  the  reading  of  Scripture  in  the 
synagogues,  against  sensible  representations  of  God,  such' as  the  Bible- 
text  might  have  aroused  among  the  common  people".-^  At  the  same  time 
it  is  quite  permissible  to  read  a  deeper  meaning  into  these  terms,  and  there 
are  other  considerations  which  show  that  such  an  interpretation  may  still 
be  regarded  as  a  plausible  one. 

Among  these  are  the  almost  deliberate  changes  to  the  first  person  plural 
in  certain  "majestic"  passages,  where  a  plurality  of  persons  seems  to  be 
wilfully  insinuated  and  yet  a  unity  of  essence  as  mysteriously  emphasised. 
"And  God  said"  (in  the  singular),  "Let  us  make  man"  (in  the  plural)  "in 
our  image  and  likeness","  "Behold,  Adam  has  become  as  one  of  us",-'' 
"Let  us  go  down  and  confound  their  language",^*  etc.  and  yet  "/  have  com- 
manded" "  "/  will  put  enmity"  ='  "I  will  destroy",^'  etc.  and  Abraham's 
adoration  of  the  three  men  whom  he  addresses  as  "My  Lord"  (Adonai), 
followed  by,  a  singular  construction,  has  always  been  a  dilficult  crux  for 
those  who  sec  in  them  nothing  but  three  angelic  messengers.-" 


"Wisdom,  9,  1,  (Word).  9,  17.  (Holy  Spirit).  Comp.  Irenaeus,  Adv.  Haer.  II.  30,  9. 
2»G.  Dalman,  The  Words  of  Jesus,  (Edinb.  1902),  p.  230.  -'4  Gen.  1,  26.  =5  jj  3^  22. 
=«Gcn.  11,  7.  "Id.  3,  11.  28  ij.  3,  15.  sMd.  6,  11.  °»  Gen.  18,  1-3.  Cp.  Irenaeus  Adv.  Haer. 
rv.  20,  7-11.  S.  Augfust.  De  Trinitote,  II.  19-20. 


104  GOD 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  RECENT  FURM 

Again,  (he  symbolism  of  tlie  Jewisli  liturgy  is  suggestive  of  fri-uuo 
conceptions  even  if  it  fails  to  be  a  rigirl  proof.  The  priestly  benediction, 
with  the  triple  invocation  of  Jahire  is  somewhat  striking,  inasmuch  as 
protection,  mercy,  and  peace  may  be  fittingly  applied  to  Father,  Son,  and 
Spirit  as  their  respective  propria.  "The  Lord  bless  thee  and  keep  thee:  The 
Lord  make  His  face  to  shine  upon  thee  and  be  merciful  to  thee:  the  Lord 
lift  up  His  countenance  upon  thee,  and  give  thee  peace!"'"  This  is  also 
illustrated  by  the  vision  of  Isaiah,  in  which  the  Seraphim  intone  the 
Trisagion,  Kadhosh,  kadhosh,  kadhosh!  and  the  voice  of  the  Lord  is  heard: 
"Whom  shall  /  send,  and  who  shall  go  for  us?" — a  mysterious  utterance.^- 

But  whatever  be  the  interpretation  of  these  obscure  texts,  it  is  quit* 
certain  that  the  Trinitarian  notion  was  not  derived  from  pagan,  more 
especially  Babylonian  sources.  Elohim,  bereshith,  memar,  dabar,  niach, 
etc.  have  absolutely  nothing  in  common  with  Heaven,  Earth.  Underworld, — 
Sun.  Land.  Ocean, — or  any  other  artificial  contrivances  that  are  commonly 
known  as  triads.  We  are  moving  in  a  different  world  of  thougiit.  These 
are  not  cosmic  but  personal,  if  not  metaphysical,  appellations,  and  the 
marvel  of  it  is.  how  the  Jewish  nation  arrived  at  such  a  lofty  notion  of 
divinity  without  the  help  of  a  philosophy,  of  an  organised  system  of 
speculative  thought. 

If  then  the  idea  of  God  as  a  personal  Word  or  an  invisible  Spirit  is  in 
such  marked  advance  upon  the  religious  ideas  of  the  times. — it  is  rather 
surprising  to  find  the  notion  of  Judgment  and  a  Life  to  come  by  com- 
parison weakly  developed.  The  Sheol  of  the  Jews  is  hardly  more  hopeful 
than  the  Aralu  of  the  Babylonians,  and  the  outlook  is  almost  equally  sor- 
rowful : — 

"The  dead  praise  Thee  not.  0  Lord,  neither  any  that  go  down  into 
silence".''  It  is  quite  true  that  the  translation  of  Enoch,'*  the  salvation  of 
Noah,"  the  assumption  of  Elias,'*  the  prophecies  of  Job,'"  and  the  vision 
of  Ezekiel,"  are  clear  indications  that  retribution  is  swift  and  decisive,  that 
the  dead  shall  "see  God"  in  both  natures,  that  He  is  clearly  a  Judge.  But 
the  detention  of  souls  in  the  region  of  "limbo"  is  nevertheless  too  strik- 
ing a  feature  not  to  demand  some  explanation.  Even  the  patriarchs  are 
in  "Abraham's  bosom",  they  do  not  seem  to  enjoy  the  vision  of  God.  Now 
this  is  only  to  be  expected,  and  can  only  be  explained  on  the  principle  that 
the  hour  of  deliverance  has  not  yet  come,  that  they  are  still  waiting  for 
the  redemption  of  Israel,  that  they  are  "sleeping".  It  is  this  paradisaic 
"sleep",  with  the  hope  of  resurrection,  that  binds  the  Hebrews  with  the 
prehistoric  past. 


"'Numbers.  6    2,V25.     ^Ms.  6.   1-8.     '•' Ps.   US   (113).   17..   '"Gen.   5.  24.      '"Gen..  6.  8. 
"4  Kings,  2.  U.    "  Job,  19,  25-27.     '»  Erekiel,  37,  1-14. 


GOD  105 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND   REGENT   FORM 

(N,  5)  AHURA— MITHR/\— HAOMA— (Indo-Aryan  Development) 

The  reconstruction  of  the  Aryan  religion  is  now  well  under  way.' 
Apart  from  conclusions  which  are  largely  speculative,  the  results  of 
liguistic  "palaeonotology"  have  only  confirmed  what  has  long  been  sus- 
pected, the  existence  of  a  prehistoric  root,  div,  (to  shine),  from  which  most 
of  the  nominal  Indogermanic  forms  seem  to  have  been  derived, — sanscr. 
dyaus,  Iran,  diva,  Greek,  zeus,  Lat.  deus,  Old-High-Germ.  Hu,  Old-Norse, 
tyr,  Esthon.  taeva,  Lith.  dieva,  etc.  Moreover  the  personal  prominence  of 
the  hypothetical  dcva,  (proto-Aryan  form),  is  shown  by  such  combinations 
as  Dyaus-pitar,  Zem-pater,  Ju-piter,  the  heavenly  Father,  the  Father-in- 
heaven,  etc.  With  Him  are  associated  the  Mother-earth,  tlip  sun,  moon 
and  stars,  dawn  and  fire,  wind  and  water,  in  fact  nearly  every  depart- 
ment or  force  in  nature,  generally  personified.  But  was  deva  a  person 
from  the  very  beginning?  It  is  argued  from  the  root-meaning  "to  shine", 
and  from  certain  Aryan  symbols,— the  star,  the  triangle,  the  tri folium,  or 
the  swastika—,  that  div  is  identical  with  the  orb  of  heaven,  that  no  per- 
sonality can  be  proved  for  what  was  originally  an  astral  symbol.  After 
what  we  have  learnt  of  symbols  and  what  they  stand  for,  this  argument 
is  not  conclusive.  Tlie  fact  is,  we  have  no  linguistic  or  archaeological 
means  for  deciding  the  question;  we  can  only  say  that  the  existing  evi- 
dence point  to  a  divine  "Fatherhood",  which  was  no  doubt  associated, 
and  perhaps  identified,  with  the  sun-light,  but  which  was  certainly  the 
belief  of  our  ancestors  before  the  dispersion  (about  4000  B.  C.).  If,  how- 
ever, the  cradle-land  of  our  race  be  placed  on  the  Western-Asiatic  table- 
land,— a  theory  which  is  again  coming  to  the  front—,  it  is  not  impossible 
that  we  have  in  Iran  the  earliest  stream  of  undivided  tradition. =  Here  we 
find  a  deep  and  decidedly  abstract  concept  of  divinity  in  the  forms  Ahura 
[Asura) -Mazda,  "Life-Spirit-Lord",  and  the  5oma-sacrifice,  with  per- 
sonal prayers  to  the  great  Maker  of  all  indicates  a  high  state  of  theistic 
feeling,^  On  this  subject  Schrader  remarks:  "The  Persians  have  pre- 
served the  original  Indo-gcrmanic  ideas  of  God  with  great  fidelity",*  and 
elsewhere  he  speaks  of  "the  extremely  primitive  Persian  sacrificial  rite, 
the  only  one  essentially  connected  with  prayer".^  While  this  is  consoling 
in  view  of  the  animal  and  even  human  sacrifices  of  the  Western-Aryans, 
the  priority  of  these  beliefs  is  still  to  be  demonstrated.  The  subject  opens 
out  an  interesting  field  of  discussion,  and  although  such  a  discussion 
would  be  out  of  place  in  these  pages,  we  cannot  refrain  from  pointing  out 
a  few  of  the  reasons  that  are  urging  scholars  to  look  to  this  quarter  for 
inspiration. 


'Compare  O.  Schrader,  Reallexicon  der  indogermanischen  Alterthumskunde,  (Strass- 
burg,  1901).  L.  Von  Schroeder,  Altarische  Religion,  (Munich.  1918,  in  the  Press).  =  Ed. 
Meyer,  Geschichte  des  Alterthums  (Berlin,  1913)  Vol.  II.  pp.  901-903.  ^h.  H.  Mills,  The 
Gathas  of  Zoroaster,  (Leipzig,  1900).  Idem,  Zoroaster,  Philo,  the  Achaemenids,  and  Israel 
(Lepizig,  1906).  Idem,  Our  own  Religion  in  ancient  Persia  (Chicago.  1913)  .■'.Schrader,.!. 
c,  p.  599.     5  Idem.  p.  605. 


106  GOD 

WESTERN-ASIATIG  AND  REGENT  FORM 
The  Case  for  Ahura-Mazda — (Iranun  Form) 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  revival  of  the  old  Asiatic  theory  of  migrations 
tends  to  make  the  Iranian  position  increasingly  plausible.  When 
acknowledged  experts,  like  Schrader  and  Eduard  Meyer,  are  once  more 
looking  to  the  East  for  the  common  radiating  center  of  the  Aryan  slock, 
the  matter  is  surely  worth  reconsidering.  While  the  former  leaves  us  on 
the  South-Russian  steppes,  the  latter  would  carry  us  to  the  highlands  sur- 
rounding the  Pamir-Plateau  ( !)  as  the  earliest  scene  of  Aryan  activity. 
Apart  from  the  fact  that  a  mountainous  region  seems  to  be  postulated,  it 
is  the  narcotic  5oma-trance.  whose  5ornffl-plant  grows  only  in  high  alti- 
tudes and  is  associated  in  Aryan  lore  with  the  Himalayan  and  Bactrian 
ranges,  that  seems  to  Meyer  to  decide  the  question."  In  this  he  is  largely 
followed  by  Roth,  Pishel,  Geldner  and  others,  and  recently  Oldenberg  has 
given  expression  to  the  same  opinion.' 

As  to  the  linguistic  evidence,  a  few  specialists,  like  Hincks  and  Lang- 
don,'  are  beginning  to  trace  Sumerian  roots  to  proto-Aryan  originals,  and 
the  parallelism  is  certainly  suggestive.  Thus  we  have  Apsu  and  Tiamat 
(Apsu-Temah)  Aiimr  and  Kisar  (Ashra-Khshatra),  Anu,  Adar,  Asur,  Asmu 
(close  homophones).  Mush  and  Mummu  (early  serpents),  Tabu,  Tebeth, 
Tin,  Tis/iri  (sacred  fire-symbols),  as  well  as  Pi'at  (Prathu),  Euphrates, 
Hu-Prathu,  (the  "well-flowing"),  and  such  common  designations  as  Patesi 
(Palish),  "father,  king,  priest,  ruler",  whose  very  sound  is  familiar  to 
Aryan  ears."  On  the  other  hand,  similarities,  and  even  identities  are  no 
proof  of  direct  dependence  on  either  side,  many  of  the  Sumerian  roots  are 
still  largely  irreducible,  and  the  fact  that  this  Mesopotamian  race  was  as 
non-Aryan  as  it  was  non-Semitic,  and  that  the  earliest  Persian  petroglyphs 
do  not  carry  us  beyond  the  famous  Behistun-inscription  of  Darius  the 
Great  (about  500  B.  C.), — an  age  incomparably  younger  than  that  of 
Mesilim  and  the  early  kings  of  Kish  (about  3000) — ,  all  this  suggests  the 
conclusion  that  Iran  was  not  the  originator  but  rather  the  borrower  of 
Sumerian  civilisation,  but  that  Persia  is  as  fair  an  exponent  of  this  early 
Gaucasian  theology  as  any  of  her  Semitic  or  Egyptian  rivals.  This  makes 
the  figure  of  Ahura-Mazda  as  a  personal  Creator,  spiritual,  bountiful,  mer- 
ciful, yet  inexorable,  stand  out  in  bold  relief, — with  whom  are  associated 
Mithra  as  "Friendship",  and  Haoma  (Soma)  as  "Life,  Health,  Immor- 
tality".'" 


"  Meyer,  loc.  cit.  supra.  '  Evidence  in  Meyer,  Schrader,  Mills,  Weissbach,  1.  c.  *  See 
F.  H.  Weissbach,  Die  Sumerische  Frage,  (Leipzig,  1898),  for  a  full  discussion  of  the  lin- 
guistic problem.  Langdon,  Babyloniaca.  Vol.  I.  225,  230,  284flF.  "  L.  H.  Mills,  Zoroaster, 
Philo,  the  Achaemenids,  and  Israel,  pp.  445-453,  entitled,  "The  immemoral  antiquity  of  the 
Aryan  race",  with  suggested  derivations  and  Sumerian  equivalents.  '"  Texts  and  Trans- 
lations by  Mills,  Gathas,  (supra)  and  Idem,  The  Zend-Avesta,  Part  III.  Yasna,  Visparad, 
Afringans,  Gahs,  etc.  being  Vol.  XXXI.  of  the  Sacred  Books  of  the  East,  edited  by  F.  Max 
Muller  (Oxford,  1887). 


THE  TRILINGUAL  BEHISTUN-INSCRIPTION 
OF  DARIUS  THE  GREAT 

ACCOBDING  TO  THE  TEXT  OF  THE  BRITISH   Ml'SElIM,    (LONDON,  1»01),  COL.   I.   {)   !». 

TH-A—     T      —      1-V  -HA.  -  A    -  -RA  —  YA  —  VA  —  U     —  S 

«¥ .  "^ ^HT-P^  T«T "W  T^< "TiT <*tT  P^ Ttl M "Wtn 

KM-  SA  -    A-YA--TM  -  I  -YA  A   —  U     —  XA.-MA- AX-a>A- A 

^         MA    -Q    -   y]    -       I  -  MA  KH-^-TKA-M  F-RA-A-SA-WV 

-  A  —  U  -T(A-KiA,-A3:-3i*.-A-  WA-I  —  Y  U -"PA- a4-ta-A -M 

(C  A-SA-RA  YA-A-TA—  A  I  -  MA         KH-4a-TBA-M 

111  <KrTTr]  It  "m  ;^T<rirM<^  ?9:^*m< 

n  HA-Tma]-   I>A-A  --RA-YA-I  -Cy3  vA- »  — MA-A 

Iff  <Tf  ^  ^tT  WH  ^ <K<'fr  »Kr<«5l^^ KT 

A  —   U   —  T»A-MA— A2:-I>A- A    -HA           1  —  MA          tOI-^A-TRA-M 
3V\  —    A    ~  T^A  —  YA    —   A    —  Ml  —    »  —  V 

ft      ^^im^ 
(AI-)  —  AK    (M^    TA  -Rl  - 

h  YA  MA-ui((^)2UNKUK  (HAVAN-Kl     fAN)  U-KA-MaS-TA      Hl(f^MKUK-*ie 

^  (M)U       TU  — NI-\^         AJ  — AK       CAN)   U— TV^-MAi-TA  T»l  —  IK"  fn 

J         CM)U        -TA    —    aS  KU-    Us    (nJQ     UOn)zUNKUKrMe-HI 

TS-  lA   AI-AK   ZA-U  — Ml  IN      [M*    UJ- TVV- MAi -TA-HA^M)  U   (M) 

aUNKUK-  ME     MAR—  XI  — YA  

Tl  , 

(M)l>A  — Hi    —    )A  — mU^        &ArwU       W  — A- AM  I-   VCAB-SI 

Z 


l)l>A  — Hi    —    (A  — MUS        &ArwU       W  — A-AM  I-   KAB-»| 

'       (lUU)      U    —    Kl   —  Ml  —  I3.-3JA    SatstoU— -ru  —  A         l»— KAN-NU 
Q       (ILU)      U    —   Kl    —   MI-|Z.-X»N      |S-«I      3»SN-NU    A— 3>»    MU^j^l    4^ 

'1  ^»4HWJ-XU  A-qA— T-A 

IQ        (ANAK.U       a5— <>A— BAT  IHA    OIIJ-I       ^A  (ILU)      U  -  W  -  Ml  -  IX-3»^  — » 

SATVKU]— TM  A  -  aA— A    -  ^]    ANAKU  AS— 3/<r-Su 

"THUS    SATTH    DAKIUS    THE    KING:    AUKAJtAZDA    GAVE    MB    XH18    KINGDOM,    AUBAMAZDA 

BABE    ME    AID    I'NTIL    I    OBTAINED    THIS    KINGDOM,— BY    THE    GRACE    OF    AURAMAZDA    I 

HOLD   THIS   KINGDOM"    (COL.   I.    j)    »>. 


THE  YASNA  OF  THE  AVESTA 

FACSDOLE     OF     THE     RESTORED     AVESTA     TEXT     AS     IT     APPEARED     IN     THE     AGE     OF 

ZOROASTER    (.\B01T  7M-VM  B.  C.)     THE  PERIOD  OF  THE  FOUNDATION  OF  THE  HISTORIC 

RELIGION   OF  THE  MAGI 

A  CREATOR  WITH  HIS  ATTRIBUTES 

"I  Wn.L  ANNOUNCE  AND  COMPLETE   MY   SACRIFICE" 

(YASNA,    I,    1) 


HVAnCNANUHATO     .  RAfVATO  MAZI>A>0   AHUKAHYA 

JJPlOQ^l?|t)6iO^^  i)\f^Q>^]^ibm)()-  ^pi<jcyiJ|oa)/u^ 

SRAiSTAHYAtA  VAHI^TAHYA&\  MAi.lSTAHVACA 

■  -L)ptOQHiJ(£lOJQU^j^  .•A)pjOQVJL))e)bJ3QiuM^(£.) 

YRaTHViStAHYACA  YRAoijDt^TAHYAiA 

APANCXETMAHYAiA  7<K)^A-r  HUKET^EPTPMAMYAJa 

YO         J>aSa      no      YO  VOUnuRAFNASlHS  HU^ANtANO 

SPEMTOTCMO      MAINYU^     YO    TU©RUVE         YO         XAXASA 

TEXT:  OELDNEB,  AVESTA.  (STl'TTGART,  1891).  FOR  NEW  PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTION  SEE 
"A  8TIDY  OF  YASNA  1."  WITH  INTRODIXTION  PAHLAVI  AND  PERSIAN  TEXTS,  AND  W^TH 
THE  CLOSER  SANSCRIT  EQl'lVALENTS,  BY  PROF.  LAWRENCE  HEYWORTH  MILLS,  D.  D. 
(BROCKHAIS-LEIPZIO,  1910),  P.  87  (AVESTA  TRANSLITERATION),  P.  95  (CORRECTED  ENO- 
LISH  EQl'lVALENTS).  FOR  THE  APPROVED  TRANSLATION,  BASED  ON  AN  EXHAC8TIVK 
8TIDY  OF  ALL  THE  DOCUMENTS.  SEE  "THE  ZEND-AVESTA,  PART  III."  BEING  VOL.  XXXI 
OF  THE  SACRED  BOOKS  OF  THE  F-%ST.  EDITED  BY  F.  MAX  MILLER    (OXFORD,    1«S7),  P.   1»S. 


GOD  107 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  REGENT  FORM 

Bui  the  most  characteristic  feature  of  the  Zoroastrian  faith  is  its  dual- 
ism and  the  doctrine  of  the  st^ven  spirits.  At  the  very  outset  we  find  two 
personal  principles  at  work,  each  of  which  brings  forth  two  antagonistic 
worlds,  the  one  essentially  good,  the  other  essentially  evil." 

1  2  3  4  o  (i  7 

.4  hura-Mazda,A sha,  Voh u-Manah,  Kshathra,A  ramttitiJHaurvatat^ meretatat 
Life  Truth         Love  Law        Energj-     Health   Immortality 

These  are  opposed  by  an  opposite  series  corresponding  to  each  mem- 
ber:— 

12  3  4  5 

Angra-Mainyu,  Druj,  Akem-Mana,  Dush-Kshathra,  Taramaiti, 

Evil  Falsehood  Hate  Anarchy        Insolence 

6  7 

Avaetat,  Merethyii 

Dejection     Death 

Whether  the  seven  Ameshas  of  the  first  series  are  seven  aspects  or 
attributes  of  divinity,  of  which  Mazda  is  one,  or  whether  they  are  to  be 
looked  upon  as  dependent  spirits  after  the  manner  of  the  Jewish-Christian 
archangels,  cannot  be  determined  with  certainty,  though  the  original  num- 
ber, six,  favors  the  latter  supposition.  In  any  case,  whether  as  a  "sep- 
tade"  of  attributes  or  a  sevenfold  hierarchy,  they  figure  very  .early  both  in 
Avesta  and  Rig- Veda,  but  there  is  no  necessity  of  deriving  the  "seven 
spirits  of  Zekariah  directly  from  the  Amesha-Spentas.  There  is  ample  evi- 
dence for  a  "Holy  Seven"  or  a  sevenfold  division  of  divine  manifestations 
in  the  Babylonian  and  perhaps  even  in  the  Egyptian  system,  the  "septes- 
sence"  of  divinity  surviving  in  the  Sabbath  and  Hexahemeron  of  the  Jews, 
while  the  Hebrew  Cherubim,  Seraphim,  Maleachim,  etc.  are  clearly  of  pre- 
exilic  origin,  being  closely  paralleled  by  the  Assyrian  karubu  and  other  pro- 
tecting divinities.  However,  a  comparison  of  the  Ameshas  with  the  Heb- 
deads  or  Enneads  of  the  Euphrates  or  the  Nile  reveals  at  a  glance  that, 
while  the  former  are  abstracts,  the  latter  are  cosmic  designations  and  stand 
for  an  entirely  different  circle  of  ideas.  (Compare  the  Babylonian  and 
Egyptian  lists). '- 

As  to  the  nature  of  Ormazd,  (Ahura-Mazda),  it  is  revealed  in  the  Gathas, 
or  "Hymns."  which,  as  tlie  Yasna,  or  "Sacrifice",  represent  the  oldest 
documents  of  the  moral  idea  and  of  subjective  religion,  the  esoteric  faith: — 
"/  ivill  announce  and  complete  my  sacrifice  to  Ahura-Mazda,  the  Creator, 
the  radiant,  the  glorious,  the  greatest,  the  best,  and  the  most  beautiful. 
Whose  bodyi?)  is  all-perfect,  whose  Order  is  supreme,  who  disposes  our 
minds  aright.  Who  sends  His  joy-creating  grace  afar.  Who  made  us  and 
fashioned  us,  who  has  nourished  and  protected  us,  who  is  the  most  boun- 
tiful Spirit".^'" 

"  L.  H.  Mills,  Avesta  Eschatology  compared  with  the  Books  of  Daniel  and  Revelations 
(Chicago,  1908)  pp.  67-83:  "God  and  His  Immortals".  Idem,  Our  Own  Religion,  p.  18,  lOSff. 
Also  Gathas,  passim.  "  See  under  "Creation",  p.  175ff.  where  this  subject  is  treated  with 
more  detail,  i' Yasna.  I,  1.  This  is  a  free  translation,  based  upon  the  combined  .Avesta  and 
Pahlavi  texts. 


108  GOD 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  RECENT  FORM 

He  is  tlius  declared  to  be  a  S|Hi'it, — Manuli — .  a  good  Spirit, — Vohu- 
Manah — in  fact  a  "holy"  Spirit, — Spenla-Maiiuju, — He  is  unique.  He  is 
the  Truth,  He  is  the  supreme  Goodness.  He  is  also  omniscient,"  omnip- 
otenl,'°  and  all-provident."-  He  is  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  of  men 
and  of  all  the  "gods".''  He  is  a  Teacher  and  I^awgiver.'"  an  unchangeable 
Friend,  Protector  and  Strengthener.'"  the  Founder  of  a  kingdom  that  is  to 
be  for  the  poor,-"  the  supreme  Judge  of  man  at  the  end  of  the  \vorld.='  As 
nearly  all  these  expressions  are  found  in  the  Gathic  .\vesta.  their  high 
antiquity  seems  assured,  (700-900  B.  C). 

Furthermore,  there  is  the  Paradise  of  Ainjana-Vejah  in  the  Himalayas, 
where  Ahura-Mazda  has  stationed  the  first  man,  Yima,  and  where  Mithra, 
Friendship,  and  Uaoma,  the  sacred  Soma-Tree,  impart  health,  life,  immor- 
tality. In  the  sequel  Yima  falls  into  the  power  of  the  Serpent,  Azhi-Dahaka, 
through  an  act  of  prevarication,  through  telling  an  untruth, — a  character- 
istically Iranian  touch.--'  Nevertheless  Redemption  is  promised,  there  are 
echoes  of  a  Savior,  to  be  born  of  a  virgin,  though  the  Bundahish  tradition 
is  very  late  and  disfigured  by  unworthy  details.-^  In  the  meantime  salva- 
tion may  be  purchased  and  forgiveness  obtained  by  a  blameless  life  "in 
thought,  word,  and  deed",  by  offering  up  the  .voma-sacrifice,  by  tending 
the  sacred  fires  [Atar)  by  abstaining  from  heresy,  violence,  untruthful- 
ness, perjury,  and  sexual  sins,  by  practicing  charity,  generosity,  philan- 
thropy. At  death  the  soul  is  judged  by  its  own  conscience  before  Ahura's 
throne  in  presence  of  Mithra,  Sraosha,  Pashnu,  it  is  rewarded  or  punished 
by  a  heaven  or  hell  of  "thoughts,  words,  and  deeds",  and  at  the  end  of  time 
will  come  the  last  prophet,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  the  general  judg- 
ment, and  the  final  ti'inmph  of  Mnzrlo  over  the  evil  spirit,  who  will  be 
destroyed  for  ever.-* 

I  do  not  intend  to  handle  the  ditficult  question  of  the  origin  and  antiquity 
of  these  beliefs,  nor  to  propound  any  theories  on  the  nature  of  manah  or 
I'ravashi  as  the  "soul"  or  "spirit"  of  a  person,  and  their  possible  connexion 
with  the  Latin  manes  or  the  Hindoo  pitris.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  exor- 
cism of  demons  is  a  pronounced  feature  from  the  earliest  times,  and  seems 
to  reveal  a  strong  belief  in  spiritistic  influences,— not  simply  personified 
forces,  but  personal  agencies.-'^  But  if  the  entire  system  be  branded  as 
comparatively  late,  as  surviving  in  its  hellenistic  form  in  the  "Mysteries 
of  Mithras",  we  answer  that  tlie  .-Vryan  race  was  a  late  arrival  on  the  field 
of  the  world's  activity,  that  Egypt  and  Babylon  both  preceded  her  by 
many  centuries,  but  that  she  was  the  first  to  adore  at  the  crib  of  the 
Redeemer." 


'^Yasna,  31.  13,  U.  "  Y.  43,  6.  >Mbid.  '•  Behistun.  »» Y.  31.  5.  11.  "Y.  31,  7. 
-«  Y.  28.  4.  34,  3.  =>  Y.  43,  4ff.  "  Vendidad,  Iff.  -^  Yasht,  13.  62,  142.  19.  92.  and  Bundahish. 
144ff.  -*  Details  in  Yashts  (13,  19,  22)  and  Vendidad  (19)  etc.  "  See  the  Yasna  and  Ven- 
didad passim.     =' as  the  Iranian  magi(?).     See  under  "Redemption"  below. 


GOD  109 

WESTERN-ASIATIC  AND  RECENT  FORM 

Brahministic  Development 

The  common  impression  that  the  Aryan  invaders  of  India  were  the 
originators  of  a  more  or  less  pantheistic  nature-worship,  culminating  in 
the  later  Brahminisra,  is  one  that  needs  to  be  considerably  modified. 

THE  EARLY  VEDIC  FAITH  IDENTICAL  WITH   THE  AVESTIC-IRANIAN 

There  can  no  longer  be  any  doubt  that  the  equations  Ahura-Asura, 
Mithra-Milra,  Haoma-Soma,  etc.  hold  good,  and  this  not  only  as  verbal 
identities  (under  Grimm's  law),  but  also  as  theological  expressions  for 
"Spirit",  "Friendship",  "Immortality" (?),  even  if  as  nature-symbols  they 
can  also  be  read  as  "Heaven",  "Sun",  "Earth",  etc. — relics  of  the  totemic 
age.'  This  does  not  destroy  their  personality,  but  only  the  manner  of  its 
expression,  the  form  in  which  it  is  clothed,  as  there  can  be  no  doubt  that, 
vi'ith  Varuna  and  Indra,  they  were  worshipped  as  persons  from  the 
remotest,  historical  antiquity  (about  2000  B.  C). 

BRAHMINISM  AN  ARYAN-DRAVIDIAN   COMPOUND 

But  in  the  subsequent  intermingling  and  partial  fusion  with  the  Indo- 
Kolarian  aborigines,  it  was  unavoidable  that  this  comparatively  lofty  the- 
ology should  be  soiled  by  the  prevailing  totemism  and  reincarnation- 
doctrines  of  Central  India,  even  if  the  rigid  caste-system  is  something 
entirely  new.- 

Brahnm-Vlshnn-Svwa 

take  the  place  of  the  older  pantheon,  in  which  personal  creation  recedes 
more  and  more  into  the  background,  the  new  triad  being  simply  a  theogony 
of  divine  manifestations,  first  as  Thought-power,  ( ?) ,  second  as  Sun-power, 
and  finally  as  Storm-power,  which  in  still  later  times  were  worked  up 
into  the  more  refined  concept  of  "Creator",  "Preserver"  and  "Destroyer", 
three  aspects  of  the  one  undeflnable,  illimitable  Being.^  In  modern 
Hindooism  we  find  a  few  faint  vestiges  of  the  true  light  struggling  through 
the  mists  of  a  belated  naturalism. 

Taoistic  Development 

The  existence  or  parallel  ideas  among  the  Mongolian  races  is  a  fact  that 
should  here  be  noted.  In  the  Yi-king  or  "Book  of  Changes"  (perhaps 
1500  B.  C),  all  things  are  the  result  of  two  opposite  principles,  the  yatig 
and  the  ying, — in  which  the  great  triad  "Heaven,  Earth,  and  Man"  is  sym- 
bolished  by  the  trigram.  ^^^^  [Kluen-Khwan-Kan) ,  called  "Father- 
Mother-Son",  and  over  which  Shang-Ti  rules  as  the  Lord  of  creation.  The 
same  to  some  extent  in  the  SIni-King  or  "Book  of  History".*  In  the  age 
of  Confucius  and  Laotze  (6-500)  it  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Too, — the  "vital 
monad" — .  that  leads  lo  strong  ancestor-worship.' 

'Oldenberg,  Vedic  Religion,  p.  103flE.  Mills,  Our  own  Religion,  pp.  77-78,  93ff.  =  Cf.  S. 
Iyengar,  on  the  origin  of  Aryan  culture  in  India,  .Anthr.  IX.  p.  1-15.  '  Ci.  Rig-Veda,  I-X, 
with  the  later  Brahmanas  and  Upanishads  (S,  B.  E.  1-XLVI).  *  S.  B.  E.  Vol.  XVI.  (Yi- 
king),  p.  SO.  III.  (Shu-King),  p.  .xxiiiff.  and  compare  Paul  Caru'^,  Chinese  Thought  (Chi- 
cago. 1907)  p.  25ff.     '-S.  B.  E.  Vol.  XL.  fTao-Teh-King). 


no  GOD 

\\  ESTERN-ASIATIC  AxND  RECENT  FORM 

Shintoistic.  Devklopmknt 

In  the  Shinto  system  of  Japan  llwtr  Civatois  aiv  proniinL-nl  from  the 
earhest  tim"s.  Tht-y  are  called  Ameno-minaka-niishi,  Takaini-musubi, 
Kami-busubi,  the  first  of  whom  existed  immovably  at  the  time  of  creation, 
while  the  latter  wei'e  agents  in  the  creation.  They  are  followed  by  seven 
generations  of  lieavenly  spirits,  several  other  groups,  and  finally  by  the 
fathers  of  Japan  from  whom  the  emperor,  or  Mikado,  is  directly  descended. 
It  is  instructive  to  notice  how  the  early  ideas  of  a  transcendent  Being  are. 
as  in  China,  gradually  fused  with  those  of  the  ancestor, — it  is  the  "Way 
of  the  gods!"  • 

Wester  n  -  A  k  y  a  n  Develop  ir  en  t 

Homer  and    Hesiod   are   the   classic   sources    for    the   Graeco-Roman 
religion,  (co.  1000  B.  C).     It  has  already  been  shown  that  the  liguistic 
evidence  establishes  with  some  certainty  the  existence  of  the  common 
Indo-germanic  root  div,  to  "shine",  from  which  our  own  word   "divinity" 
has  been  derived.    In  the  Greek  Zeus  and  the  Latin  deus  this  root  is  par- 
ticularly clear,  and  the  combination  Zeus-pater,  Deus-pater,  Ju-piter,  tells 
its  own  story,  it  is  a  "Heavenly  Father"  that  is  here  intimated.     Neverlhe- 
y^^         less  in  the  works  of  the  above  authors  there  is  apparently  a  "theogony", 
V      Zeus  being  the  son  of  Chnnios  (Time),  which  makes  Jupiler  the  son  of 
j>^l"        Saturn,   while   the   position   of    fJranos,   Oceamis,   and   other   elemental 
y^jf      deities,  is  strongly  suggestive  of  a  rise  of  divinities  out  of  nature-powers, 
^'^  even  if  the  latter  be  treated  as  "personifications"  rather  than  "personal- 

ities", a  point  whicii  can  never  be  settled.  The  main  features  of  the 
Graeco-Roman  l)elief  are  sufficiently  well  known.  I  would  however  call 
attention  lo  the  generally  lofty  tone  of  the  father  of  Greek  literature,  to 
the  absence  of  deliberate  obscenity,  to  the  delicate  portrayal  of  social  and 
family  life  in  the  character  of  liis  heroes,  and  to  tlie  unbloody  sacrifices  or 
"libations"  {spondai)  to  which  he  bears  witness. 

Much  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  Germanic  religion  as  revealed  in  the 
Eddas  and  the  Niebelungen  Lied.  The  germanic  gods  have  given  tiieir 
names  to  our  days  of  tlie  week. — Tiu's  tUti/  being  next  to  Sun  and  Moon- 
day,  the  most  imf)ortant  ferial.  In  both  religions,  however,  there  is  a 
strong  spirit-cult  known  as  "inanism  "  among  the  Latins,  and  the  practice 
of  divination,  spirit-feeding,  ghost-  and  demon-hunting,  of  caricaturing 
the  gods  by  clothing  them  at  times  with  the  basest  of  human  pa.ssions, 
shows  that  even  the  offering  of  i)riceless  hecatombs  and  the  sacrifice  of 
human  life  is  unable  to  redeem  a  world  which  is  gradually  speeding  to 
its  own  inevitable  dissolution." 


•  rapinot,  Diet,  d'histoire  et  <ie  geographic  de  Japon,  (Yokohama.  1906).  'See  thf 
Classics  passim,  and  Ed.  Meyer.  Geschichte  des  Altertums,  II,  1-242,  and  compare  in  general 
.\.  Schmidt,  Gedankcn  uber  die  Entwickclung  dcr  Religion  auf  Grund  dcr  Babylonischen 
Quellen.     Mitteilungen  der   Vorderasiatischen   Gesellschaft,    (Leipzig,   1911).  pp.   1-136. 


GOD  111 

LATER  OCEANIC  AND  RECENT  FORM 

(N.6)  AusTROXEsiAX  Development.  (SofTH  Sea  Islands) 

From  the  preceding  evidence  il  is  clear  that  arcliaeology  alone  cannot 
settle  the  question  of  neolithic  religion.  The  inscriptions  carry  us  back 
to  the  fourth  or  fifth  millennium  before  Christ,  and  then  they  desert  us. 
Luckily  there  are  large  groups  of  peoples  that  are  still  on  the  neolithic 
level,  and  that  can  give  us  some  picture,  however  vague,  of  the  early  con- 
ditions of  neolithic  worship.  Among  these  are  the  natives  of  the  South- 
Sea  Islands,  who  are  living  in  the  advanced  stone  age.  and  mirror  to  some 
extent  the  conditions  of  the  earlier  lacustrian  and  the  later  megalithic 
periods.  What  light  can  they  throw  on  the  question  of  a  supreme  personal 
divinity?    Is  this  being  ultimately  of  astral  origin? 

(a)  BATARA — Indonesian  Recent — (N.  W.  Borneo) 

As  to  Batara  (or  Petara)  of  the  Bornean  Sea-Dayaks,  (lacustrian), 
there  is  no  direct  evidence  of  his  solar  character.  The  name  is  the  San- 
scrit Bhattara  ("Lord"  "Master"),  and  he  is  described  as  the  Maker  of 
heaven  and  earth  and  of  all  things,  including  sun.  moon,  and  stars.  The 
Creation  legend  appears  in  two  forms,  in  the  first  of  which  Batarn  occupies 
a  prominent  position : — 

"Batara  first  expanded  the  heavens, — thick  as  the  crest  of  a  red  rooster. 
Batara  first  created  the  earth, — thick  as  the  fruit  of  the  Horse-Mango. 
Batara  first  poured  forth  the  ivaters, — great  as  the  fibres  of  the  rattan. 
Batara  first  cleft  the  clay  in  two  parts, — and  it  became  7nan".'^ 

In  the  other  version  greater  details  are  given.  In  the  beginning  there 
was  a  huge  expanse  of  water,  over  which  two  creative  spirits,  Ara  and 
/n7i'  hovered  in  the  form  of  birds.  They  dived  under  and  brought  forth 
two  solid  substances  of  the  size  of  a  hen's  egg.  Out  of  these  Ara  made  the 
heaven  and  Irik  the  earth.  By  comparing  heaven  and  earth,  it  was  found 
that  the  earth  was  too  large.  So  they  pressed  it  together,  and  mountains 
and  valleys  were  formed.  Trees  and  plants  then  sprouted  out  of  their  own 
accord.  The  two  spirits  then  essayed  the  creation  of  man,  first  as  a  red- 
sapped  tree,  and  finally  as  a  figure  of  clay,  who  as  male  and  female, 
became  the  ancestors  of  the  race,  known  as  Tanah-Kumpok,—[he  "earth- 
formed".-  Nevertheless  "all  spirits  came  from  Batara.  who  made  them 
all".--' 

The  native  origin  of  these  legends  is  stamped  on  the  very  wording, 
even  if  the  hatching-theme  and  the  waters  are  suggestive  of  Western- 
Asiatic  influences.  Batara  "works",  though  his  creation  is  largely  aufo- 
matic. 


'  H.  Ling-Roth,  The  Natives  of  Sarawak  and  British  North  Borneo  (London,  1896),  Vol. 
L  p.  165ff.  -  Mgr.  E.  Dunn,  Prefect  .Apostolic  of  British  Borneo,  in  Anthropos.  I.  (1906)-pp. 
ll-24flf. — a  series  on  the  Iban  Dayaks.  Comp.  VV,  Schmidt.  Grundlinien  einer  Vergleichung 
der  Religionen  u.  Mv-thologien  der  Austronesishen  Volker.  (Vienna.  IQIOV  pp.  J-7.  ^  Dunn.  op. 
cit.  p.  177. 


112  GOD 

LATER  OCEANIC  AND  RECENT  FORM 

Of  llie  nature  of  Batara  we  liave  considerable  information.  He  is 
often  addressed  as,  Patu  nadv  apai,  Endang  nadax  indai, — an  "orphan, 
without  father — ever  without  mother".*  He  is  an  nvtv,  or  invisible  spirit, 
and  has  neither  temples  nor  pictures,  though  he  demands  prayer,  he 
requires  sacrifice,  he  is  the  stern  guardian  of  morality.  Perhams  estimate 
is  worth  considering.  He  says  in  substance,  that  although  the  concept  of 
Batara  is  by  no  means  a  lofty  one,  yet  he  is  nevertheless  a  "good"  being. 
Although  he  lets  men  die  as  a  sign  of  his  displeasure,  evil  is  not  attributed 
to  him.  He  is  always  on  the  side  of  justice  and  right.  Batara  cannot  be 
unjust,  cannot  be  unchaste.  Batara  approves  of  industry,  honesty,  clean- 
ness of  tongue,  integrity  in  word  and  action.  He  admonishes  men  to 
harbor  the  stranger,  feed  the  liungry  with  rice,  give  drink  to  the  thirsty, 
console  the  afllicled,  guard  their  fingers  from  theft  and  their  hearts  from 
contamination.  Unchastity  is  believed  to  be  punished  by  Batara  with 
heavy  rain,  and  can  only  be  atoned  for  by  fire  and  sacrifice.  Every  locality 
trodden  by  an  adulterer  is  cursed  by  the  gods,  until  the  deed  has  been 
expiated  by  a  suitable  sacrifice.' 

This  is  an  attractive  picture,  but  must  be  offset  by  other  considerations 
which  tend  to  make  the  above  precepts  largely  theoretical.  In  the  first 
place  Batara  is  the  name  for  any  god  or  a)itu,  even  for  the  demon  of  the 
underworld,  though  there  is  admittedly  only  one  supreme  Batara,  the 
creator  of  them  all.  Yet  he  requires  two  fln?«-spirits  to  make  the  world, 
the  antus  are  continually  invoked  in  the  hour  of  sickness,  they  are  fed 
with  libations  and  sacrifices  after  the  manner  of  ghosts,  they  are  the 
sources  of  divination  and  bird-augury,  they  inllict  diseases,  and  the  form- 
erly universal  practice  of  cannibalism  and  head-hunting,  with  pronounced 
sun  and  moon-worship,  shows  that  Batara  is  not  the  unique  Lord  of 
creation  that  might  otherwise  be  suggested  by  the  above  data."  .\gain  the 
possibility  of  Hindoo  influence  is  not  altogether  ruled  out  in  this  case, 
though  there  is  no  clear  proof.  If  however  the  concept  be  native  and  the 
interpretation  correct,  it  seems  highly  probable  that  Batara  is  a  supersolar. 
relatively  supreme  being, — personal,  beneficent,  uncompromising — ,  but 
sharing  his  authority  with  innumerable  antus,  and  perhaps  with  another 
Batara  of  the  Underworld,  {Pulang  Gana), — which  again  points  to  dual- 
ism. Divinity  is  thus  possibly  multiform,  but  there  is  no  consciousness 
of  any  physical  relationship  with  the  divine.  This  is  the  chief  point  to 
be  noted  in  dealing  with  this  stage  of  belief.' 


<  Perhara.  apud  Ling-Roth,  op.  cit.  p.  169.    ''  Ibid.  p.  179ff.    '  Compare  however  Schmidt, 
op   cit.  p.  5-6      Perham,  p.  177.     "  The  Sea  Dayaks  have  outgrown  totemism 


GOD  113 

LATER  OCEANIC  AND  NEOLITHIC  FORM 
(b)  QUAT-MARAWA— Melanesiax  Transitiox   (Banks  Islands) 

In  the  figure  of  Quat-Marawa  we  have  elements  of  extreme  antiquity, — 
the  "Lord  Spider" — .  fused  together  with  ideas  of  a  later  age, — totemic 
taboo,  spiritism,  skull-cult,  and  above  all  things  "mana", — the  doctrine  of 
secret  spiritual  force.  Though  he  is  Quat,  the  "Lord",  and  has  made  light 
and  darkness,  storms  and  rains,  winds  and  seasons,  men  and  women,  he 
is  nevertheless  born  or  evolved  from  a  stone,  he  has  a  wife  and  eleven 
brothers,  he  is  a  vui  or  disembodied  spirit,  he  is  associated  with  Marawa, 
the  "Spider",  and  though  his  influence  is  mainly  for  good  and  his  char- 
acter spotless,  he  has  sunk  to  the  level  of  a  national  hero,  being  little  more 
than  a  "Don  Quixote '.'  Sacrifices  are  made  to  Quat  as  to  other  spirits,  of 
first-fruits.  meat-ofTerings,  money,  and  even  human  life,  though  the  latter 
practice  is  rare  and  confined  chiefly  to  the  minor  spirits."  Prayer  is 
addressed  to  the  couple  as  follows:  "Quat!  Marawa!  look  down  upon  me! 
Prepare  the  sea,  that  I  may  go  on  a  safe  sea.  Beat  down  the  waves,  that  I 
may  come  to  a  sale  landing-place!"'"  which  shows  that  he  is  a  living 
divinity,  however  facetious,  however  humanised. 

Bui  it  is  mana  alone  that  can  interpret  this  figure.  What  (hen  is  nuitia? 
"This  power,  thougli  in  itself  impersonal,  is  always  connected  with  some 
person  who  directs  it.  .\11  spirits  have  it.  ghosts  generally,  some  men, 
etc"." 

"No  man,  however,  has  this  power  of  his  own:  all  that  he-does  is  done 
by  the  aid  of  personal  beings,  ghosts  or  spirits". '=  Again,  "This  mana.  is 
not  fixed  in  anything,  and  can  be  conveyed  in  almost  anything;  but  spirits, 
whether  disembodied  souls  or  supernatural  beings,  have  it  and  can  impart 
it.  and  it  essentially  belongs  to  personal  beings  to  originate  it,  though  it 
may  act  through  the  medium  of  water,  stone,  or  bone.  All  Melanesian 
religion,  in  fact,  consists  in  getting  this  mana  for  one's  self,  or  getting  it 
used  for  one's  benefit,— all  religion,  that  is,  as  far  as  religious  practices  go, 
prayers  and  sacrifices.''  Now  the  point  is  that  mana  is  no  mere  occult 
material  force,  but  a  personal,  spiritual  power  proceeding  from  the  rut 
and  imparted  to  men.  Though  it  terminates  in  matter,  it  is  initiated  in 
mind.  "What  is  a  vui?  It  lives,  thinks,  has  more  intelligence  than  a  man; 
knows  things  which  are  secret  without  seeing,  is  supernaturally  powerful 
with  mana,  has  no  form  to  be  seen,  has  no  soul  because  itself  is  like  a 
soul"."  If  then  Quat  is  himself  a  vui,  possibly  supreme,  it  follows  that  he 
is  the  source  of  ma7w,  a  spiritual  being.  In  practice,  however,  he  is  hardly 
more  than  a  ghost,  and  the  strong  demon-  and  ancestor-worship  of  this 
region  shows  that  mana  is  essentially  spiritistic." 


8  R.  Codrington,  The  Melanesians,  their  anthropology  and  folk-lore  (Oxford),  p.  lS4ff. 
'Idem.  p.  128flF.  ibidem,  p.  148.  "Idem,  p.  ii9.  '-Idem,  p.  191.  ''Idem.  p.  119  note. 
'*Idem,  p.  123.    i^   gg^  Codrmgton  passim,  esp.  Chapt.  XII. 


114  GOD 

LATER  OCEANIC  AND  RECENT  FORM 
(c)  RANGI-PAPA-TANGAROA— Polynesian  Advanced,  (Samoa) 

This  is  further  illustrated  by  the  Polynesian  mythology  in  which  the 
idea  of  mana  has  been  brought  into  connexion  with  the  chief  deities  of 
the  pantheon,  Rangi,  the  Sun,  Papa,  the  Earth,  and  Tangaroa  the  Moon. 
The  leading  idea  of  this  system  is  the  creation  of  tln^  world  by  sexual 
genesis.  Originally  Rangi  and  Papa  (heaven  and  earth)  were  so  closely 
united  in  wedlock  that  no  ray  of  light  could  penetrate  the  eternal  darkness. 
This  darkness  is  called  Po,  the  primaeval  night,  with  which  Tangaroa,  the 
lunar  orb,  is  identified  as  the  child  of  heaven.  During  the  battle  between 
Light  and  Sound  on  the  one  hand  and  Night  and  Silence  on  the  other,  the 
former  conquer,  and  through  the  union  of  Light  and  Dawn  tliere  issue  the 
minor  divinities,  and  finally  mankind  in  the  full  light  of  day.  each  being 
the  "'parent"  of  the  higher  couple." 

While  a  divine  "parentage'"  is  sufficiently  common, — mana,  as  devel- 
oped in  the  Polynesian  Islands,  has  led  to  a  strongly  sexual  polytheism,  in 
which  tlie  forces  of  nature  are  not  mere  "mysteries",  but  intensely  human 
personalities,  human  generators.  This  excessive  anthropomorphism  is 
clearly  a  degeneration,  it  substitutes  pro-creation  for  simple  creation,  but 
it  brings  out  the  idea  of  personality  in  a  manner  that  is  quite  unmistakable. 
It  shows  that  the  forces  of  nature  in  the  mind  of  neolithic  man  are  rep- 
resented as  human  beings,  not  as  blind  agencies,  inorganic  or  lifeless 
powers.  And  while  there  is  an  intimate  connexion  between  the  heavenly 
bodies  and  their  divine  hypostatisations,  a  sun-  or  star-worship  in  the 
purely  material  sense  is  not  thereby  implied,  as  the  above  divinities  control 
human  life  and  destiny  in  a  very  realistic  manner,  they  act  like  guardians, 
they  demand  justice,  they  require  heavy,  at  times  human  sacrifices. 

Taken  all  in  all,  it  is  impossible  to  resist  the  conclusion  that  the  appli- 
cation of  mana  to  everything  in  heaven  and  earth,  while  it  has  expanded 
the  old  totems  and  made  them  personal  spirit-centers,  has  been  the  occa- 
sion of  secondary  developments  which  are  far  from  pleasing.  If  the 
totemic  divinities  are  frequently  married,  they  conceal  the  relation  in  its 
coarser  I'urms.  Here  however  the  sexual  act  is  made  the  mainspring  of 
creation, — with  what  consequences  to  morality  may  be  well  imagined. 
The  existence  of  phallic  worship  in  large  sections  of  Oceania  recalls  the 
similar  rites  of  India  and  Western  Asia,  and  while  manism  and  phallism 
have  no  direct  connexion,  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  both  are  apt  to  fiourish 
among  populations  that  ar:'  chiefiy  ngrnrian.  and  to  whom  the  sexualised 
"snn"  is  the  great  source  of  fertility." 


•"A.  Banian,  Die  heilige  Sage  der  Polynesier,  (Leipzig,  1881),  pp.  29ff.  "  Comp.  W. 
Schmidt,  Austronesische  Mythologie,  pp.  134ff.  "Die  Entstehung  der  phallischen  Zauber- 
riteii  in  Austronesien". 


GOD  115 

PAN-AMERICAN  RECENT  FORM 

(N,  7)    CORDILLERAX   EXTENSION, — NORTH  AND  SoUTH   AMERICA 

If  in  conclusion  we  say  a  few  words  of  the  neolithic  divinities  of  the 
New  World,  it  is  chiefly  to  bring  out  the  main  point  of  our  present  conten- 
tion,— the  fact,  namely  that  there  is  an  essential  difference  between  the 
late-glacial  and  the  more  recent  animistic  theology,  that  while  the  former 
is  in  part  a  corruption  of  the  primitive  notions,  the  latter  is  in  some 
sense  a  return  to  those  notions,  but  with  the  strong  marks  of  a  nature- 
emergence  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  animistic  multiplicity  on  the  other. 
For  this  purpose  it  will  be  suflicient  to  select  four  typical  divinities,  one 
from  the  plateaus,  two  from  the  plains,  and  one  from  the  South-American 
Andes,  all  of  which  belong  to  the  late-megalithic  and  copper  culture  which 
is  appropriately  called  Pan-American  or  "Cordilleran", — the  last  of  the 
prehistoric  waves  that  was  destined  to  affect  the  two  continents. 

(a)  AWONAWILONA,— ZuNi-PuEBLOS — .  (Coloiudo  Basin.  New  Mexico) 

That  the  Pueblos  regard  the  Supreme  Being  as  in  no  sense  evolved,  but 
rather  as  an  Evolver,  may  be  gathered  from  the  opening  lines  of  a  hymn 
which  is  jealously  guarded  from  profanation,  and  never  sung  in  presence 
of  the  Mexican  Spanish: — 

"Before  the  beginning  of  the  New  Creation,  Awonawilona,  the  Maker 
and  Container  of  All,  the  All-Father,  solely  had  being  .  .  .  He  then  evolved 
things  by  thinking  himself  outward  in  space",  etc' 

This  has  been  called  an  ■Hegelian"  notion,  but  the  description  is 
hardly  a  happy  one.  .\  precosmic,  personal  Creator  is  clearly  more  than 
an  immanent.  He  is  a  transcendent  Being,  and  the  expression,  to  "think 
himself  outward  in  space",  is  a  naive  attempt  to  trace  the  objects  of  nature 
to  their  divine  archetypes.  But  apart  from  this,  a  creating  Awona  is  here 
distinctly  expressed,  and  the  divine  Fatherhood  is  again  prominent. 
Nevertheless  a  closer  inspection  of  Zuni  mythology  and  practice  will  reveal 
the  fact  that  this  divinity  has  but  lately  emerged  from  the  nature-con- 
nexion. The  snake-  and  sun-dances  are  still  in  evidence,  the  clan-totems 
are  at  least  "descriptive",  and  the  sun-priests  invoke  all  the  powers  of 
nature  personified  in  their  efforts  to  control  the  climate  as  weather-doctors. 
At  the  same  time  the  magical  fraternities  are  no  longer  totemic,  there  is  no 
evidence  of  reincarnation,  and  the  strongly  astronomical  setting  of  the 
mythology  recalls  nothing  so  much  as  the  famous  Aztec  Sun-Calendar, 
with  the  twelve  signs  of  the  Zodiac- 


»  F.  H.  Gushing,  Outlines  of  Zuni  Creation-Myths,  13th.  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of 
American  Ethnology  (Washington,  1891),  p.  379.  Comp.  Lang,  Making  of  Religion,  pp.  247, 
251.  2  See  J.  W.  Fewkes.  Tusayan  Snake  Ceremonies,  16th.  Rep.  B.  A.  E.  p.  307.  Also  Mrs. 
M.  C.  Stevenson.  The  Zuni  Indians.  23d.  Rep.  do.  (1904),  passim.  Frazer,  Totemism  and 
Exogamv,  Vol.  III.  pp.  215-241. 


116  GOD 

PAN-AMERICAN  REGENT  FORM 

(b)  TIRAWA, — Pawnee — ,  (Platte  V.\lley.  NEBruvsKA) 

This  connexion  with  liie  early  Mayan  culture  of  Central  America  is 
rendered  increasingly  plausible  by  the  figure  of  Ti-m-wa,  the  "Spirit- 
Father"  of  the  Pawnee,  who  are  generally  credited  with  showing  sh'ong 
Aztec  affinities.'  He  is  the  Maker  of  the  Pawnees,  the  "power  above  that 
controls  the  universe  and  moves  all  things".  This  power  is  evidently  trans- 
cendent and  ubiquitous.  He  is  addressed  as  A-ti-iis-ta-ka-wa,  "Our  Father 
in  all  places",  though  it  must  be  added  that  the  whole  universe  is  peopled 
with  ra-was  or  spirits  who  are  hungry  for  sacrifice,  not  stopping  short  of 
human  life.  The  Skidi,  or  Wolf-Pawnee,  occasionally  ofTer  up  a  captive 
man,  and  this  to  the  morning-star(  !)*  With  Tirawa  it  is  different. 
"Through  corn,  deer,  buffalo,  and  the  sacred  bundles,  we  worship  Tirawa". 
Moreover  at  death  the  soul  is  not  reincarnated,  but  returns  to  Tirawa, — 
"We  see  ourselves  living  with  Tirawa" — ,  while  the  wicked  simply  cease 
to  exist.  To  this  cycle  must  also  be  referred  the  Nappa-deHy  of  the  Black- 
feet,  and  the  A/io?ie-divinity  of  the  Virginians, — now  well  known, — the 
former  having  distinctly  solar  associations." 

(c)  MANITOO, — Chippewa — .  (Minnesot.v-Gakada) 

It  seems  quite  certain  that  the  famous  Kitchi  Manito  or  "Great  Spirit" 
of  the  Chippewa  must  be  distinguished  from  the  common  Algonquin 
manitoo,  which  is  the  ordinary  designation  for  the  totem.  "Ke-che-mnn- 
e-du",  writes  Warren,  "is  the  name  used  by  the  Objibways  for  the  being 
equivalent  to  our  God.  There  is  nothing  to  equal  the  veneration  with 
which  the  Indian  regards  this  unseen  being.  They  seldom  even  nuMition 
his  name  except  in  their  religious  rites  and  sacrificial  feasts,  and  every 
address  to  him,  however  trivial,  is  always  accompanied  by  a  sacrifice  of 
tobacco  or  some  other  article  deemed  precious  by  the  Indian.  They  never 
use  his  name  in  vain,  and  there  is  no  word  in  their  language  expressive  of 
a  profane  oath,  or  of  profane  swearing,  as  is  the  case  with  their  more 
enlightened  white  brethren.  Instances  are  told  of  persons  enduring  almost 
superhuman  fasts  in  order  to  gain  a  vision  of  him  in  their  dreams.  In 
such  instances  the  Great  Spirit  invariably  appears  to  the  dreamer  in  the 
shape  of  a  beautifully  and  strongly-formed  man,  and  it  is  a  firm  belief 
among  them  that  whoever  has  once  been  blest  with  Ihis  vision  is  fated  to 
live  to  a  good  old  age  and  in  enjoyment  of  ease  and  plenty"."  The  appear- 
ance of  the  Manitoo  as  a  "perfect  man"  difTerentiates  this  being  toto  caelo 
from  the  totem-gods.  Init  the  cdntlicting  evidence  leave?  his  imfuci^  liu'gely 
problematical. 


=■0.  B.  Grinnell,  Pawnee  Hero  Stories  and  Folk-Tales,  (New  York,  1889).  Compare 
Lang,  Making  of  Religion,  pp.  23.1-236.  *  Alice  C.  Fletcher,  "The  Hako,  A  Pawnee  Cere- 
mony", in  22(1.  Am.  Kep.  Bur.  Amer.  Ethnology.  »  Comp.  Grinnell,  Blackfoot  Lodge  Tales 
(N.  Y.  1892)  and  Lang,  1.  c.  pp.  230,  236fT.  »  W.  Warren.  A  History  of  the  Objibways  (St. 
Paul.  Minn..  1885),  pp.  63-65. 


GOD  117 

PAN-AMERICAN  REGENT  FORM 

As  the  Great  Maniloo  is  tlie  best  known  of  all  the  numerous  designa- 
tions for  divinity  on  the  North  American  continent,  it  may  be  worth  while 
lo  bring  forward  tiie  chief  points  upon  which  the  controversy  concerning 
liis  theistic  nature  may  be  said  to  turn.  Under  the  heading  "Popular 
Fallacies",  Mr.  H.  W.  Henshaw  thus  dismisses  the  question : — "Among  the 
many  erroneous  conceptions  regarding  the  Indian  none  has  taken  deeper 
root  than  the  one  which  ascribes  to  him  belief  in  an  overruling  deity,  the 
'Great  Spirit'.  Very  far  removed  from  this  tremendous  conception  of  one 
all-powerful  deity  was  the  Indian  belief  in  a  multitude  of  spirits  that  dwelt 
in  animate  and  inanimate  objects,  to  propitiate  which  was  the  chief  object 
of  his  supplications  and  sacrifices.  To  none  of  his  deities  did  the  Indian 
ascribe  moral  good  or  evil.  His  religion  was  practical.  The  spirits  were 
the  source  of  good  or  bad  fortune  whether  on  the  hunting  path  or  the  war- 
trail,  in  the  pursuit  of  a  wife  or  in  a  ball  game.  If  successful  he  adored, 
offered  sacrifices,  and  made  valuable  presents.  If  unsuccessful  he  cast  his 
manitu  away  and  ofTered  his  faith  to  more  powerful  or  more  friendly 
deities".'  Under  the  article  "Manito",  A.  F.  Chamberlain  writes  in  a 
similar  strain: — It  stands  for  "the  mysterious  and  unknown  potencies 
and  powers  of  life  and  of  the  universe.  As  taken  over  from  the  Algonquian 
into  the  vocabulary  of  the  white  man,  it  has  signified  spirit,  good,  bad,  or 
indifferent;  Indian  god  or  devil,  demon,  guardian  spirit,  genius  loci,  fetish, 
etc."*  Tylor  also  speaks  of  the  vague  nature  of  the  idea,  and  yet  he 
attributes  the  Kitchi  Manitoo  to  missionary  influence, — "it  belongs  not  to 
the  untutored  but  to  the  tutored  mind  of  the  savage,  and  is  preserved  for 
us  in  the  records  of  the  tutors  themselves,  the  Jesuit  missionaries  of 
Canada."' 

Now  in  so  far  as  manitoo  is  the  common  designation  for  taboo  or 
totem,  it  is  quite  true  that  it  has  a  vague,  mysterious  sense,  analogous  to 
orenda.  Nevertheless  Warren's  report  fits  in  very  badly  with  the  above 
dogmatic  conclusions,  and  the  Jesuit  Relations  to  which  Tylor  appeals 
seem  to  refute  the  notion  of  borrowing  rather  than  support  it.  In  one 
passage  we  read:  "They  believe  in  a  god,  so  they  say,  but  can  only  name 
him  by  the  name  of  the  sun,  Niscaninou,  and  know  no  prayers,  nor  man- 
ner of  adoring  him."  And  yet, — "they  put  on  robes,  turn  to  the  east,  and 
say,  "Our  Sun,  or  our  God!{?)  give  us  to  eat!"  ^^  "Here",  says  Andrew 
Lang,  "are  prayers,  vestments,  and  turning  lo  the  east",  and  these  are 
certainly  not  imported  features.  While  these  reports  cannot  be  always 
directly  verified,  we  have  no  reason  to  suspect  their  genuineness,  as  their 
authors  are  proverbially  accurate  and  painstaking." 


^  H.  W.  Henshaw,  in  Hodge,  op.  cit.  Vol.  H.  p.  284.  e  a.  F.  Chamberlain,  ibid.  I.  p.  800. 
■  Tylor,  The  Limits  of  Savage  Religion,  Journ.  Anthropol.  Instit.  Vol.  XXI.  p.  284.  '»  Rela- 
tions des  Jesuites  (Quebec  Edition,  1858),  p.  20.  (collected  since  1611).  '^^  Lang,  Magic  and 
Religion,  (London,  1901).  p.  295. 


118  GOD 

pa\-amp:hi<;an  recknt  form 

But  this  is  not  an  isolated  case.  The  same  writer  has  eollerted  numer- 
niis  other  examples,  in  which  a  transcendent  Mauitoo  is  clearly  implied, 
even  if  the  title  Kitchi  Manitoo  be  looked  upon  for  argument's  sake  as  a 
recent  nomenclature,  which  is  not  impossible,  .\mong  the  neighboring 
Blackfeet  of  the  Yellowstone  region  A"a/o*  is  the  equivalent  of  "holy'"  or 
"divine",  and  is  also  the  name  for  the  sun.  "To  Satos  prayer  and  sac- 
rifice are  offered,  and  the  cruel  rites  of  the  Aa/o.«-dance  an;  performed. 
Tongues  of  cattle  are  served  out  to  the  virtuous, — the  rite  partakes  of  the 
nature  of  a  sacrament.  Youths  sacrifice  a  finger,  in  recognition  of  prayers 
answered  by  Natos.  Prayer  is  made  to  Natos  only,  and  everything  in  the 
okan  (or  ceremony)  is  sacred  to  him  alone. "'^  Again,  there  is  Napi,  pos- 
sibly the  same  divinity,  as  he  is  pictured  as  the  Sun.  and  yet  addressed  as 
a  person. — he  is  Na-pi,  "Old  Man"',  the  Immortal  One.  who  was  before 
death  came  into  the  world,  who  made  man  and  woman  out  of  clay,  who 
gave  them  the  arts,  who  brought  Ihem  fire,  who  punished  them  for  their 
sins,  who  still  chastises  them  for  their  disobedience.  Here  also  thf  finger 
is  occasionally  sacrificed,  and  \api  is  addressed  in  prayer  in  a  high  ethical 
strain: — "Pity  me,  Sun!  Y'ou  liaise  seen  my  life.  You  know  that  I  am 
pure!"  '■'  From  other  sources  we  know  that  the  natives  believed  in  immor- 
tality, in  rewards  and  punishments  in  the  life  to  come.'* 

Now  the  important  point  to  be  noted  is  that  the  reporters,  mission- 
aries, and  others,  to  whom  we  owe  the  above  data,  did  not  carry  these 
ideas  to  the  natives,  but  found  them  already  existiny,  and  the  only  ques- 
tion that  arises  concerns  their  interpretation, — what  do  they  mean?  In 
this  connection  I  venture  to  say.  that,  whatever  be  the  idea  concealed  by 
mantoo  in  general,  it  seems  quite  clear  that  the  idea  of  a  "Great  Spirit" 
existed  side  by  side  with  that  of  thi^  totem,  that  it  was  by  no  means  strange 
to  the  mind  of  the  savage,  that  an  all-creating  invisible  Agent  was  already 
acknowledged,  even  though  he  manifested  himself  in  solar  form,  and  was 
surrounded,  as  indeed  he  might  be,  by  a  host  of  rairns  or  minor  spirits. 
This  is  rendered  increasingly  certain  by  the  similar  position  of  Awoia- 
wilona  and  Tirawn  above.  In  each  case  we  have  a  native  "Spirit-Father", 
associated  more  or  less  with  the  sun,  but  whose  personal  character  is  dis- 
tinctly revealed  by  his  role  as  Creator  and  Governor  of  the  human  race, 
and  by  his  worship  under  the  form  of  the  "Sacred  Corn",  a  singularly 
beautiful  and  suggestive  rite.  Moreover  at  death  there  is  no  return  to  the 
animals,  but  the  Great  Spirit  shows  himself  in  the  form  of  n  man.  "H'e 
see  ourselrrs  lirinq  irith  Tiraira!" 


■'Lang,   Magic   and    Religion,   p.   295.     "Idem.   Making  of   Religion,   p.   236ff.     '*  Jesuit 
Relations,  loc.  cit.  supra.  Comp.  under  "Tirawa"  above. 


GOD  119 

PAN-AMERICAN  RECENT  FORM 

(d)  PACHACAMAC— INCA-YUNCA— .  (Peru) 

Of  Ihe  extinct  civilisations  of  Mexico  and  Peru  we  have  considerable 
monumental  and  literary  remains,  but  there  are  no  means  of  dating  these 
remains  with  anything  like  security.  While  much  of  the  architecture  and 
ornament  fmds  a  striking  parallel  in  ancient  Egypt,  India,  and  even  Java, 
il  seems  equally  certain  that  the  high  grade  of  Mexican  sculpture  postulates 
a  source  within  historic  times,  and  the  entirely  recent  character  of  Inca- 
\ztec  civilisation  makes  its  value  as  an  exponent  of  prehistoric  conditions 
of  faith  and  practice  of  very  little  importance.  Hence  the  numerous  bibli- 
cal and  even  Christian  allusions,  real  or  fanciful,  culminating  in  the  mys- 
tprious  figure  of  Quetzalcoall,  are  far  too  late  to  be  of  any  practical  value 
in  the  present  place,  some  of  them  being  demonstrably  of  Christian. 
Islamic  or  possibly  Buddhistic  origin."  If,  however,  we  mention  the  name 
of  Pachacamac  it  is  simply  to  note  the  character  of  a  typical  Cordilleran 

divinity.  ,.    .      .,      ,.,      , 

Pacha-camac  is  the  "\^•orld-Soul",  the  anima  mundi,  in  the  literal 
meaning  of  the  term.  The  high  qualities  that  are  assigned  to  him  are 
revealed  by  the  data  furnished  by  Garcilasso.  a  Spanish-Inca  writer  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  who  testifies  that  the  original  people  of  Peru  were  totem- 
ists  worshippors  of  all  the  powers  of  nature,  but  that  a  new  sun-cult  was 
established  by  the  first  Inca,  himself  a  child  of  the  sun.'"  This  new  religion 
while  it  retained  much  of  the  external  trappings  of  the  old,  yet  recognised 
a  power  behind  the  sun,— Pachacamm:—  the  "sustainer  of  the.  world  . 
the  being  who  "advanced  the  Sun  so  far  above  all  the 'stars  of  heaven  . 
This  being  had  no  temples,  but  "they  worshipped  him  in  their  hearts",  and 
he  seems  to  stand   for  an   advanced,   almost   philosophical   concept   of 

divinity."  „   ,  .  ^       ,  •  u  r. 

There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  the  authenticity  of  this  report,  which  fits 
in  well  with  the  parallel  tradition  of  Wiracocha,  the  pre-Inca  Sun-god. 
whose  two  sons  are  Pachacamac  and  Wichama.  The  latter  obtains  from 
his  father  three  eggs  from  which  princes,  females,  and  plebeians  spring 
forth  There  is  also  the  legend  that  the  boneless  Kon  was  forced  to  yield 
to  the  growing  power  of  Pachacamac,  to  whom  he  delivers  his  kingdom.^' 
This  shows  that  Garcilasso's  theory  is  correct.  All  the  evidence  tends  to 
reveal  that  Pachacamac  was  formerly  a  nature-god,  who  under  the  new 
Inca  empire  was  raised  to  a  position  of  supreme  importance  and  stripped 
of  his  cosmic  features.  He  represents  the  highest  and  latest  development 
of  pre-Columbian  tiieology. 


iBC.  r!.m;i1ii<!   rrivelli    S    J     Article   "Mexico"   in   Cath.   Encyclop.   Vol.   X    p.  251ff. 
Mythen  und  Legenden  der  Siid-amerikanischen  Urvolker.  p.  33. 


1 20  GOD 

PAN-AMERICAN  REGENT  FORM 

To  smii  iiji,  tlio  loading  features  of  llic  American  Neolilliic  are  in  strik- 
ing accord  with  the  parallel  development  in  the  Old  World.  In  both  cases 
tlie  transition  to  a  higher  stone  culture,  followed  by  the  copper  or  bronze 
age.  has  been  accompanied  by  a  more  advanced  form  of  social  and  polit-. 
ical  organisation,  in  which  the  "Priest-King",  wliethpr  in  Babylonia. 
Polynesia,  or  Peru,  forms  the  center  of  authority,  the  divinely  appointed 
"son  of  heaven".  The  tendencies  of  the  age  are  generally  conservative, 
there  is  a  desire  to  revive  the  old  notions  of  a  Father  in  Heaven,  at  the 
same  time  to  develop  and  deepen  the  concept  by  bringing  it  into  harmony 
with  a  more  expanded  knowledge  of  nature  and  man.  For  this  purpose 
the  more  refined  notion  of  "spirit". — whether  as  zi,  clingir,  ka,  choper, 
luach,  bruiva,  manah,  mana,  manes,  manitoo — ,  was  already  at  hand,  and 
needed  only  to  be  welded  on  to  old  notions  of  a  great  Generator,  of  a 
paternal  First  Cause,  in  order  to  bring  out  the  idea  of  a  Universal  Spirit. — 
one  who  was  not  only  a  Person,  but  in  a  more  philosophical  sense  the 
invisible  source  and  interior  of  all  being,  n  universal  essence, — a  "World- 
Sour'. 

In  the  application  of  this  new  idea  it  was  inevitable  that  many  of  its 
developments  should  be  in  the  wrong  direction.  F^rom  the  earliest  times, 
ghost  competes  with  god,  ancestor  with  the  living  Creator,  and  in  every 
case  we  have  a  Pantheon,  more  or  less  evolved,  in  which  the  divinities  are 
largely  independent,  even  if  in  theory  these  are  held  together  by  a  supreme 
Spirit,  a  "father"  of  the  immortals.  But  more  than  this,  the  further  we 
advance  into  the  metal  ages,  the  more  conspicuous  is  the  figure  of  the  dis- 
embodied "double",  the  more  baneful  is  the  influence  of  the  demon-god, 
who,  disguised  as  an  angel  of  light,  as  an  alluring  Venus  or  Astarte,  seduces 
the  faithful  by  his  promise  of  hidden  pleasures,  a  practice  which  reaches 
its  climax  in  the  temple-prostitution  of  later  limes. 

Vet  with  all  this  there  is  no  direct  evidence  that  the  megalithic  archi- 
tecture was  associated  with  a  phallic  cult,  even  if  phallic  symbols  occur 
very  early,  and  are  characteristic  of  the  megalithic  belt.  Nor  can  we  be 
siire  that  they  meant  the  same  things  in  those  ages  that  they  would  in  ours. 
The  high  and  noble  thoughts  preserved  in  the  earliest  hymns  show  that 
Ixhiar  and  Mnni  difTuse  a  good  odor,  even  if  their  symbols  are  not  of  the 
choicest.  Perversions  of  the  noble  are  common  to  all  ages,  and  while  such 
perversions  are  undoubtedly  prominent  throughout  this  period,  they  do 
not  affect  the  statement,  that,  with  all  its  distortions  and  degenerations,  it 
is  grasping  out  for  a  higher  mental  and  social  life  than  was  evor  known 
io  the  mind  of  primitive  man. 


GOD  121 


A  PRELIMINARY  ESTIMATE  OF  THE 
RELIGIOUS  DATA 

Our  analysis  up  lo  this  point  has  aimed  to  bring  out  tlie  chief  items  in 
the  concept  of  the  supreme  being  as  far  as  they  can  be  expressed  in  the 
most  general  and  summary  manner.  We  are  simply  making  the  first  of 
a  series  of  surveys,  in  which  the  divine  being,  as  such,  forms  the  principal 
object  of  study,  the  immediate  aim  of  our  searchings.  It  will  readily  be 
conceded  that  such  a  hasty  and  generalised  picture  cannot  but  leave  much 
to  be  desired  in  the  way  of  detail,  in  the  way  of  further  corroborative  evi- 
dence more  exact  definitions,  more  abundant  illustrations.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  speak  of  the  nature  of  God  with  anything  like  scientific  precision 
without  going  far  deeper  into  this  matter  than  is  possible  within  the  com- 
pass of  a  hundred  and  twenty  pages :  we  require  more  explicit  information 
on  the  practical  side  of  the  cult,  its  exterioration  in  ritual  and  sacrifice, 
and  above  all  its  relation  to  the  moral  code  and  to  the  ideas  of  a  future 
life,_in  short,  we  require  the  entire  religious  complexity  of  faith  and 
practice  if  we  would  pass  any  final  judgment  as  to  its  character,— for 
which  see  our  concluding  chapter. 

For  the  present,  however,  we  are  in  possession  of  a  sulTicient  number 
of  essential  points  to  establish  certain  broad  tendencies  in  the  domain 
of  religious  thought  which  seem  to  be  characteristic  of  certain  broad  eras 
of  human  development.  We  had  set  out  in  our  Introduction  to  discover, 
if  possible,  some  interconnexion  between  culture  and  religious  belief,  to 
examine  the  validitv  of  the  Kulturkreis  when  applied  to  religious  phe- 
nomena, to  see  how"  far  the  schedule  is  supported  by  the  different  eras  of 
belief  as  we  actually  find  them.  Needless  to  say,  this  subject  is  too  immense 
to  be  exhausted  in  "the  few  cultural  and  religious  items  that  we  have  so  far 
noted  as  distinctive  of  the  various  epochs  of  human  expansion.  Only  at 
the  conclusion  of  this  treatise  will  it  be  found  that  the  combined  cul- 
tural phenomena  present  such  an  astounding  homogeneity  for  the  dif- 
ferent cycles  of  man  that  a  universal  or  collective  -'unity"  is  the  only  solu- 
tion At  present  we  can  onlv  pave  the  way  for  a  consideration  of  these 
cumulative  facts  bv  calling  attention  to  the  more  important  phenomena 
in  the  religious  fiefd  in  so  far  as  they  concern  the  idea  of  the  being  and 
nature  of  God  as  such,  and  the  priority  of  the  monotheistic  belief  in  gen- 
eral. 


122  GOD 

A  PRELIMINARY  ESTIMATE 

The  Fatheh-notion  belongs  to  the  earliest  times 

Contrary  to  tlie  prevalent  notions  of  sympatlietic  magic  as  being  the 
ultimate  foundation  of  all  religion,  we  have  already  collected  sufilcient 
examples  to  show  that  the  idea  of  "personality"  is  anterior  to  that  of 
charm-power,  that  the  so-called  spells  of  the  primitive  savage  are  in  most 
cases  referred  to  a  supreme  spell-worker  from  wliom  they  derive  their 
etficacy.  If  we  return  to  the  opening  pages  of  this  chapter,  we  shall  be 
surprised  to  find  that  the  idea  of  a  Sky-Fatiier  seems  to  be  uppermost  in 
the  ritual  as  in  the  beliefs  of  these  people.  The  bamboo-inscriptions  alone, 
not  to  speak  of  the  mythology,  reveal  at  a  glance  that  the  celestial  super- 
man is  back  of  the  cult,  that  He  is  operating  under  the  "charm".  This 
would  seem  to  exclude,  or  at  least  to  modify  to  a  large  extent,  the  sum- 
mary statement  that  magic  is  the  origin  of  the  cult  and  most  of  our  author- 
ities agree  in  rejecting  it.  But  more  than  this,  the  same  Sky-Father  is  also 
a  Creator,  He  "makes"  originally  everything,  either  directly,  or  by  his 
creating  demiurge,  and  this,  with  the  strong  consciousness  of  a  lawgiver, 
ruling  the  world  by  his  rewards  and  punishments,  is  the  most  glaring  fact 
that  confronts  us  in  the  very  earliest  period  of  man  to  which  we  have 
access.  Can  this  be  explained  on  any  theory  so  well  as  that  of  a  primitive 
monotheistic  belief?  How  can  we  otherwise  account  for  the  equally 
striking  phenomenon  that  the  lowest  and  least  sophisticated  tribes  are 
invariably  the  ones  that  exhibit  the  belief  in  its  greatest  purity?  "Our 
Father  who  art  in  Heaven", — such  is  the  formula  that  seems  to  be  at  the 
foundation  of  the  primitive  cult,  as  is  quickly  suggested  by  the  most 
cursory  inspection  of  our  data.  In  every  case  "Sky-Being"  is  the  upper- 
most thought  in  the  mind  of  the  native,  no  other  being  having  exactly  the 
same  importance. 

And  this  is  accompanied  by  a  general  simil.4Rity  op  thought  and 

PRACTICE  over  VERY  WIDE  AREAS 

But  the  most  interesting  point  in  this  connection  is  the  newly  dis- 
covered fact  that  this  simple  and  unique  idea,  though  everywhere  to  be 
found,  is  essentialhj  intern^oven  with  the  earliest  beginnings  of  man  as 
far  as  we  have  been  able  to  follow  them.  Re-examine  the  material  on  this 
head,  and  you  will  gradually  be  converted  to  the  idea  that  these  very 
primitive  peoples  in  Australasia,  Central  Africa,  and  South  .America,  are 
bound  together  by  so  many  points  of  similarity,  material  and  mental,  that 
you  are  almost  forced  to  conclude  that  the  All-Father  notion  is  part  and 
parcel  of  their  combined  inheritance. 


GOD  123 

A  PRELIMINARY  ESTIMATE 

A  BIRU'S-EYE  VIEW  OF  THE  PKIMITIVE  Cl-LTLRE 

It  is  impossible  to  appreciate  this  subject  unless  we  descend  into  par- 
ticulars which  in  the  present  place  can  only  be  given  in  tlieir  barest  out- 
line. In  the  first  place  we  have  the  physical  and  biological  evidence  that 
these  races  form  an  archaic  group  which,  though  divided  into  numerous 
subtypes,  are  very  probably  the  nearest  approach  to  the  original  ancestor. 
In  the  East-Indian  area  this  is  especially  the  case.  Furthermore, — they  are 
for  the  most  part  herbivorous  or  vegetarian  peoples  consigned  to  the 
tropics,  whose  manner  of  life  is  primitive  to  a  degree.  They  roam  the 
equatorial  forests  with  practically  no  clothing,  they  live  in  trees,  caves,  or 
windshelters.  simply  gathering  the  wild  produce  of  nature,  and  they  never 
hunt  game  until  their  supply  of  vegetable  food  begins  to  fail  them.  Fire- 
making,  if  it  exists  at  all.  is  still  in  the  rubbing,  not  yet  in  the  twirling  or 
"pumping"  stage,  and  their  only  weapons  are  sticks,  stones,  bows,  or  blow- 
pipes, which  in  every  case  show  an  approximation  to  the  crudest  and  least 
developed  form.  Flint-chips,  flakes,  bone  or  shell-scrapers,  are  their  only 
implements,  the  highest  cutting  instrument  being  represented  by  the  bam- 
boo knife,  the  making  of  flint-chisels  being  very  generally  unknown  to 
the  natives, — they  are  living  before  the  stone  age!  Arts  and  industries 
show  a  correspondmg  simplicity  of  development.  The  palm-leaf  and  the 
bamboo  tube  furnish  the  chief  materials  of  ornament,  net-work  or  pottery 
being  very  rare  accomplishments.  The  sounding-stick  and  the  monochord 
represents  the  crudest  musical  instruments,  and  as  to  navigation,  it  can 
hardly  be  said  to  exist,  unless  we  describe  under  such  a  title  the  use  of 
rafts  or  tree-floats,  or  the  occasional  hewing  of  a  dug-out  with  sharp  shells. 

This  must  be  supplejiented  by  the  ment.al  .4nd  social  complexity 

But  we  would  be  missing  the  main  point  of  our  argument  were  we  to 
stop  short  with  the  purely  material  aspect  of  this  question.  The  similarities 
go  considerably  further,  they  ascend  into  the  mental  and  social  sphere.  They 
cover  such  details  as  the  use  of  simple  straight-line  patterns  in  art,  of  the 
five-finger  system  in  arithmetic,  of  the  five-tone  scale  in  music,  of  simple, 
uninflected  nature-sounds  in  language.  They  imply  that  these  peoples  are 
entirely  destitute  of  an  advanced  social  organisation,  in  that  each  family 
governs  itself  by  its  own  father-right  and  has  an  extremely  loose  relation 
to  the  community,  which  community  is  for  the  most  part  temporary  and 
insignificant  in  numbers.  How  far  all  this  is  removed  from  the  elaborate 
art,  music,  language,  and  government,  say,  of  the  North-American  Indian! 


124  GOD 

A  PR E  1.1. \I I. NARY  ESTIMATE 

And  this  Again  bv  the  Mohal  and  Religious  Complexity 

Yet  even  this  might  be  regarded  as  indecisive  were  we  not  in  possession 
of  facts  still  more  fundamental  in  nature.  The  almost  universal  practice 
of  monogamy  and  the  general  respect  for  the  sanctity  of  human  life  is  the 
most  surprising  feature  of  all.  The  general  absence  of  wars  and  inter- 
tribal fighting,  including  the  disgusting  habit  of  feasting  on  human  flesh, 
is  sometliing  that  has  only  lately  come  to  our  notice,  and  the  high  ethical 
standards  of  most  of  these  tribes,  in  which  adultery,  blasphemy,  lying,  con- 
tempt of  elders,  is  sometimes  punishable  with  death,  reveals  a  picture 
which  many  of  the  higher  peoples  might  well  envy.  It  is  more  especially 
the  absence  or  the  rarity  of  divorce  and  infanticide  that  differentiates  these 
equatorial  races  from  all  their  successors.  And  it  is  Ihey  precisely  who  are 
most  conspicuous  for  the  belief  in  one  God  alone,  a  superhuman,  unbrib- 
able,  ethical  being,  who,  though  he  cannot  be  seen,  is  yet  everywhere 
present,  and  can  do  everything  he  wishes.  Does  it  not  seem  as  if  this  was 
an  essential  concomitant  of  this  rudimentary  grade  of  culture,  its  most 
distinctive  characteristic? 

The  Convergence  is  too  Strong  to  be  Resisted 

If  we  descend  into  further  details  and  note  the  general  agreement  on 
many  other  practices,  on  purification-ceremonies,  initiation-rites,  unbloody 
sacrifices,  on  the  law  of  primogeniture,  on  the  simple  non-totemic  mar- 
riage, on  the  earth,  tree,  or  river-funeral,  together  with  the  general  absence 
of  all  the  more  violent  and  revolting  customs,  such  as  the  deformation  of 
infants,  the  amputation  of  fingers,  the  tampering  with  the  sexual  organs, 
the  cutting  into  the  skull  or  entrails,  the  offering  up  of  human  life,  the 
marriage  by  elopment  or  capture,  the  pyre-funeral,  the  institution  of 
slavery,  the  organisation  of  phallic  dances,  etc.  and  the  conclusion  is 
positively  forced  upon  us.  that  such  an  enormous  convergence,  not  upon 
a  dozen  but  upon  at  least  fifty  points,  cannot  be  accidental,  but  that  it  post- 
ulates a  unified  development  of  mankind  during  the  earliest  period  of  its 
existence.  Nay  more,  the  fact  that  the  belief  in  One  God  overshadows  that 
in  any  other  wind  or  sky-spirit  and  is  vitally  connected  with  the  entire 
material,  mental,  and  moral  conglomerate,  shows  that  this  is  evidently 

The  Age  of  Monotheistic  Illumination. 

it  is  the  period  in  which  the  heavenly  Super-man  occupies  the  principal 
attention  of  mankind.  Whatever  be  the  secondary  issues  involved  in  this 
matter,  our  analysis  has  brought  at  least  this  much  to  the  front.  A  further 
and  more  explicit  proof  of  this  thesis  will  be  found  in  our  final  summary. 


GOD  125 

A  PRELIMINARY  ESTIMATE 

The  Succeeding  Age  Emphasises  the  Notion  op  Germ-Power 

Compared  with  this  all-important  fact,  the  later  developments  of  the 
idea  are  of  minor  interest.  A  single  glance  at  the  graphic  symbolism  of 
the  totem-peoples  is  sufficient  to  assure  us  that  we  have  entered  a  difTerent 
era  of  human  thought,  and  one  accompanied  by  a  more  complex  system 
of  life  and  culture.  The  cross-symbol  of  the  earliest  times  is  now  replaced 
by  the  circle,  more  commonly  by  the  spiral,  and  the  twisted  designs  of 
this  period  reveal  the  fact  that  the  serpent-theme  is  in  the  ascendent,  the 
divinity  is  pictured  as  motion,  or  as  sun  and  serpent  combined.  True,  the 
ancient  idea  of  fatherhood  is  still  to  be  found;  but  we  have  noted  that  the 
concept  is  no  longer  as  pure,  the  Sky-father  is  either  a  married  divinity, 
as  in  India-Australia,  or  he  is  simply  an  indefinable  power,  associated 
more  or  less  with  the  occult  forces  of  nature,  as  throughout  the  entire  zone, 
and  especially  in  Africa  and  North-America.  We  have  discovered  that 
these  peoples  are  living  under  an  equally  distinctive  cultural  horizon, — 
they  have  the  fur-blanket,  the  buffalo-hunt,  the  conical  round-house  or 
wigwam,  the  fire-drill,  the  elaborate  face  and  body-paint,  the  finished  bow, 
the  fiint-headed  spear,  the  chipped  palaeolith,  the  carved  mortar,  the 
wooden  figurine,  the  bone-whistle  and  the  polyphonic  flute,  the  birch- 
bark  canoe  or  the  built-up  boat, — which,  though  occasionally  wanting  by 
reason  of  climatic  differences,  are  yet  sufficiently  prominent  in  most  of 
these  areas  to  point  again  to  a  unified  progress. 

But  This  Progress  is  Accompanied  by  a  Religious  Decadence 

Yet  in  spite  of  an  advance  to  a  higher  numeral  system,  a  more  com- 
plicated language,  a  more  expressive  musical  art,  we  have  several  addi- 
tional items  which,  in  combination  with  the  social  and  religious  features, 
suggest  however  a  case  of  collective  moral  degeneration.  The  laxity  of 
the  marriage  tie,  the  growing  infanticide,  the  hazing  and  circumcision- 
rite,  the  fertilisation-sacrifice,  the  cruel  medical  craft,  and  above  all  the 
highly  involved  matrimonial  system,  based  upon  a  reputed  descent  from 
animal  ancestors,— gdl  this,  with  the  platform  and  cremation-funeral,  the 
fire-walk,  and  the  extraordinary  doctrine  of  a  rebirth  under  lower  (onus 
of  existe)ice,  cannot  be  passed  over  without  calling  forth  some  serious 
philosophical  refiexions. 

This  is  an  Age  of  Religious  Degeneration; 

in  which,  as  we  are  beginning  to  see,  the  divinity  is  more  often  identified 
with  impersonal  forces.  He  is  the  germ  or  potency  of  the  world  rather 
than  its  all-sufficient  cause,  though  glimpses  of  the  latter  notion  are  still 
to  be  found  in  extenso. — it  is  a  double  picture. 


126  GOD 

A  PRELIMINARY  ESTIMATE 

The  Recent  Period  Develops  the  Notion  op  Spirit-Power 

But  if  the  cross  represents  the  personal,  and  the  spiral  the  cosmic  side 
of  the  divinity.  fhf>  star  brings  out  His  all-pervading  psychic  force  inas- 
much as  if  is  allied  with  the  magic  flower,  the  symbol  of  life.  The  promi- 
nence of  astral  and  spiritistic  themes  is  the  one  distinctive  feature  of  the 
more  recent  stage  of  religious  belief,  as  is  evident  from  the  migration  of 
the  zodiac  and  the  swastika  from  Babylonia  to  Mexico.  But  apart  from 
this  it  is  revealed  with  sufTicient  clearness  in  the  general  mythology  of 
this  age,  in  which  the  wandering  ghost  or  the  "astral  body"  plays  such  a 
prominent  part.  We  have  seen  that  this  idea  is  just  as  characteristic  of 
the  early  neolithic  and  bronzi-  culture  as  that  of  mystery-force  is  of  the 
preceding  glacial.  It  accompanies  the  settied  agricultural  life,  the  domesti- 
cation of  animals,  the  weaving  of  llax  garments,  the  branding  or  tattooing 
of  the  body,  the  pile-dwelling  and  the  stone-constructed  house,  the  fire- 
pump  and  the  flint  and  pyrites  method,  the  compound  bow  and  the  round 
shield,  the  perfected  and  polished  flint  and  the  spindle-whorl,  the  making 
of  finished  pottery,  the  use  of  blow-horns,  drums,  xylophones,  or  rudi- 
mentary pianos,  the  construction  of  elaborate  galleys  and  plank-con- 
structed ships, — which,  with  the  re-establishment  of  father-right,  of  king- 
ship and  aristrocracy,  of  the  original  ideal  of  monogamy,  of  the  dignified 
tomb-burial,  are  all  so  many  indications  that  we  are  dealing  with  another 
grand  epoch  of  harmonised  progress,  another  cultural  unity. 

The  Mental  and  Material  Phenomena  are  PARTictiLARLv  Coxvergent 

Such  a  unity  is  brought  out  with  additional  force  by  the  astronomical 
or  sexagesimal  system,  by  the  highly  inflected  grammdticnl  language,  by 
the  more  advanced  polyphonic  nuisiciii  expression,  and  moi'i'  i-specially 
by  the  eschatology  or  latter-day  beliefs.  That  which  separates  these  peo- 
ples most  fundamentally  from  their  immediate  predecessors  is  the  doctrine 
of  the  future  life  as  a  real,  personal  existence,  independeni  of  nature  or  of 
a  mythical  animal  ancestry, — the  soul  is  sharply  defined  from  the  body, 
and  even  if  wrongly  defined,  it  has  severed  its  connection  with  the  old- 
time  totems,  it  has  become  the  image  or  the  spark  of  the  divine  intel- 
ligence. 

This  is  an  Aok  of  Reijoious  Reconstkiction 

However  short  our  preceding  study  may  fall  of  a  complete  scientific 
analysis,  it  is  sufficient  for  the  present  to  establish  this  outstanding  fact. 
For  neolithic  and  recent  nvui,  the  idea  of  personal  spiritual  force,  inde- 
pendent of  the  totem,  is  the  one  prominent  feature  of  his  religious  beliefs, 
and  with  il  the  definition  of  God  as  the  "'soul"  of  the  universe. 


GOD  127 

A  PRELIMINARY  ESTIMATE 

The  Origin  and  Formation  op  the  Idea 

Coming  now  to  the  ptiilosophical  questions  opened  out  by  the  preced- 
ing material,  it  will  only  be  possible  for  us  to  indicate  in  a  general  man- 
ner a  few  of  their  more  important  bearings.  And  first,— as  to  the  origin 
of  the  idea,— we  have  considerable  evidence  to  show  that  the  notion  of 
"soul-double",  whether  as  ghost  or  guardian,  is  altogether  secondary  in 
the  mind  of  the  primitive  savage,  and  that  this  therefore  is  hardly  likely 
to  have  been  the  immediate  source  of  a  theistic  belief.    On  the  other  hand 

The  idea  of  God  as  such  is  entirely  natural. 

it  need  have  no  connexion  with  any  extraordinary  channels  of  communi- 
cation. Not  only  have  we  definite  dogmatic  statements  on  the  natural 
knowledge  of  God,  already  considered  in  our  Prolog,  but  any  reasonable 
person  can  soon  convince  himself  that  the  notion  of  an  all-transcending 
Personality,  the  maker  or  creator  of  all  things,  is  a  necessary  demand  of 
reason  as  such,  and  is  obtained  by  a  series  of  natural  logical  processes." 

The  Argument  From  Motion 

"It  is  certain  timt  some  things  in  the  world  are  moved  or  changed. 
Now  whatever  is  moved  or  changed  is  moved  or  changed  by  another. 
But  an  infinite  cycle  of  moving  causes  is  a  contradiction  in  terms. 
Therefore  there  must  be  a  single  first  Cause,  itself  immovable". 

This  is  the  first  of  the  Thomistic  proofs,  and  it  may  well  be  called  the 
preliminary  basis  of  this  reasoning,  if  not  for  the  savage,  for  the  phi- 
losopher. It  aims  at  simply  demonstrating  a  first  Cause,  regardless  of  the 
nature  or  character  of  such  a  cause.  That  a  potency  can  only  be  reduced 
to  act  by  a  power  which  is  already  in  act,  is  an  analytical  judgment  of 
the  mind,  for  a  potency  ceases  to  be  a  potency  the  moment  it  flies  into 
act, — it  vanishes.  And  as  to  an  infinite  series,  an  actually  infinite  number 
of  finite  causes  is  unthinkable,  because  we  would  get  a  greater  or  lesser 
infinite,  which  could  be  divided  into  fractions,— more  or  less  of  the  infinite! 

The  Argument  From  Efficiency 

"We  find  in  the  realm  of  nature  an  order  of  efficient  causes. 
i\ow  nothing  can  be  its  own  efficient  cause,  but  is  caused  by  another. 
But  an  infinite  chain  of  efficient  causes  is  a  contradiction  in  terms. 
Therefore  there  w  a  pnmary  efficient  Cause,  itself  uncaused". 

This  second  step  in  our  reasoning  is  very  similar  to  the  first,  but  it 
emphasizes  the  genetic  relation  of  a  group  of  causes.  It  shows  that  the 
fact  of  generation  in  nature  requires  the  existence  of  a  supreme  Generator. 


"  Main  points  in  S.  Thorn.  I,  qu.  2,  a.  3.    Hontheim,  Theodicaea.  Regnon,  Metaphysique 
oes  Causes. 


128  GOD 

A  PRELIMINARY  ESTIMATE 

The  Argument  From  Contingency 

"Generation  and  decay  shoiv  thai  some  things  can  or  cannot  crist. 
Now  that  which  can  or  cannot  exist  is  not  self -existent. 
And  if  all  things  can  begin  to  exist,  there  wa^  once  nothing  at  all. 
But  nothing  can  begin  to  exist  without  something  tliat  does  exist, 
And  as  it  is  impossible  to  multiply  the  existent  ad  infinitum, 
Therefore  there  must  fie  a  primary  being  ivhich  necessarily  exists". 

This  is  a  niorp  subtle  argument  in  tliat  it  starts  witli  tiie  notion  of  the 
indetermination  or  indifference  of  things  with  regard  to  space,  time, 
motion,  nay.  to  their  own  existence.  But  once  the  idea  of  contingency  has 
been  grasped  by  the  mind,  the  notion  of  necessary  being  is  unavoidable. 

The  Argument  From  Design 

But  all  these  syllogisms  prove  only  the  existence  of  a  single,  supremely 
perfect  and  necessary  first  Cause,  an  infinitely  pure  Act.  A  further  logical 
step  establishes  the  rational  character  of  this  .-Xot. 

"We  see  irrational  causes  (n  nature  cooperating  for  a  rational  end. 
But  that  which  is  without  reason  cannot  operate  for  a  raHonaJ  end  with- 
out the  guidance  of  a  knowing  and  intelligent  being. 
Therefore  a  knowing  and  intelligent  being  is  the  director  of  all  things". 

This  is  the  easiest  and  commonest  mental  process  by  which  the  idea  of 
a  designing  intelligence,  a  supreme  governor  of  the  world,  is  arrived  at. 
The  fact  of  order  and  symmetry  in  the  world  is  as  evident  to  the  mind  of 
the  primitive  as  it  is  to  our  modern  thinkers,  but  with  this  dilTerence,  that 
it  is  a  simpler  and  in  some  respects  a  clearer  notion.  Though  the  forces 
of  nature  are  commonly  personified,  their  limited  power  implies  their  sub- 
ordination to  a  supreme  Intelligence,  and  thus  pantheistic  immanence  has 
no  part  in  it.  Even  if  nature  be  endowed  with  reason,  this  is  all  the 
stronger  proof  that  the  first  Cause  of  nature  is  itself  infinitely  rational. 

The  .Argument  From  Mor..\litv 

The  moral  conscience  of  mankind  reveaJs  the  notion  of  responsibility. 
But  responsibility  ha^  no  meaning  except  to  a  Person,  and  supreme  respon- 
sibility requires  the  existence  of  a  supreme  Person. 
Therefore  the  moral  conscience  retreats  the  existence  of  a  suprmie  Person. 

Here  we  have  the  final  stage,  by  which,  in  union  with  the  above,  the 
existence  of  a  supreme  Lawgiver  of  the  human  race  is  demanded  as  the 
only  ultimate  sanction  of  human  conduct.  The  fact  that  I  must  do  a  thing, 
thougii  1  tiave  the  power  of  doing  the  opposite,  this  implies  a  supreme 
Commander. 


GOD  129 

A  PRELIMINARY  ESTIMATE 

The  Argument  From  the  Grades  of  Perfections  in  Nature 

But  if  tlie  preceeding  deal  directly  with  the  idea  of  causation,  there  are 
other  arguments  which  point  to  the  fact  of  gradation,  to  the  different 
orders  of  being  as  connoting  conformity  with  a  divine  original. 

"There  are  things  in  nature  which  are  more  or  less  good,  true,  and  noble. 
But  these  grades  of  perfection  argue  for  the  existence  of  an  all-perfect 

being,  in  that  a  more  or  less  points  to  a  greatest  or  supreme  Good. 
Therefore  the  gradations  in  nature  point  to  a  supreme  or  perfect  Good". 

It  cannot  fail  to  be  seen  that  the  very  fact  that  one  thing  is  better  than 
another  presupposes  a  tertium  quid  of  comparisons,  some  ideal  standard 
by  which  the  beauty  of  perfection  of  a  thing  is  measured.  Good  and  bet- 
ter would  have  no  meaning  except  wlieu  referred  to  an  Absolute  Best. 

Moreover  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  man  is  incapable  of  forming 
an  adequate  concept  of  God.  he  must  bring  home  to  himself  the  fact  thai 
a  being  may  be  infinitely  real,  and  yet  surpassing  anything  that  he  can 
ever  imagine.  To  our  poor  human  fancy  nature  comes  to  a  timely  assis- 
tance and  offers  her  own  wonders  as  defying  anything  that  can  ever  be 
pictured.  If  the  lightning  is  immeasurably  rapid,  it  prepares  the  mind 
for  omnipotent  force,  if  the  llower  grows  by  immanent  action,  it  shows 
that  a  living  divinity  is  above  the  powers  of  chemistry,  if  the  animal  is 
endowed  with  the  faculty  of  cognition,  it  will  follow  that  a  knowing 
divinity  is  more  than  a  life-principle,  if  man  is  in  possession  of  reflex 
reason  and  the  free  control  of  his  will,  it  is  just  as  certain  that  these  higher 
faculties  form  an  apex  or  crown  of  perfection,  which  is  as  far  above  the 
lower  forces  of  nature  as  it  instinctively  points  to  their  still  higher  con- 
summation in  the  eternal  mind  and  conscience  of  God.  In  each  case  the 
lower  mystery  paves  the  way  for  the  higher,  and  thus  we  have  a  power- 
ful sanction  in  nature  herself  to  look  for  the  supersensible. 

The  Positive  Concept  of  God 

If  then  we  take  the  shining  cross  or  the  globe  of  light  as  the  most 
appropriate  symbol  of  God.  it  is  because  they  suggest  in  the  simplest  way 
the  personality,  simplicity,  and  spirituality  of  the  divine  Being.  Man  nat- 
urally fell  upon  this  symbol  in  the  earliest  ages  because  it  was  the  safest, 
the  least  open  to  possible  perversions  suggested  by  the  serpent-  or  the 
star-  and  swastika-theme.  From  this  all-pervading  Superman  in  the  clouds 
the  whole  of  his  theology  is  derived, — he  has  in  fact  a  positive  concept  of 
God,  not  a  mere  bundle  of  negations.  .\nd  if  it  is  soiled  by  the  human,  the 
imperfect,  the  anthropomorphic,  we  must  remember  that  what  we  see  is 
not  the  absolute  primitive  but  his  immediate  and  more  or  less  corrupted 
successor. 


130  GOD 

A  PRELIMINARY  ESTIMATE 

The  Meeting-Point  of  Science  and  Metaphysics 

This  is  not  tho  plncp  to  enter  into  all  the  modernistic  objections  to  our 
present  thesis,  objections  which  are  prompted  partly  by  a  wholesale  denial 
of  an  objective  order  of  reality,  partly  by  the  doctrine  that  nature  is  self- 
sufllcient  and  contains  tlie  idea  of  necessity,  order,  symmetry  in  her  very 
being.  The  first  is  refuted  in  the  name  of  "science",  in  that  she  presup- 
poses an  objective  order  to  be  discovered,  the  second  is  reduced  to  a  van- 
ishing-point, in  that  a  functional  necessity  has  nothing  to  do  with  an 
absolute  or  existential  necessity,  and  that  even  if  reason  is  part  and 
parcel  of  things,  this  makes  the  first  Cause  all  the  more  reasonable,  we 
cannot  evade  a  transcendent  Reason.  As  to  the  objection  on  the  score  of 
pain,  evil,  imperfection,  and  so  on,  we  all  know  that  these  things  have  an 
important  disciplinary  and  educational  value,  nor  have  we  any  logical  or 
moral  basis  whatever  to  look  lor  an  ideally  perfect  universe,  a  "best  of 
all  possible  worlds'".  In  the  meantime  it  will  be  interesting  to  note  how 
the  more  refined  branches  of  modern  science  illustrate  our  own  principles, 
how  close  they  come  to  the  borderland  of  metaphysical  truth. •- 

Higher  Psychology  and  Personality 

Among  the  more  .startling  revelations  of  modern  psychology  is  the 
mysterious  persistence  of  per.sonality  even  in  abnormal  and  subnormal 
condition.s  of  consciousness.  From  a  punly  material  standpoint  one  would 
have  thought  that  any  violent  shattering  of  the  system  in  the  shape  of  a 
brain-wreck  or  a  hypnotic  trance  would  entail  a  corresponding  change  or 
destruction  of  personality.  Nevertheless  a  transfer  of  personality  from 
one  subject  to  anotlier  is  a  figment  wanting  in  any  solid  proof,  there  is  no 
evidence  whatever  that  personality  as  such  has  ever  been  destroyed.  The 
philosophy  of  tiie  subconscious  or  the  subliminal  self  shows  on  the  con- 
trary that  even  when  stripped  of  its  normal  faculties,  it  is  the  same  ego 
which  persists  from  beginning  to  end,  we  cannot  divide  personality.  We 
may  justly  withold  our  assent  to  the  "phenomena",  the  supposed  power 
of  rapid  movement,  of  bridging  the  chasms  of  space  and  time,  of  acquir- 
ing extraordinary  knowledgv,  of  speaking  in  dilTerent  tongues,  of  seeing 
things  at  a  distance ('?).  Little  wonder,  however,  that  our  modern  psy- 
chologists are  inclined  to  see  in  personality  something  altogether  unique,  a 
" substaittia  sui  juris".  And  for  i)rimitivi'  man  this  is  precisely  the  upper- 
most intuition, — God  is  an  Infinite  Person,  He  claims  an  undivided  moral 
dominion. 


'-On  the  Philosophy  of  the  Subconscious  see  atnong  others  Sir  Oliver  Lodge,  F.  R.  S. 
The  Survival  of  Man.  (N.  Y.  1909),  (personal  identify,  immaterial  telepathyl.  .Mso  Idem, 
on  Life  and  Matter,  Electrons,  The  Ether  of  Space. 


GOD  131 

A  PRELIMINARY  ESTIMATE 

Potential  Energy  and  Puke  Potency 

In  like  manner  the  ancient  scholastic  doctrine  of  potential  being,  of 
lorces  which  are  latent  or  concealed,  receives  a  new  impetus  now  that  such 
forces  are  positively  required  by  the  commonest  of  natural  phenomena. 
The  definition  of  coal  as  "bottled  sunlight"  and  of  electric  currents  as  "high 
potentials'"  is  not  a  mere  play  upon  words,  it  implies  the  existence  of 
forces  which  have  not  yet  been  reduced  to  act,  of  germinal  forces:  they 
tend  to  act,  and  are  brought  into  play  by  the  introduction  of  outside  forces. 
I  pass  over  the  definition  of  prime  matter  as  "pure  potency",  of  the  sub- 
stantial form  as  the  •actuating  principle",  noting,  however,  its  approxi- 
mation to  the  current  teaching  on  evolved  matter  and  evolving  forms.  One 
of  the  most  recent  acquisitions  on  this  head  is  the  doctrine  of  the  instabil- 
ity of  prime-forms,  of  the  change  of  one  element  into  another,  of  the  change 
of  one  substance  into  another  without  a  corresponding  change  in  chemical 
constitution,  of  the  wonders  of  polarised  light,  of  isomeric  substances,  of 
electric  ions  and  sub-atoms.— all  of  which  show  that  the  mediaeval  alchemy 
was  not  the  far-fetched  thing  that  some  would  imagine.-' 

Ethereal  Physics  anu  Spirit-Forge 

Coming  more  closely  to  the  ultimate  nature  of  things  in  their  last 
analysis,  it  is  certainly  a  remarkable  fact  that  modern  science  brings  us 
face  to  face  with  a  marvelous  power  which  she  is  bound  to  recognise  as 
the  ultimate  basis  of  all  her  more  subtle  phenomena.  The  hypothesis  of  an 
infinitely  continuous,  yet  infinitely  elastic  fluid,  present  in  all  places,  per- 
meating all  forces,  compenetrating  all  substances,  the  source  if  not  the 
essence  of  light,  heat,  electricity,  magnetism,  mental  telepathy  or  psychic 
power, — all  this  points  vvith  unmistakable  emphasis  to  a  still  more  subtle 
nay  to  an  infinitely  pure  substance,  which  contains  all  the  lower  perfec- 
tions of  nature  in  a  supreme  or  supereminent  degree.  If  creation  itself  is 
so  wonderful,  what  must  the  Author  of  that  creation  be?  If  science  loses 
herself  in  a  world  of  ethereal  perfections,  where  is  the  guarantee  that  she 
holds  the  last  word  on  the  subject?  She  does  not.  For  God  is  a  super- 
ethereal  substance.  He  is  the  metaphysical  light  of  the  world.  He  is  present 
in  all  things,  yet  not  identified  with  any  one  of  them,  He  is  that  pure,  un- 
created Light,  which  is  everywhere  felt,  but  which  can  only  be  seen  in  the 
super-natural  state  of  ecstacy.  Here  then  we  have  that  final  aspect  of 
divinity,  which,  falsely  defined  as  world-soul  or  "psychic  absolute"  is  yet 
the  nearest  approach  to  the  doctrine  of  God  as  "Universal  Spirit". 


^  Sir  E.  Rutherford,  F.  R.  S.  The  constitution  of  matter  and  the  evolution  of  the  elements. 
(S.  R.  1915-1916).  pp.  167-202.  Frederick  Soddv,  The  Interpretation  of  Radium,  (London. 
1909). 


132  GOD 

A  PRELIMINARY  ESTIMATE 

The  Question  of  the  Siipernatirai. 

It  seems  therefore  unnecessary  to  reiterate  that  Iminan  reason  can 
arrive  at  a  knowledge  of  God  which  is  absohitely  or  inetapliysioally  cer- 
tain, and  that  as  far  as  He  is  simply  the  source  and  the  ultimate  end  of  all 
things,  this  knowledge  is  purely  natural  and  common  to  humanity  as 
such.  As  to  the  further  (juestion  whether  the  full  notion  of  deity  as  we 
actually  find  it  does  not  entail  some  influx  of  the  supernatural,  we  must 
be  careful  to  eliminate  those  elements  that  savor  of  an  "elevation"  of  man 
or  a  "triune"  nature  of  God.  if  we  would  exclude  such  an  influx.  Rut 
upon  one  point  we  may  for  the  present  rest  assured  with  a  sulficient  degree 
of  confidence. 

No  Triad  Has  Evek  "Developed"  Into  a  Tiunity 

We  have  taken  special  pains  to  sliow  that  the  triple  theme  of  heaven- 
earth-underworld  is  as  natural  to  man  as  that  of  three  dimensions  in  space, 
that  a  father  in  heaven,  a  son  or  mother  on  earth,  and  a  mysterious  spirit 
under  the  ocean,  need  have  no  connection  whatever  with  three  Persons  in 
one  God,  and  are  as  a  fact  miles  apart  from  it.  The  father-mother-child- 
notion  is  simply  the  projection  of  the  human  family  into  space,  the  three 
members  are  in  no  sense  equal,  much  less  consubstantial,  and  they  reveal 
their  earth-begotten  nature  by  nothing  so  forcibly  as  their  alliance  with 
cosmic,  and  in  later  ages  with  vital  and  sexual  force.  We  have  thus 
exploded  the  Babylonian,  Egyptian,  and  Polynesian  "trinities"  to  the  four 
winds. 

But  This  May  be  the  Vestige  of  a  Supernatural  Light 

At  the  same  time  there  are  here  and  there  a  few  expressions  which  do 
occasionally  appear  surprising.  The  very  prominence  of  the  number 
three,  and  the  frequent  hints  of  a  generation  or  spiration  of  one  divinity 
out  of  another  cannot  be  passed  over  without  forcing  the  conclusion  that, 
however  crude  in  presentation,  some  of  it  must  be  attributed  to  a  higher 
source. 

Only  in  Persia-Palestine  is  God  Pure  and  a  Trinity  Adumbrated 

But  how  far  all  this  is  removed  from  the  great  Lord-God  of  Israel  and 
from  His  triple  hypostatic  manifestations.  We  have  seen  that  here  only 
is  the  concept  entirely  free  from  the  nature-connexion,  it  stands  for  power 
and  subsistence,  the  great  I  AM,  while  the  triple  theophanies  prepare  the 
mind  for  three  coequal  and  coeternal  Persons,  though  they  do  not  pretend 
to  reveal  it.    They  are  more  than  allegories.  Iln-y  are  adumbrations. 

.\m)  This  I>kxia.M)s  a  Piumitive  Revelation 

.\nd  so  we  see  that  the  Tetragram  and  the  Trisagion  must  be  ulti- 
mately traced  tn  a  divine  revelation,  given  to  man  in  the  earliest  days  of 
the  race. 


CHAPTER  THE  SECOND 


DE    DEO    CREANTE 


The  History  of  the  idea  of  Creation 


A  PRIMITIVE  PLANISPHERE 

SHOWING    THE    SIX    CYCLES    UK    CREATION 
AS  PICTCBED  IS  THE  JUND  OF  THE  SAVAGE 


(ZENITH    ORIENTATION) 

u 


CYCI.OORAFHIC    PROJECTION    OF    THE    EARLIEST    CREATION-THEMES    AS    REVEALED    IN 

THF.  MYTHOLOGIES  AND  BY  ATTB8TED  PICTOCRAPHS.  WHERE      ^    IS  n'NDAMENTAL   FOR 

SKV-KATHER.    FROM    WHOM    ARISES— 

(U    LIGHT.— CRYSTAL    PALACE    OR    SHINING-PLACE— HEAVEN 

(I)   WATER.— BROODING-CLOrOS— HUSKS  OF  THE   AIR— WIND-SPIRITS 

(8>    EARTH.  AS  RISING  LANTl.  CELESTIAuL  ARCHTPELAGO— rRnT-ISLAVD 

<i)   SFN.  MOON.  ANT)  STARS  AS  LIGHT-SPIRITS,  WITH  PARADISE-BMBOE    (Pi 

(«)  ANIMALS. — SNAKES,  SERPENTS,  AJfD  TIGERS — POPILATTNG  THE  FTNISHED  EARTH 

(«)   HAN,  AS  LORD  OF  CRBATION,  DOMINATING  THE  I'N'DEBWORLD   (U). 


CREATION  133 


With  this  general  survey  of  the  origin  and  successive  development  of 
the  idea  of  supreme  Being  there  arises  a  demand  for  greater  detail.  To 
what  extent  is  this  being  a  maker  or  producer  of  things?  What  has  He 
produced,  and  how  has  He  produced  it?  An  answer  to  this  question  can- 
not fail  to  slied  additional  light  on  the  problem  of  a  personal  creator.  Not 
that  this  proposition  is  wanting  in  solid  evidence.  It  has  already  been  seen 
that  the  idea  of  personality  is  strong  from  the  remotest  times,  that  the  role 
of  creator  in  the  sense  of  "maker"  is  practically  universal.  But  with  all 
this,  there  is  still  some  doubt  as  to  the  modus  operandi  of  this  "creation", 
as  to  the  precise  degree  in  which  it  was  immediate,  personal,  and  direct, 
or  rather  of  the  nature  of  a  long,  indefinite  process  of  evolution,  with  sec- 
ondary and  impersonal  forces  chiefly  to  operate.  It  will  stand  to  reason 
that  in  the  early,  unspeculative  stage  of  human  existence  the  problem  of 
the  "how"  of  creation  had  probably  not  yet  dawned  on  the  human  mind, 
it  was  a  matter  of  secondary  importance,  of  little  or  no  interest,  compared 
with  the  great  central  fact  that  the  All-Father  had  "made"  man,  had 
spoken  to  him  face  to  face.  The  question  must  therefore  be  approached 
with  an  impartial  spirit,  with  sole  desire  of  understanding  if  possible. 

What  was  the  Early  Consciousness  of  Man  on  this  Subject? 

How  did  he  picture  the  great  "Amaka"  to  have  acted?  Was  this  action 
personal  or  impersonal,  mediate  or  immediate,  direct  or  by  means  of  a 
demiurge?  A  sufficient  number  of  data  on  this  subject  ought  to  incline 
the  evidence  more  or  less  perceptibly  to  one  or  other  of  two  possibilities, 
both  of  which  are  conceivable, — 

(1)  The  hypothesis  of  direct  creation, — or  by  personal  demiurge. 

(2)  The  hypothesis  of  indirect  creation, — or  by  evolutionary  force. 

Let  it  be  understood  that  this  is  not  a  qimcstio  juris  but  a  quaestio  facti. 
The  power  is  admitted,  the  manner  of  its  operation  is  not  clear.  Let  us 
hear  the  voice  of  primitive  man  on  this  subjet.  Let  us  see,  what  his  earliest 
impressions  are,  quite  apart  from  any  theory  as  to  how  they  were  obtained, 
or  upon  what  principle  they  are  to  be  interpreted. 


134  CREATION 

EARLY  OCEANIC  SYSTEM 

(A,  1)  Malay  Peninsula, — Semang  Negrito.  Prov.  of  Perak 

The  main  outlines  of  the  Malal<kaii  cosmology  have  alivady  been 
sketched  in  the  preceding  chaptei-.  The  following  points,  however, 
deserve  to  be  emphasized,  as  they  bring  out  the  role  of  creating  divinity 
in  a  manner  tliat  is  typical  for  a  large  section  of  the  aboriginal  group: — 

Order  and  Manner  of  Creation 

(1)  Kari  lives  in  the  high  heavens.  These  consist  of  three  tiers  or  lay- 
ers, the  two  highest  being  the  Garden  of  Fruits  or  .SVxry-Paradise.  guarded 
by  a  gigantic  baboon,  while  the  lowest  is  the  heaven  of  ■brooding  clouds". 

(2)  He  creates  Sky,  Wind,  and  Earth-spirits,  inasmuch  as  they  are  asso- 
ciated with  his  "breath",  his  helpers,  servants,  or  archangels. — dependent 
beings. 

(3)  Among  these  Pie,  the  fruit-god.  occupies  a  unique  position.  He  is 
a  kind  of  logos,  as  he  creates  the  material  world. — sun,  moon,  and  stars, 
etc. — but  only  at  the  command  of  Kari,  "who  ordered  him  to  complete 
the  work". 

(4)  The  "Paradise-Bridge"  is  believed  to  span  from  earth  to  heaven, 
and  is  guarded  by  a  monster  being,  (Berhala).  whose  nature  is  not  quite 
clear. 

(5)  Pie  creates  the  earth  and  the  underworld,  (belet),  the  latter  a  vast 
cavern  or  boiling  lake,  (hell,  purgatory),  presided  over  by  a  black  being 
called  Kamoj,  and  the  abode  of  wicked  spirits  and  demons, — lost  souls. 

(6)  Finally,  the  first  man  and  woman,  "created",  and  apparently  not 
evolved  from  animal  forms.  These  are  fashioned  by  Pie,  but  the  soul 
is  infusel  by  Kari,  for  "Kari  himself  gave  them  souls".  This  points 
to  some  degree  of  transcendence  on  the  part  of  the  chief  divinity.  More- 
over the  soul  is  "red  like  blood"  and  "as  small  as  a  grain  of  maize". — the 
first  attempt  to  express  spirit-qualities  in  child-language,  reminding  of 
the  mediaeval  "sonl-making".  the  modern  "astral  body"(?).  The  soul 
grows  on  the  "paradise-tree",  known  as  Kari's  "Soul-Tree",  whence  it  is 
carried  by  the  Conception-bird,  here  the  Argus-Pheasant,  to  the  womb  of 
the  mother,  which  bird  is  then  eaten  by  the  mother  during  pregnancy. 
"She  has  eaten  the  bird"—,  such  is  the  expression  used  of  the  expectant 
mother.  Is  this  creationism  or  generationism?  It  is  in  any  case  an  inter- 
esting find. 

Here  we  find  fairly  vivid  creation-story  in  rude  outline.  .Ml  things 
are  made  by  the  direct  action  of  a  single  divine  personality,  who  however 
delegates  a  part  of  this  power  to  a  subordinate  being  or  demiurge,  who  is 
iiimsolf  of  limited  power,  as  he  cannot  "create"  the  soul.  Totemism  and 
evolutionism  are  alike  wanting  in  this  simple  picture.' 


'  For  the  main  points  consult  Skeat,  Pagan  Races,  \o\.  II    pp    177,  178,  207,  208-210,  213, 
21Sflf. 


CREATION  135 

EARLY  OCEANIC  SYSTEM 

(A.  2)  Malay  Peninsula, — Senoi-Sakai.  Pkov.  of  Perak  and  Selangok 

Among  tile  Senoi  tribes  of  Central  Malaklia  we  find  practically  the  iden- 
tical  system,  for,  according  to  our  best  authorities,  the  "Father",  Peng, 
"occupies  the  same  position  in  the  Sakai  cosmogony  as  is  occupied  by 
Kari  and  Pie  in  that  of  the  Semang,  and  the  real  dilTiculty  in  treating  the 
Semang  and  Sakai  religion  will  be  to  discover  their  points  of  difference". 
More  accurately  it  ought  to  be  stated,  however,  that  Peng  takes  the  place 
of  Kari,  while  Pie  is  represented  by  a  female  mediator,  called  Lan-ijut, — a 
gigantic  woman,  who.  though  not  a  creator,  is  at  least  a  collaborator  in 
the  work  of  divine  government.    The  main  thoughts  are  as  follows: — 

(1)  Peng  has  made  all  things  and  lives  in  a  far  off  fruit-island,  whence 
he  governs  the  whole  of  the  universe  and  man. — his  "Heavenly  Palace". 

{2)  His  Wind  or  Sky-spirits  are  "breathed"  by  him  alone,  for  he  has  the 
power  of  annihilating  them,  which  seems  to  imply  the  opposite  power  of 
creating  though  this  not  distinctly  stated.  They  are  in  any  case  his  mes- 
sengers,— the  wicked  demons  cannot  afHict  humanity  "without  his  per- 
mission", which  shows  that  they  are  "under"  him,  and  incapable  of  acting 
without  him. 

(3)  Foremost  among  these  is  the  "Granny  Lan-yut",  the  so-called 
"Queen  of  Hell",  who  is  a  helpful  and  benevolent  mother,  as  she  brings 
all  recalcitrant  sinners  to  repentance,  and  watches  over  their  conduct. 

(4)  There  is  a  "Paradise-Bridge"  connecting  the  eartli  with  sun,  moon, 
and  stars,  over  which  the  Queen-mother  pilots  the  souls  of  the  dead  or 
dying. 

(5)  The  earth,  the  sea.  and  the  underworld  are  the  abodes  of  the  lower 
spirits  and  demons.  The  latter  is  a  huge  river  of  hot  water.  (Neraka).  into 
which  the  "queen"  plunges  the  souls  of  the  unregenerate. 

(6)  The  first  man  and  woman  are  called  Da-lat  and  Wa-lut, — "young- 
man",  "young-woman",  they  are  apparently  created  or  ready-made,  as 
nothing  is  said  of  an  animal  ancestry,  and  there  is  no  hint  at  descent. 
Their  souls  are  evidently  a  distinct  creation,  as  the  death  of  the  body  leaves 
the  soul  to  wander  from  tomb  to  jungle,  and  finally  to  paradise-bridge, 
where  it  is  purged  and  prepared  for  admission  to  Peng's  fruit-island. 

This  is  a  clear-cut  creation-system,  even  if  some  of  its  links  are  want- 
ing. We  have  no  information  of  the  "soul-bird",  but  in  want  of  more 
exact  knowledge  as  to  all  the  details,  we  are  justified  in  inferring  that  here 
too  creation  is  an  immediate,  personal,  and  supernatural  process.^ 


-  Each  of  the  above  statements  may  be  either  verified  or  inferred  from  Skeat,  Pagan 
Races,  Vol.  II.  pp.  234-242.  For  alleged  totemism  among  the  Sakai,  see  idem,  p.  258.  from 
which  it  appears  that  animal  names  are  strictly  eponymous,  and  have  no  relation  to 
marriage  or  ancestry. 


136  CREATION 

KARLY  OCEANIC  SYSTEM 

(A,  3)  Malay  Peninsula, — Mantra-Jakun,  Pkov.  op  Selangor 

The  same  ideas  aro  found  among  the  wild  Malays  at  the  southern  end 
of  the  peninsula,  with  this  dilTerence.  that  the  growing  importance  of 
spiritism  has  made  the  cliief  figure  of  the  mythology  no  longer  the  Lord 
of  heaven,  but  the  Spirit  of  the  Underworld, — a  kind  of  ghost-god. 

(1)  Tuhan-di-Bawah  has  made  the  earth,  and  lives  beneath  it,  and  even 
below  the  land  of  Nyayek, — the  underworld,  (sic). 

(2)  He  is  surrounded  by  innumerable  spirits  or  hoHtus,  who  are  evi- 
dently dependent,  though  a  distinct  creation  cannot  be  proved  from  the 
data. 

(3)  Among  these  a  being  called  To-Entah  occupies  a  high  position. 
Though  described  as  the  son  of  the  first  humans,  his  title  of  "Lord-knows- 
who"  and  his  subsequent  exploits  shows  that  he  takes  the  place  of  a 
demiurge. 

(4)  Sun,  moon,  and  stars,  with  the  traditional  paradise-bridge,  all  are 
fixed  or  in  some  sense  appointed  by  To-Entah,  he  arranges  the  divisions 
of  time,  the  succession  of  day  and  night,  and  even  the  .seasons. 

(5)  The  earth  is  supported  by  an  iron  staff,  which  is  strengthened  by 
iron  cross-bars,  and  beneath  these  is  the  land  of  Nyayek,  which  is  inhabited 
by  a  race  of  fiends  or  demons.  The  Lord  of  the  Underworld  dwells  be- 
neath this  land,  and  by  his  power  supports  all  above  him. 

(6)  The  first  humans  are  called  Ayer  and  Tanah — ,  "Water"  and 
"Earth" — ,  they  came  from  a  place  called  "Rising  Land"  in  the  sky,  but 
the  sky  was  "originally  very  low  and  near  to  the  earth",  and  it  was  here 
that  the  creation-drama  took  jjlace.  Though  Tuhan  and  To-Entah  are 
regarded  as  its  principal  actors,  there  are  reasons  for  believing  that  they 
have  lost  much  of  their  producing  power.  Man  is  apparently  a  unique 
being,  but  according  to  another  version  (recorded  by  Borie),  the  Mantra 
were  all  descended  from  two  white  apes.  These,  having  reared  their  young 
ones,  sent  them  forth  into  the  plains  where  for  the  most  part  they  devel- 
oped so  rapidly  that  they  and  their  descendants  became  men.  Those  how- 
ever who  returned  to  the  mountains  still  remained  apes.  Others  say  that 
apes  are  degraded  men( !). 

While  there  is  ample  evidence  in  Itiese  legends  for  the  role  of  a  creating 
"Lord",  it  is  clear  that  this  action  is  no  longer  as  direct  and  universal  as  in 
the  preceding  instances.  Though  the  soul  is  divine  and  migrates  to  Tuhan's 
Fruit-Island,  the  body  of  man  is  evolved  from  lower  forms,  it  claims  kin- 
ship with  the  apes — ,  the  first  suggestion  of  an  animal  ancestry.* 


"Points  in  Skeat,  Pagan  Races,  Vol.  II.  pp.  336-342.  For  the  quotation  from  Borie,  see 
idem,  p.  344,  and  translation  by  P.  Bourien,  On  the  wild  tribes  of  the  interior  of  the  Malay 
Peninsula.    Transactions  of  the  Ethnological  Society  of  London.  N.  S.  Vol.  TIT.  p.  72ff. 


CREATION  137 

EARLY  OCEANIC  SYSTEM 

(B,  1)  Andaman  Islands 

Among  the  Andamaaese  the  creation-legends  assume  a  very  similar 
form,  though  I  here  is  evidence  of  an  incipient  dualism,  of  a  tendency  to 
recognise  (he  evil  creation  as  in  some  sense  eternal,  self-subsistent.  This, 
hovi'ever,  is  only  partially  the  case,  as  the  following  sequence  of  events 
will  show: — 

(1)  Puluga  lives  in  a  large  stone  house  in  the  sky  and  rules  all  things. 

(2)  He  has  a  wife,  whom  he  created  for  himself,  (sic).  By  her  he  has 
a  large  family,  all  except  the  eldest  being  girls;  these  last  are  tcnown  as 
morowin  or  sky-spirits,  (angels),  and  are  said  to  be  black  in  appearance, 
and,  with  their  mother,  amuse  themselves  from  time  to  time  by  throwing 
fishes  and  prawns  into  the  streams  and  sea,  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  world. (!)  As  these  beings  are  "generated",  they  are  hardly  co- 
eternal. 

(3)  Puluga  s  son  is  called  Pijclior.  "He  is  regarded  as  a  sort  of  arch- 
angel and  is  alone  permitted  to  live  with  his  father,  whose  orders  it  is  his 
duty  to  make  known  to  the  morowin", — a  possible  demiurge. 

(4)  Heaven  and  earth,  sun.  moon,  and  stars,  all  things  are  created  by 
Puluga,  including  the  Paradise-Bridge,  which  spans  the  eastern  sky,  con- 
necting the  earth  and  heaven  with  purgatory,  which  is  beneath  it  (sic). 

(5)  The  underworld  is  tenanted  by  evil  spirits  of  all  kinds,  and  these 
alone  are  said  to  be  self-created,  to  have  existed  from  time  immemorial. 
But  even  if  this  be  granted, — which  is  not  altogether  clear — ,  the  final 
triumph  of  Puluga  and  the  annihilation  of  evil  implies  their  limited  dura- 
tion. 

(6)  This  is  further  evidenced  by  the  paradise-legend,  in  which  the 
evil  spirits  do  not  appear, — certainly  not  as  creators.  Puluga  alone  creates 
I  fie  first  man  and  woman, — Tomo  and  Ghana — ,  and  this  directly,  there  is 
no  hint  at  evolutionism.  However  simple  the  wording  of  these  stories 
may  be,  they  reveal  at  least  that  the  supreme  divinity  is  in  this  respect 
unique,  that  he  admits  no  creating  rivals.  Moreover  the  description  of  the 
soul  as  "red"  like  blood,  and  though  of  "human  form"  "invisible  to  human 
eyes",  togethei"  with  the  migration  of  the  good  soul  to  Puluga's  Fruit- 
Palace,  all  this  tends  to  show  that  goodness  and  spirituality  are  in  the 
ascendant. 

It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  the  idea  of  a  married  divinity 
belongs  to  a  later  circle  of  ideas,  as  does  that  of  the  Pwfu^a-"spider".  If 
this  element  is  eliminated,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  above  items  furnish  a 
fairly  readable,  comparatively  pure  creation-legend,  and  one  closely 
paralleled  in  the  Malakkan  region." 


*For  each  of  the  items  consult  Man,  Andaman  Islands,  pp.  89-90,  94-9Sff.    For 
married,  non-animal  divinity,  see  above,  pp.  15-16. 


138  CREATION 

EARLY  OCEAN  1(J  SYSTEM 

(B,  2)  The  Veddas  of  Ceylon 

Witli  tlie  Yeddas  us  we  now  find  tliein  (lie  idea  of  creation  lias  been 
largely  obscured.  This  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  many  have  intermarried 
with  the  Sinhalese,  and  have  come  in  contact  with  Hindoo  and  Brah- 
ininical  notions  of  spontaneous  generation,  evolutionism  and  so  on.  It  is 
therefore  not  surprising  that  in  spite  of  the  unique  position  of  the  great 
Yaka,  and  of  his  son,  or  brother,  Bilindi  Yaka,  the  distinct  record  of  a 
series  of  creative  epochs  should  be  apparently  wanting. 

I  have  already  pointed  out,  that  the  phraseologj'  of  certain  invocations 
is  difficult  to  reconcile  with  a  purely  ancestral  deity,  that  such  petitions  as 
"Cause  Rain!"  seem  to  imply  some  power  of  controlling  the  universe, 
the  seasons,  the  climate,  in  a  manner  that  is  hardly  proper  to  a  finite  being. 
In  any  case  the  following  points  seem  to  be  clear: — 

Though  described  as  the  "Lord  of  the  Dead",  Kande  Yaka  is  invoked  as 
the  "Great  Master,  whose  place  is  on  the  crest  of  the  hill,  on  the  highest 
place  of  the  hill,  who  causes  the  rain-drops  to  burst  from  the  dense  cloud", 
etc.  which  accords  well  with  the  character  of  a  quondam  heaven-god.  It 
is  true  that  all  men  are  descended  from  him  after  the  manner  of  a  human 
lather,  but  such  anthropomorphisms  are  not  unknown  in  other  very  prim- 
itive regions,  and  are  of  little  import  when  compared  with  the  immense, 
almost  transcendent  power  that  he  wields  over  the  lives  of  the  natives  and 
apparently  over  the  forces  of  nature.  Again,  a  Lord  of  the  departed  is  not 
inconsistent  with  a  creating  divinity,  as  is  clear  from  the  similar  posi- 
tion of  Tuhan-di-Bauah  in  Southern  Malakka,  the  role  of  To-Entah  being 
paralleled  by  that  of  Bilindi  Yaka  above.  He  also  causes  rain,  fixes  the 
seasons,  rides  on  the  clouds,  etc.  though  always  in  subordination  to  the 
great  Sky-Futher.  If  then  some  creative  action  is  provable  for  the  Malak- 
dan  divinity,  it  may  at  least  be  remotely  inferred  for  that  of  the  Veddas.' 

(C,  1,  2)  Philippine  Neguitos 

For  tile  Philippine  islands  the  reports  are  as  yet  very  scattered  and  far 
from  complete.  Mention  has  been  made  of  the  "supreme  being"  of  the 
-Mabat  Aetas,  wtio  is  addressed  as  "Our  Maker".  If  this  report  is  correct, 
it  will  seem  that  tlie  Anito  or  Sky-Lord  of  the  Zambal  Aetas  is  very  prob- 
ably a  creating  spirit,  as  they  stand  on  a  very  similar  level  of  culture. 
Unfortunately  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  any  distinct  creation-legends 
for  these  islands,  vvhicli  is  regrettable  in  view  of  the  promising  field  that 
appears  to  be  opening  out  for  the  religious  data.  An  enormous  amount  of 
work  still  remains  to  be  done  in  this  region,  but  for  the  present  we  must 
be  satisfied  with  the  bare  indications  of  a  creating  God  sufilciently  attested 
in  one  insance,  at  least,  to  show  the  continuity  of  the  idea." 


'  Seligman.  The  Veddas,  p.  284fF.     '  Reed.  Negritos,  p.  65,  and  compare  p.  19-24  above 


CREATION  139 

EARLY  OCEANIC  SYSTEM 
(D,  1)  Centr.\l  Borneo 

The  Bornean  cosmology  is  by  contrast  particularly  rich.  To  begin  with 
[he  lowest  forest-Dayaks  of  the  interior,  commonly  called  Orang  Ukit  or 
•'Bakalan", — wild  men  of  the  woods — ,  it  is  certainly  a  remarkable  fact, 
(hat  the  wilder  they  are,  the  more  pure  and  simple  is  their  theory  of  world- 
origins,  the  more  free  from  sexual,  animal,  and  animistic  themes. 

To  take  an  illustration  from  these  lowest  hunting  tribes,  we  have  the 
simple  statement  that  the  Father  in  Heaven,— A 6a  Lingo,  Ba-lingo,  Bali- 
Penya-long, — is  the  supreme  Governor  of  all  things,  regardless  of  how  He 
made  them,  how  He  called  them  into  existence.  He  simply  dwells  in  the 
skies.  He  has  neither  wife  nor  family,  and  not  even  the  hawk  or  the  croc- 
odile, which  are  so  popular  in  these  regions,  can  interfere  with  their  direct 
supplications  to  Him  alone.  As  such  He  is  above  all  stars,  birds,  winds, 
animals,  or  human  ancestors,  and  is  evidently  their  Creator,  though  details 
are  as  yet  wanting. 

A  more  definite  thought  is  revealed  by  their  neighbors,  the  Kenyahs. 
Here  Balingo  is  the  god  of  thunder,  and  Bali  Penyalong  is  the  Father  in 
Heaven.  But  he  is  no  longer  wifeless,  he  has  a  female  partner,  Doh  Peny- 
along, to  whom  the  women  pray  for  guidance.  And,  more  important  than 
all,  He  has  a  countless  number  of  ftaZi-spirits,  who  are  believed  to  be 
present  in  every  tree  or  animal,  to  vivify  all  nature.  Among  these  the 
Bali-Flaki,  or  Hawk,  is  of  primary  importance.  It  is  only  "through  the 
spirit  of  this  bird"  that  the  Father  above  can  be  approached,  though  he  is 
still  only  a  "messenger",  a  mere  intermediary  between  themselves  and  the 
chief  divinity. 

A  still  more  complete  version  has  been  preserved  by  the  Kayans,  among 
whom  the  Laki  Neho  appears  under  the  form  of  the  hawk,  but  he  is  a  per- 
sonal demiurge,  and  is  addressed  as  a  man.  not  as  an  animal.  In  the 
parallel  /ly?iflA-fl-tradition  we  find  a  fairly  well-rounded  creation-story: — 

(1)  Amel-Tingei,  lives  in  the  Apii  Lagan,  or  highest  heaven  of 
immortals. 

(2)  He  is  surrounded  by  innumerable  To-bruwas,  or  Light-spirits. 

(3)  A  spider  comes  down  from  heaven  on  a  thread,  and  begins  to 
spin  out  the  earth,  through  which  stones,  shells,  and  banana-trees  gradually 
appear. 

(4)  Siui.  moon,  and  stars  are  looked  upon  as  simply  shining  and  non- 
creative. 

(5)  Worms,  crabs,  and  other  animals  begin  to  make  their  appearance, 
and 

(6)  Finally  the  first  human  pair, — Adja  and  Djaja  (or  Amei  and 
Ine)—,  who,  though  apparently  descended  from  semi-humans,  take  their 
place  as  real  men  and  women  in  the  Apii  Kayan  or  terrestrial  Paradise.^ 


'Hose  and  McDougall,  in  J.  A.  I.  (1901),  Vol.  XXXI.  pp.  177-213.  for  forest  tribes. 
Nieuwenhuis,  Centraal  Borneo,  I.  141-143.  Quer  dxirch  Borneo,  I.  98-99,  129ff.  for  Kayans, 
etc.  (Leyden,  1904).  See  also  Hose-McDougall,  Pagan  Tribes,  (1912),  Vol.  II.  p.  1-27,  136, 
ISSflF. 


140  CREATION 

EARLY  OCEANIC  SYSTEM 

(D.  2)  Celebes 

In  the  creation-story  Just  considered  we  have  elements  of  extreme 
anfi(]iiity,  combined  with  sliglitly  later  touches, — the  spider-theme — .  and 
this  welded  on  to  a  more  recent  animistic  belief,  in  which  the  ball  or  soul 
pervades  all  being,  even  the  lifeless  creation.  This  is  only  to  be  expected 
from  the  far  higher  cultural  state  of  the  Kayans  wln-n  compared  with  the 
Punans  and  other  jungle-folk  of  the  interior. — an  instructive  example. 

When  we  pass  to  the  neighboring  island  of  Celebes,  we  find  a  very 
similar  stratification  of  beliefs.  It  is  very  probable  that  the  Toradjas,  as 
being  geographically  and  culturally  nearest  to  the  Toalas.  iiave  preserved 
the  ancient  belief  in  its  greatest  purity,  as  witness  the  simple  story  of  the 
beginnings  of  the  universe  and  man. 

According  to  them  llai  and  Indara  are  father-mother  deities,  the  former 
of  whom  lives  in  heaven,  and  the  latter  on  earth.  They  appear  to  have  a 
divine  child,  or  demiurge,  known  as  Samoa  among  the  Poso-people.  This 
being  came  down  from  heaven  on  a  high  mountain,  and  "hewed"  two 
beings  of  the  same  name  out  of  stone.  In  order  to  put  life  into  them,  he 
brought  them  up  to  the  mountain,  caused  the  wind  to  blow-,  and  they 
began  to  breathe.  There  is  the  tradition  that  when  the  deity  went  back  to 
lieaven,  the  wind  ceased  to  blow,  and  with  it  man  ceased  to  breathe  and 
liad  to  die, — a  plain  intimation  that  life  and  existence  have  come  in  some 
way  from  the  ''breath  of  heaven' (!). 

.\  similar  though  less  vivid  tradition  is  preserved  among  the  Makassars 
and  Minnehassa  tribes.  Adji-Palolo  has  a  son,  Batara,  who  descends  from 
lieaven  on  a  bamboo  and  a  rainbow.  He  converts  order  out  of  cliaos  and 
fixes  the  seasons,  but  instead  of  creating  man,  he  is  himself  the  ancestor, 
and  the  father  of  numerous  children.  In  like  maimer  KakDKji,  though 
distinctly  eternal  and  supramundane,  lias  been  too  much  mixed  up  with 
sexual  and  astral  themes  to  be  looked  upon  as  unadulterated,  and  this  is  in 
harmony  with  the  higher  material  and  social  civilisation  of  these  peoples.* 

(D,  3)  The  Southern  Molukkas 

In  the  Ceramese-Amboina  group  the  legends  show  signs  of  a  similar 
manipulation,  but  the  archaic  traits  are  still  distinguishable.  Amaka,  (or 
Apo).  lives  in  a  'place  where  the  wind  has  its  rise", — evidently  heaven — , 
as  He  is  above  all  slurs,  clouds,  thunder  and  lightning.  He  plants  the 
/Cflrtrtn-tree.  from  which  human  beings  spring  forth,  but  his  creative 
power  is  no  longer  direct.  Secondary  and  solar  causes  are  his  chief 
agencies,  there  is  a  growing  tendency  to  .lee  in  nature  herself  a  sulTiciently 
powerful  cause  of  her  own  operations." 


^Kruyt,  Het  Animisme,  (Hague,  1906)  p.  467ff.  VVilken.  Idem.   ( Leyden,  188S)  p.  232flf. 
3  F.  Ricdel.  op.  rit.  <\upra.  (Hague.  18861.  pp.  7.  51,  106ff. 


CREATION  141 

EARLY  OCEANIC  SYSTEM 

(E)  New  Guinea  and  Melanesia 

(i)  In  the  Aru  Islands  we  find  the  triad  of  sun,  moon,  and  earth 
clearly  developed.  But  I  have  already  shown  that  the  Sky-Father  is  above 
and  beyond  the  heavenly  bodies,  that  the  Abuda,  or  Ancient  One,  has  no 
immediate  connexion  with  a  stellar  cult.  This  will  suggest  that  He  is  the 
author  of  all  the  visible  world,  and  of  the  spirit-beings  as  well,  though 
this  is  not  definitely  staled  in  the  few  fragments  that  have  come  to  hand. 
In  any  case,  the  title  of  Dyabu,  "Lord",  shows  that  it  is  not  the  material 
sun,  but  the  personal  cause  of  the  sun  that  is  worshipped,  that  He  is  behind 
the  stellar  phenomena.' 

(2)  For  the  Tapiros  we  have  not  as  yet  any  definite  information.  But 
the  data  furnished  by  the  neighboring  region  will  help  to  illustrate  this 
subject  with  sufiicient  clearness. 

(3)  Among  the  Karesau-Islanders  the  supreme  position  of  Wonekau 
leaves  no  room  for  doubt  that  He  is  the  direct  cause  of  the  world.    For — 

(1)  Wonekau  lives  in  the  heavens,  in  a  shining  palace  above  the  stars. 

(2)  All  other  spirits  are  ancestor-gods,  who  live  in  the  marea  or 
spirit-house,  and  are  differentiated  toto  caelo  from  the  heaven-god. 

(3)  Earth,  plants,  and  trees  have  no  secret  or  divine  properties. 

(4)  Of  Him  alone  is  it  said  that  "He  made  the  Pleiades  and  the  stars". 

(5)  Animals  are  eponymous  ancestors,  they  have  no  connexion  with 
Him. 

(6)  Though  creation-myths  are  wanting,  the  personal  invocations  to 
His  name  reveal  the  fact  that  He  is  the  Father  of  humanity,  and  this  in  a 
supernatural,  not  in  a  lower,  sexual,  or  anthropomorphic  sense.  For  it 
is  nowhere  stated  that  He  is  the  ancestor  of  man,  rather  the  opposite, — He 
is  so  far  olT  and  exalted  in  His  sphere  of  operations  that  no  record  has 
ever  been  kept  of  His  earthly  actions, — He  is  in  this  respect  a  "deistic"  god. 
In  every  other  respect,  however,  He  is  a  living  divinity.  He  is  appealed  to 
for  help  and  blessing,  and  is  indeed  nearer  to  man  than  many  of  the  Sun- 
fathers  of  later  times,  who  have  an  elaborate  host  of  rival  divinities. 

This  is  the  nearest  approach  to  a  pure  creation-scheme  that  I  have  been 
able  to  discover  in  the  Papuan  region.  It  is  true  that  all  these  peoples  are 
comparatively  advanced,  but  here  and  there  we  find  isolated  patches,  as  in 
the  present  instance,  where  a  more  simple  culture  reflects  a  more  simple 
view  of  existence.  The  interior  of  New  Guinea  is  still  largely  unexplored, 
but  the  few  materials  that  have  been  collected  should  be  a  stimulus  for 
further  research.- 


1  Fr.   Riedel,  op.  cit.  p.  252.   Schmidt,  Austroiiesische   Mythologie,  p.  89ff.     '  Items   in 
Schmidt,  1.  c.  pp.  117-119,  at  present  our  only  authority  on  this  region. 


142  CREATION 

KARLV  OCEANIC  SYSTEM 

(4)  The  Mafiilus  (it  IJritisli  Now  Guinea  liave  not  <is  yet  bfen  studied 
with  suflicient  thoroughnes<s  to  rcvf-nl  any  of  their  ideas  on  tlii>  origin  of 
Ihe  world  or  of  man.  Iliough  a  leaclier   'of  immense  power"  is  suggestive. 

(5)  In  the  Bunks  Islands  of  Melanesia  tlie  figure  of  Qual-Mamwa,  the 
•'Lord-Spider''  is  a  faint  reminder  of  Amaka  above.  "It  is  certain",  says 
Codrington,  "that  Quat  was  believed  to  have  made  things  in  another  sense 
from  that  in  which  men  could  be  said  to  have  made  them.  To  the  present 
day  a  mother  chides  a  sleepy,  fractious  child,  or  one  crying  with  hunger, 
with  the  words,  'Do  you  thinlv  you  are  going  to  die?  Don't  you  know  thai 
Quat  made  you  so?'  If  a  pig  comes  indoors  to  sleep  in  bad  weattier,  the 
man  who  drives  it  out  says  to  it.  'Quat  made  you  to  stay  outside'.  These 
are  not  serious  sayings,  but  it  was  believed  he  had  made  some  creatures 
and  fixed  the  natural  condition  of  things  in  the  world".  This  means  that 
he  arranges  light  and  darkness,  storms  and  winds,  rains  and  seasons — . 
even  if  he  is  himself  evolved  from  a  stone,  and  has  a  female  collaborator, 
Marawa,  the  spider.  Moreover  he  makes  men  out  of  clay,  and  women  out 
of  twigs,  wliich  reveals  some  notion  of  transcendence,  though  his  char- 
acter is  too  facetious  to  be  taken  seriously.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  we 
are  here  in  presence  of  a  lunar  myth,  which  can  be  paralleled  in  other 
regions.' 

(F)   AUSTRALIA-T.\SMA>-IA 

(F,  1)  Baiame'is  name  is  associated  by  Ridley  with  a  verb,  baia,  to 
"make".  But  apart  from  this,  his  role  as  Creator  is  now  well  established, 
and  the  following  items  may  be  of  some  interest: — 

(1)  Baime  is  seated  in  heaven  on  a  throne  of  transparent  crystal,  with 
beautiful  pillars  of  crystal  on  each  side, — the  fla//wjrt-Paradise. 

(2)  He  has  several  sons  or  sky-spirits,  and  one  especially,  Gregoralty, 
who  watches  the  actions  of  man,  and  takes  the  place  of  a  mediator. 

(3)  He  has  also  made  the  earth  and  the  underworld,  the  latter  being  a 
fearful  place  filled  with  fire,  the  so-called  Oorooma  or  Purgatory. 

(4)  This  is  tenanted  by  the  wicked  spirits,  who  punish  the  wicked 
souls,  or  possibly  purge  them  in  preparation  for  paradise. 

(o)  He  has  created  the  first  man,  Moodgegatly, — apparently  without 
demiurge  or  secondary  causes,  and  it  is  through  him  that  he  has  given  the 
first  laws  to  the  human  race.' 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  throughout  the  more  primitive  Aus- 
tralian zone  there  is  hardly  a  single  case  in  which  man  leaps  out  of  lower 
animal  forms  in  nature.  He  seems  to  come  into  existence  ready-made, 
fully  equipped  by  the  deity. 


'Codrington,  The  Melanesians,  \>.  154-158.  Compare  Borneo  and  the  Andaman  Islands. 
'  For  the  name  see  Ridley,  Kamilaroi,  p.  135,  and  compare  Parker,  The  Euahlayi  Tribe,  p. 
4-5,  who  translates  "Great  One",  though  "Creator"  is  also  admitted.  For  mythology,  see 
Howitt,  .Vative  Tribes,  p.  501-502,  and  Schmidt,  Ursprung,  p.  121ff.  both  relying  on  James 
Manning.  Notes  on  the  aborigines  of  New  Holland.  (Royal  Society  of  N'ew  South  Wales, 
1882). 


CREATION  143 

EARLY  OCEANIC  SYSTEM 
Australia-Tasmania 

(F,  2)  Tliat  Nairun-dere  has  made  all  things,  can  no  longer  be  ques- 
tioned. How  and  what  he  has  created,  is  not  so  clear.  He  is  said  to  live  in 
the  sky,  and  to  have  made  the  rainbow.  Definite  creation-myths  are  want- 
ing, but  his  paternal  relation  to  man  is  well  established. = 

(F,  3)  Bundjil  lives  in  the  heavens,  and  is  now  identified  with  a  star, — 
Altair  or  Fomalfumt (?) .  He  has  a  numerous  progeny,  including  one,  Bin- 
beal,  the  rainbow.  He  is  the  maker  of  the  earth,  trees,  and  men,  and  the 
latter  were  fashioned  as  follows : — 

"Bundjil  made  two  men  out  of  clay.  This  was  long,  long  ago.  They 
breathed  in  a  land  of  the  North-West  (sic).  Bundjil  cut  ofT  two  strips  of 
bark,  and  placed  a  lump  of  clay  on  each  of  them,  from  which  he  made 
two  black  men,— one  very  black,  and  the  other  not  quite  so  black,  more 
like  dark-red  tiles.  Tiie  first  one  was  made  with  frizzly  hair,  and  the  sec- 
ond one  with  smoothe  or  lank  hair.  When  Bundjil  had  formed  the  bodies, 
he  was  pleased  at  his  work,  he  looked  upon  the  bodies  for  a  long  time. 
and  danced  around  them.  Then  he  look  fibres  from  the  Eucalyptus-tre^ 
and  made  hairs  out  of  them,  for  the  first  frizzly,  for  the  second  smoothe 
hair.  His  work  pleased  him  again,  he  admired  it,  and  danced  around  it 
once  more.  He  then  gave  them  both  a  name,— the  frizzly-haired  one  he 
called  Kookinberook,  the  smooth-haired  one  Berookboom.  Then  he 
polished  them  all  over  with  his  hands,  laid  himself  upon  them,  and 
breathed  his  breath  into  their  mouths,  noses,  and  navels.  .\nd  as  he  blew 
very  heavily,  they  moved.  Then  he  danced  around  them  a  third  time. 
Then  he  caused  them  to  talk,  and  they  rose  up  as  ripe  men,  not  as  chil- 
dren". After  that  Bundjil  brought  them  to  Paliyan,  his  son  or  brother,— a 
possible  demiurge—,  but  the  exact  relation  of  these  persons  is  uncertain. 
and  Binbeal  and  Paliyan  are  probably  identical.' 

This  native  legend  is  given  at  full  length,  because  it  clearly  brings  out: 
(i)     The  idea  of  a   direct,  personal  creation,  without  mediators  or 
helpers. 

(2)  The  fact  that  man's  body  was  made  out  of  previous  material, — 
clay,  etc. 

(3)  The  direct  infiation  of  the  soul  of  man.  making  it  the  image"  of 
God. 

(4)  The  essential  goodness  of  creation,  for  the  divinity  is  -pleased" 
at  it. 

This  must  be  pronounced  as  one  of  the  most  striking  accounts  that  we 
possess  of  the  origin  of  the  soul  and  body  of  man  in  the  entire  Oceanic 
region,  even  if  its  crude  anthropomorphic  setting  leaves  much  to  be 
desired.    It  is  for  this  reason  all  the  more  valuable. 


2  Howitt,  Native  Tribes,  pp.  88-489.  Taplin,  The  Narrmyeri,  pp.  55-58.  -'These  legends 
have  been  collected  by  Brough-Smith.  in  his  "Aborigines  of  Victoria  ,  Vol.  I  p.  423ff.  and 
are  also  to  be  found  in  "Letters  from  Victoria  Pioneers'  (Melbourne,  1899)  (anonymous). 
.Mso  in  Van  Gennep,  Mythes  et  Legendes  (supra)  p.  12-13,  178flf.  Comp.  Howitt,  1.  c.  pp. 
491-492.  Schmidt,  Ursprung,  pp.  296-297ff. 


144  CREATION 

EARLY  OCEANIC  SYSTEM 

For  the  remaining  sections  of  South-East  Australia,  our  materials 
become  increasingly  scanty. 

(F,  4)  Thougli  Dnramubni  once  lived  upon  oarfh,  lie  is  now  in  lieaven. 
where  he  reigns  and  rules  mankind.  His  creative  power  is  attested  in  one 
instance  and  implied  in  many  others, — He  "makes  things,  he  can  go  every- 
where and  do  anything".  The  creation-stories  speak  of  the  earth  as 
originally  bare, — "there  were  no  m^n  and  women,  but  only  animals,  birds, 
reptiles.  Then  he  placed  trees  on  the  earth"  etc.  but  notiiing  is  said  of  the 
direct  fashioning  of  man.  though  Daramrihin  has  taught  Ihom  all  they 
know,  and  outlived  them  all.* 

(F,  5)  Still  more  meagre  is  the  information  we  possess  of  Mungan 
ngaua.  His  role  as  Father  and  Lawgiver  is  strong,  that  of  Creator  only 
inferential.  However,  he  has  a  son,  Tiindun,  (Adam?),  who  is  evidently 
the  first  ancestor.  Like  Daramithin,  he  was  once  on  earth,  but  is  now  in 
heaven,  where  ho  still  remains.  His  quasi-divine  qualities  and  his 
proximity  to  Daramulun  render  the  conclusion  probable  that  ho  shares 
with  this  being  the  attributes  of  Creator,  as  he  does  those  of  Father,  Master. 
Lawgiver,  etc.,  for  it  will  appear  increasingly  evident  that  all  these 
"deities"  are  in  reality  dilVerent  denominations  for  one  and  the  same 
divinity,  and  that  in  cases  of  extreme  parallelism,  an  attribute  of  the  one 
may  be  safely  transferred  to  the  other,  when  direct  testimony  is  not  forth- 
coming.' 

(F,  6)  Tasmania 

Of  the  Tasmanian  cosmology  nothing  but  fragments  have  survived.  If 
Milligan's  reading  is  correct,  Tiggana-Maria-Boona  stands  for  "Spirit  of 
great  creative  power",— a  suspiciously  high-sounding  phrase.  But  even 
as  "High-One-Exalted"  or  "Great  One"  (as  in  the  case  of  Baiame)  his 
creation  of  man.  if  not  of  the  world  at  large,  can  be  inferred  from  the 
sources  already  given  in  the  preceding  pages.  Moreover  it  is  a  "beneficent 
being"  who  has  formed  the  first  man,  who  was  with  tail  but  without  knee- 
joints,  when  another  heing(?)  came  down  from  heaven,  and,  full  of  sym- 
pathy for  the  sufferers,  cut  off  their  tails  and  lubricated  their  knee-joints 
with  fdi!  Tliough  this  lias  the  ring  of  a  belief  in  animal  ancestors,  it  is  to 
be  noted  that  there  are  no  signs  of  totemism  among  these  people,  a  point 
upon  uhich  onr  author  lays  particular  stress." 

This  completes  the  Oceanic  cycle  of  beliefs  in  their  earlier  form,  and 
throughout  it  is  sufTiciently  evident  thai,  although  we  find  here  and  there 
a  fow  ugly  and  ridiculous  touches,  the  great  majority  have  a  decent  and 
religious  flavor.  An  evolution  out  of  lower  forms  in  nature  is  the  great 
exception;  man  is  to  all  intents  and  purposes  a  unique  being. 


♦  Howitt,  Native  Tribes,  p.  490-495.  Ridley,  Kamilaroi,  p.  156,  '■  Howitt.  1.  c.  p.  490-499. 
"  Ling-Roth,  The  Aborigines  of  Tasmania,  p.  53ff.  where  all  the  sources  are  given.  Compare 
S?hmidt,  Ursprung.  p.  216ff.   for  the  lexical  analysis,  which,  however,  is  not  con.vincing. 


CREATION  145 

CENTRAL  AFRICAN  SYSTEM 

(G)  Congo  Region 

To  the  question,  where  God  resides  and  how  He  has  produced  the  uni- 
verse of  mind  and  matter,  the  negrillos  of  Central  Africa  give  for  the  most 
part  short  and  evasive  answers.  Indeed,  anything  like  a  connected  cos- 
mogony seems  to  be  entirely  unknown  among  these  peoples,  which  is  but 
one  more  proof  that  they  have  not  yet  reached  the  speculative  stage  of 
mental  development,  they  have  not  bothered  their  heads,  so  to  speak,  over 
questions  which  are  as  yet  too  abstruse  and  comparatively  unimportant  to 
engage  their  serious  attention.  It  would  be  a  mistake,  however,  to  imagine 
that  they  have  no  theory  of  world  origins.  From  the  combined  material 
that  we  possess  for  three  sections  of  this  area. — eastern,  central,  and  west- 
ern— ,  it  would  seem  that  the  essentials  of  a  creation-story  may  yet  be 
traced  in  the  fragmentary  reports  that  have  been  handed  in. 

(1)  In  each  case  the  name  of  tiie  divinity,  whether  as  Waka,  the  Great 
one,  {wa  intensitive.  ka,  man),  or  as  hidagatra,  He  who  is  strong, (?),  or 
as  Nzambi,  He  who  creates,  {amba,  to  make) — .  this  implies  a  position 
above  and  beyond  the  visible  world,  which  is  brought  into  still  clearer 
perspective  by  His  description  as  a  thunder-god,  as  "coming  down  from 
heaven",  and  the  like.  Moreover  as  the  equivalent  of  Mu-lungu  of  the  east. 
He  is  a  personal  being  (mu).  who  is  in  heaven,  (lungu).  a  name  never 
applied  to  lifeless  objects. 

(2)  We  have  no  information  of  minor  spirits,  sons  and  daughters 
are  alike  absent,  except  in  the  case  of  Indagarra,  whose  son,  Ryan-gombe, 
is  apparently  a  mediator,  though  he  may  also  be  taken  as  the  first  ancestor. 

(3)  In  every  case  this  being  has  made  all,  or  is  the  Master  of  all,  and 
"in  His  sight  we  are  all  very  small".    He  "causes  to  live  and  causes  to  die". 

(4)  Except  as  the  Father  beyond  the  clouds,  sun,  moon,  and  stars 
have  no  relation  to  Him.  they  are  not  even  mentioned,  or  at  least  quit* 
unimportant. 

(5)  Still  less  is  there  any  hint  of  an  animal  divinity.  Waka  is  not  a 
totem,  but  on  the  contrary  the  author  of  all. — plants,  animals,  and  man. 

(6)  While  there  is  no  clear-cut  paradise-legend,  the  universal 
creative  activity  of  this  being  postulates  also  the  "making"  of  man.  and  the 
fact  that  judgment  is  direct  and  immediate  tends  to  show  that  the  begin- 
nings of  things  are  of  a  similar  nature, — "He  commanded,  and  they 
existed".  For  as  the  soul  returns  directly  to  God,  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  it 
came  directly  from  Him.  it  is  of  the  same  nature,  and  neither  ghost  nor 
pepo.    This  is  a  point  which  Mgr.  LeRoy  justly  emphasises.' 


'Materials  will  be  found  in  LeRoy.  Les  Pygmees  d'Afrique  et  de  I'lnde.  pp.   17S-180ff. 
Idem.  La  Religion  des  Primitifs  (1911)  p.  135ff. 


146  CREATION 

CENTRAL  AFRICAN  SYSTEM 
(H)  Kalahari  Deskut 

The  same  remarks  apply  to  the  Kalahari  Bushmen,  a  southern  ofTshool 
of  the  same  equatorial  race,  though  here  the  invasion  of  Bantu  and  Hotten- 
lott  innuence  has  colored  the  mythology  witli  many  fotemic  and  animistic 
traits. 

As  the  cause  of  life  and  death,  and  as  the  giver  or  refuser  of  rain,  Kaanr/ 
is  clearly  the  "Lord",  who  "cannot  be  seen  with  the  eyes,  but  only  with  the 
heart  of  man" — a  spiritual,  invisible  being.  He  has  "made  all  things"  and 
is  the  giver  of  daily  bread;  sun,  moon,  and  stars  alike  acknowledge  His 
sway.  But  in  the  so-called  Quing-legend,  obtained  by  Mr.  Orpen  from  ono 
of  the  Maluti  Bushmen  of  that  name,  there  is  clear  evidence  that  men  and 
animals  were  believed  to  be  closely  inter-related,  if  not  actually  descended, 
the  one  from  the  other.  The  Baboon-dance  was  thus  interpreted  by 
Quing.— 

"Kaang  had  a  son  called  Kogaz,  whom  he  sent  into  the  woods  to  make 
bows.  While  he  was  doing  this,  the  baboons  caught  him.  They  called 
all  the  other  baboons  to  hear  him,  and  they  asked  him  who  sent  him  there. 
He  said  his  father  sent  him  to  cut  sticks  to  make  bows.  So  they  said, 
"Your  father  thinks  himself  more  clever  than  we  are,  and  he  wants  those 
bows  to  kill  us,  so  we  will  kill  you".  So  they  killed  Kogaz,  and  tied  him 
up  in  the  top  of  a  tree,  and  they  danced  around  the  tree,  singing  an  inde- 
scribable baboon  song,  with  a  chorus,  saying,  "Kaang  thinks  he  is  clever". 
Kaang  was  asleep  when  Kogaz  was  killed,  but  when  he  awoke  he  told 
Koti  to  give  him  his  charms,  and  he  puts  some  on  his  nose  and  said  the 
baboons  have  hung  Kogaz.  So  ho  went  to  where  the  baboons  were,  and 
when  they  saw  him  coming,  they  changed  their  song,  leaving  out  the 
words  about  Kaang.  But  at  the  suggestion  of  a  little  baboon  girl  (sic), 
they  went  on  singing  as  before.  At  this  slight  upon  his  character,  Kaang 
became  so  irate  that  he  drove  a  peg  through  each  of  the  performers,  and 
banished  them  to  the  mountains  to  live  on  roots,  beetles,  and  scorpions  as 
a  punishment.  Before  that  baboons  were  men,  but  since  tiien  they  have 
tails,  and  their  tails  hang  crooked.  Then  Kaang  took  Kogaz  down,  gave 
him  a  canna,  and  made  him  alive  again". 

This  is  an  instructive  story.  The  human  and  talking  baboons  that  are 
without  tails  reveal  a  growing  confusion  of  the  human  with  the  animal 
nature,  they  are  falsely  believed  to  be  of  the  same  nature.  Also,  the  j)lac- 
ing  of  "charms"  on  the  nose,  etc.  reveals  some  contact  with  magical  and 
animistic  notions.  Nevertheless  the  fact  that  "Kaang  thinks  himself  clever" 
and  that  he  is  able  to  raise  Kogaz  from  the  dead,  this  is  just  as  clear  a 
proof  that  his  power  is  far  beyond  that  of  any  finite  being.= 


Stow,  The  Native  Races  of  South  Africa  (1910)  p.  117ff.  for  the  legends,  etc. 


CREATION  147 

AMAZONIAN  SYSTEM 

(K)  Central  Brazil 

Tlie  Brazilian  cosmologies  are  no  longer  as  simple  and  clear  as  most 
of  the  preceding.  Tliey  have  been  mixed  up  with  a  variety  of  lunar  and 
solar  myths,  in  which  gods  and  ancestors  have  been  so  confused,  if  not 
identified,  that  it  is  difficult  at  times  to  ferret  out  the  original  notions.  T 
have  already  given  the  Keri-Kame  legend  as  reported  by  a  very  trusted 
authority.  Here  I  would  only  recall  the  main  points  of  this  legend  in  so 
far  as  they  affect  the  question  at  present  under  discussion. 

(1)  Kamushini  is  clearly  the  old  heaven-god,  as  may  be  inferred, 
partly  from  his  name,  {kaniu,  light,  shining),  partly  from  the  fact  he  is 
said  to  "belong  to  a  different  people",  and  is  thus  ditTerentiated  from  tribal 
ancestors. 

(2)  Heaven  and  earth  were  originally  united,  and  formed  a  world  of 
light  and  splendor.  These  were  not  self-created,  but  were  spun  out  by 
Kamushini  after  the  manner  of  a  spider,  as  he  is  himself  called  "the 
heavenly  Spider". 

(3)  Heaven  and  earth  were  finally  separated,  and  the  earth  began  to 
assume  its  present  appearance,  and  to  give  birth  to  life.  (Transmutation- 
theme). 

(4)  Sun.  moon,  and  stars  are  propelled  by  two  eagles,  suggestive  of 
angels. 

(5)  Animals  take  their  place  in  the  hierarchy  of  being,  but  with  the 
exception  of  the  spider,  they  have  no  mythical  relation  to  the  heaven-god. 

(6)  The  latter  "makes  men  out  of  arrows,  and  women  out  of  maize- 
stampers".  Keri  and  Karnes  are  the  first  human  twins,  who  address  him 
as  Papa,  Father,  which  shows  that  he  has  a  paternal  authority  above  them, 
and  yet  is  not  a  married  divinity.  It  is  through  a  moral  failure  of  some 
sort  on  the  part  this  couple  or  their  descendants  that  heaven  and  earth 
were  destined  to  be  parted.  Keri  and  Karnes  "slide  off"  to  the  earth,  and 
heaven  disappears  upwards,  and  ever  since  Keri  himself  has  had  to  make 
men  out  of  arrows  to  replace  the  dying  population. 

This  phantastic  story  has  some  elements  of  real  greatness.  The  descrip- 
tion of  the  chief  divinity  as  "spinning  the  world  out  of  his  mind"  is  a  by 
no  means  unhappy  method  of  expressing  the  silent  and  myterious  nature 
of  creative  action,  the  spider  being  the  symbol  of  what  is  hidden  and  yet 
productive.  (Comp.  Central  Borneo  and  the  Andaman  Islands).  The 
transformation  scene  is  also  suggestive.  But  throughout  there  is  no  very 
clear  proof  of  the  uniqueness  of  this  divinity,  his  creative  powers  seem  to 
be  shared  in  part  by  his  own  creatures,  and  perhaps  it  is  best  to  say  that 
these  are  faded  and  fictitious  editions  of  a  once  powerfid  original." 


3  Von  den  Steinen,  Unter  den  Naturvolkern  Central-Brasiliens,  p.  364ff.    Comp.  Ehren- 
rcich.  Siidamerikanishe  Mythologie,  p.  39ff. 


148  CREATION 

AMAZONIAN  SYSTEM 

For  the  remaining  portions  of  this  area  we  have  abundant  fragments, 
but  rarely  a  connected  world-system.  In  nearly  every  case  the  language 
used  of  the  supreme  figure  of  the  mythology  seems  too  strong  to  apply  to 
an  ordinary  "headman" — ,  he  makes  man  out  of  clay,  straw,  or  fibre- 
strings  and  this  directly,  without  the  help  of  intervening  agencies.  Such 
a  notion  seems  to  postulate  a  more  than  human  power  of  production. — 
though  the  transfer  of  these  qualities  to  some  national  ancestor  tends  to 
diminish  if  not  to  destroy  its  theological  value.  He  whose  dependent 
beings  can  also  create  has  lost  much  of  his  unique  position  as  the  Creator 
of  all. 

(L)  Patagonian  Region, — Tierra  del  Fuego 

The  materials  that  come  to  us  from  the  Fuegian  archipelago  are  of  the 
scantiest.  This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  when  we  consider  how  far  from 
accurate  and  consistent  have  been  the  reports  of  those  who  profess  to  have 
studied  them,  how  difTicult  to  ferret  out  the  truth  from  the  maze  of  contra- 
dictions. The  following  items  seem,  however,  to  be  well  substantiated, 
though  they  are  absurdly  small  and  incoherent  in  their  nature." 

The  Yahgans 

All  we  know  of  the  Yahgan  theory  of  the  world  is  summed  up  in  one 
statement.  They  have  a  persuasion  that  in  former  times  man  and  nature 
were  more  closely  united,  men  were  married  to  rocks,  if  they  did  not 
actually  spring  from  them,  and  it  seems  that  there  is  little  or  no  conscious- 
ness of  any  interfering  divinity,  good  or  evil,  that  helped  to  bring  things 
to  their  present  perfection.  Though  the  idea  is  by  no  means  absent,  noth- 
ing is  said  of  the  origin  of  Oumoara,  the  first  man,  and  so  we  can  only  con- 
clude that  either  this  picture  is  incomplete,  or  the  Yahgans  have  no  dis- 
tinct ideas  on  the  matter. 

The  Onas 

Hardly  more  satisfactory  are  the  few  points  of  Ona  belief.  Here  also 
and  perhaps  to  a  greater  degree,  nature  is  apparently  animated,  sun  and 
moon  are  husband  and  wife,  and  Pimaukel  is  the  first  man,  who  made  all 
things  (sic).  The  primaeval  race  was  of  white  complexion  and  bearded, 
but  owing  to  their  increasing  crimes  of  violence,  sun  and  moon  left  the 
earth,  and  a  giant  came  down  from  heaven  in  the  shape  of  a  red  star  and 
killed  them  all.  This  same  being  then  made  two  mountains  or  clods  of 
clay,  out  of  which  he  formed  the  first  Ona  man  and  the  first  Ona  woman, 
evidently  a  new  creation.  These  ideas  of  a  big  man  who  '"makes  things" 
show  at  least  that  their  origin  is  attributed  to  a  personal  powei'. 


Rev.  T    M.  Cooper,  in  B.  A.  E.  Bulletin  6.V   (Washington.  1917).  p.  16.'-16.V 


CREATION  149 

PRIMITIVE  WORLD  SYMBOLS 

Before  passing  on  to  the  higher  systems,  it  will  be  interesting  to  note 
Iiow  these  primitive  peoples  express  their  ideas  of  creation  graphically, 
that  is,  by  more  or  less  appropriate  symbols,  which  are  meant  to  convey 
some  notion,  however  rudimentary,  of  the  world-process.  Among  these 
the  so-called  "Charm-Patterns"  of  Malakka  are  the  most  important  and 
furnish  the  long-sought  key  for  the  interpretation  of  the  primitive  hiero- 
glyphs. It  will  be  found  that  the  Cross,  the  Zigzag,  and  the  Lozenge,  rep- 
resent the  three  fundamental  forms  under  which  creative  action  is  believed 
to  have  taken  place,  though  other  linear  combinations  are  by  no  means 
wanting,  and  these  may  be  found  over  nearly  every  section  of  the  equator- 
ial belt.i 

(1)     The  Cross     4_  \/^^  =1=  >X<      for  the  "Father-God"  (Ab). 


tx'^tt 


This  symbol  is  certified  for  Malakka,  Andaman  Islands,  Ceylon, 
Philippines,  Borneo,  New  Guinea,  Melanesia,  Australia,  Central  Africa, 
and  South  America.  Though  varying  in  form  and  even  in  meaning, 
it  is  the  most  universal  of  all  cryptograms,  and  there  can  be  no 
question  that  it  stands  primarily  for  "Great  Headman",  "Man  above  the 
Skies",  "Creator",  "Divine  One",  though  in  ordinary  use  it  is  simply  the 
designation  for  man  or  woman  indiscriminately.  That  the  rays  are  more 
than  mere  sex-symbols  is  suggested  by  the  fact  that  similar  rays  are  found 
over  divine  persons  of  male  or  of  neutral  sex,  though  the  divine  "glory"  is 
often  expressed  by  the  following  ideogram : 

(2)  The  Zigzag        -^^^vwvwtvw     ^^^  "Wind-Spirit"  (An). 

Almost  equally  universal  is  the  zigzag  or  chevron,  certified  as  the  pro- 
ductive Wind-Spirit  for  Malakka  and  Central  Indonesia,  and  identified  with 
the  Creator's  "Breath".  As  "lightning"  it  is  the  vindictive,  as  "water"  the 
purgative,  as  "serpent"  the  destructive  power  of  the  universe. 

(3)  The  Lozenge  <)C00^ />  000^  for  "Thunder-Fruit"  (As). 

The  lozenge  as  the  Jungle-fruit  or  the  magic  Flower  is  the  symbol  of 
the  divine  fecundity,  of  the  power  of  giving  life  to  the  inanimate  creation. 
Though  demonstrable  as  a  hieroglyph  only  for  the  East  Indies,  it  is  found 
with  similar  meanings  in  Australia,  Central  Africa,  and  South  America. 

Other  Lineograms 

(a)  The  Line  and  Dot :    .i.._  .  __  .    .         .  .«i._  .  for  "distance". 

(b)  The  Square  and  Triangle :  Q      y/\       for  "enclosure". 

(c)  The  Circle  is  very  rare,  the  spiral  unknown.  The  preponderance 
of  rectilinear  designs  is  a  striking  feature  in  this  region. 

1  See  Skeat,  1.  c.  I.  4S0-472ff.  Man,  1.  c.  ISO.  Seligman.  318ff.  Reed,  49,  and  PI.  XXXVI. 
Ling-Roth  (Borneo)  II.  59,  185.  Nieuwenhuis  (Centraal  Borneo)  I.  PI.  X.  XVII.  William- 
son (Mafulu),  209.  and  PI.  36-42.  Codrington  (Melanesia),  329.  Howitt  (S.  E.  Australia) 
499,  553,  628,  708.  LeRoy  (Prim.  Africa),  169ff.  Von  den  Steinen  (Brazil).  Corop.  Th. 
Danzel,  Die  Anfange  der  Schrift,   (Leipzig.  1912),  PI.  I-XI. 


150 


CREATION 


PRIMITIVE  WORLD  SYMBOLS 

The  Mystic  Flower-Patterns 

As  an  archaeological  curiosity,  but  one  of  some  psychological  interest, 
the  so-called  flower-patterns,  discovered  by  Vaughan-Stevens,  and  verified 
by  Skeat,  should  be  mentioned  in  this  place,  as  they  promise  to  furnish 
an  additional  solution  to  the  problem  of  Indonesian  hieroglyphics  as  rep- 
resented by  certain  "magic  lines"  appearing  in  regular  order  on  the  bamboo 
cylinders.  On  this  system  the  different  panels  of  the  cylinder  represent 
either  different  flowers  or  different  portions  of  the  same  flower,  according 
to  the  exact  meaning  that  is  assigned  to  the  obscure  terms  by  which  they 
are  described.    Thus — 


1st.  Panel,— H^a^ 
2nd.  Panel, — Pawer 
3rd.  Panel,— 50% 
4th.  Panel,— Padi 

5th.  Pane\,~Tm-Weh 

6th.  Panel, — Nmg 
7th.  P&nel—Bie 
8th.  Panel,— ;l/o.v 


mm^m: 


mm^ 


<VN<\WY 


:^-H'^IN\l 


tlie  "smell"  of  the  plant(?j 
the  pistil  and  stamens, 
the  upper  crown, 
the  lower  crown. 

the  petals  or   "blossom". 

liie  upper  chalice, 
the  middle  chalice, 
the  lower  chalice. 


As  some  of  these  terms  do  unquestionably  stand  for  the  portions  or 
qualities  of  a  flower,  this  interpretation  is  not  as  far-fetched  as  might  at 
first  sight  appear,  though  the  remark  of  the  editors  that  they  reveal  the 
"extraordinary  intellectual  force  of  the  primitive  human  race"'  is  hardly 
justified.  The  discovery  of  the  pistils  and  petals  of  a  plant  cannot  be 
called  an  "advanced  botany",  though  their  graphic  representation  by  the 
above  crude  lines  is  certainly  interesting.  It  also  shows  that  the  above 
ideograms  can  be  taken  in  a  more  concrete,  visibly-descriptive  sense.= 

The  Symbolic  Nature  of  Primitive  Art 

As  many  will  feel  an  instinctive  ditriculty  in  accepting  these  lines  as  in 
any  sense  "imitative"  rather  than  ornamental,  I  would  like  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  essentially  symbolic  nature  of  primitive  art.  The  principle  of 
pars  pro  toto  is  "one  of  the  most  important  features  of  the  art-work  of 
these  tribes",  as  they  "represent  an  object  by  means  of  its  chief  parts  or 
some  closely  associated  idea"  ie.  g.  a  bat  by  a  wave-line,  a  stag  by  a  tri- 
angle, etc).  Though  capable  of  depicting  entire  objects,  "they  employ  in 
the  vast  majority  of  cases  patterns  which  are  purely  geometrical".  This 
and  the  absence  of  sexual  or  phallic  symbols  is  a  very  general  character- 
istic.^ 


-  Diasrrams  reconstructed  from  Skeat.  I.  .^97-401,  426-436.  and  Martin.  Inlandstamme.  p. 
!W1.     "  Skeat.  I.  401-403.  and  compare  the  above  authors  passim. 


A  DEVELOPED  PLANISPHERE 

SHOWING  TU£  8EVEN  GREAT  WAKANDAS 
AS  ISSUING  FBOM  THE  ALL-FATHEB-Sl'N 

(SOLAS  OBIENTATION) 


(1>  aVN-WAKANDA,— GHEAT  MYSTERY,  }tiAOIC   SNAKE.   WOBLD-EHBBTO. 

(?)  THUNDEB-BEING.— WIND    AND    WATER    BlRl'S,    INKAR.\8.    MVLVNOrS. 

(5)  I'PPER  WORLD,— RISING  LAND,  MAGIC  TREE,  EARTH-INITIATE. 
(4)  8KY-WAKANDA.— INCH  DING  SIN,  MOON,  AND  MORNING-STAR. 
(3)  GROl'ND-WAKAND.A,— HORNED   SNAKE,    Bl'FFAI.O.    MYSTIC    EYE. 

(6)  WISEST  MAN,— ISSl  ING    FROM   WORLD-EGO,   SERPENT,   OR  BFFFALO. 

(7)  DARKNESS,— I' NDEBWOBLO.  SPIRIT  OF  DEATH,  BESTING  PLACE. 


CREATION  151 

LATER  TOTEMIC  SYSTEM 

(M.  1)  The  Kolariax  Aboriginrs  of  Central  India 

If  the  Mundai-i  peoples  be  looked  upon  as  the  earliest  representatives 
of  the  totem-culture  in  its  primary,  unadvanced  form,  we  must  be  pre- 
pared to  find  the  creation-legends  in  a  comparatively  pure  state,  unaffected 
as  yet  by  the  growing  tendency  to  bring  the  Creator  more  and  more  into 
touch  with  the  material  world,  to  make  Him  in  fact  part  and  parcel  of  the 
world.  Such  is  found  to  be  the  case  in  the  present  instance.  Here  we  have 
a  being  who  is  seemingly  distinct  from  nature,  though  his  cosmic  char- 
acter as  the  Sun-god  is  the  first  indication  of  impersonal  concepts,  of  the 
growing  practice  of  nature-worship.  The  following  are  the  main  points 
of  this  system  in  so  far  as  they  help  to  interpret  the  subject:— 

(1)  In  the  beginning  of  time  the  face  of  the  earth  was  covered  with 
water,  and  Sin-Bonga,  the  Sun-god.  brooded  over  the  waters.  This  is  the 
hatching-idea  which  was  destined  to  play  such  a  prominent  part  in  later 
ages. 

(2)  The  first  beings  that  were  formed  were  a  tortoise,  a  crab,  and  a 
leach,  which  were  apparently  evolved  from  the  bosom  of  the  deep. 

(3)  Sin-Bonga  commanded  these  first-born  of  all  animals  to  bring 
him  a  lump  of  clay  from  the  depths  of  the  ocean.  The  leech  succeeded  in 
fishing  out  this  lump,  and  from  this  clay  Sin-Bonga  made  this  beautiful 
earth  of  ours. 

(4)  At  his  bidding  the  earth  brought  forth  trees  and  plants,  herbs  and 
creepers  of  manifold  varieties,— the  vegetable  creation. 

(5)  He  next  filled  the  earth  with  birds  and  beasts  of  all  sizes,  living 
things  possessing  the  power  of  locomotion. — the  animal  creation. 

(6)  "And  now  happened  the  most  memorable  incident  of  all.  The  bird 
Hur,  the  swan,  laid  an  egg.  And  out  of  this  egg  came  forth  a  boy  and  a 
girl,  the  first  human  beings.  These  were  the  progenitors  of  the  Horo 
Honko,  or  'sons  of  men',  as  the  Mundas  style  themselves.  The  legend 
goes  on  to  relate  how  the  first  human  pair  were  innocent  of  the  relation 
of  the  sexes,  but  after  obtaining  from  Sin-Bonga  the  secrets  of  manufac- 
turing lii,  or  rice-beer,  they  drank  of  the  stimulating  beverage  and  lost 
their  innocence.  Their  names  are  Tola  Haram  and  Tata  Btiri,  the  'naked 
male  and  female  ancestors' '".' 

This  is  one  of  the  oldest  accounts  we  have  of  the  creation  of  the  world 
and  man  among  the  Kolarian  races.  It  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  "Assur"- 
legends  of  Lutkum  Haram  and  Lutkum  Buria,  which  are  considerably 
later  and  partly  borrowed,  relating  the  origin  of  the  minor  "deities",  here 
absent.- 


'  S.  C.  Roy,  The  Mundas  and  their  country,  (Calcutta,  1912),  p.  V-VI,  (,.\ppendix),  the 
first  authentic  account  of  this  story.     -  Roy,  1.  c.  p.  Xlff.  for  the  Lutkum  Haram  legend. 


152  CREATION 

LATER  TOTEMIC  SYSTEM 

This  can  be  proved  from  the  fact  that  the  Assurs  are  "iron-smelters" 
wlu)  do  their  worli  in  large  brick-oonslruoted  "furnaces'",  which  connects 
tliem  at  once  with  the  metal  ages.  But  as  to  the  preceding  legend,  it  is 
comparatively  free  from  later  touches,  and  reveals  no  traces  even  of  Hindoo 
influences,  the  absence  of  Vishnu  and  the  celebrated  triads  being  remark- 
able. On  the  other  hand,  creative  action  is  here  no  longer  as  direct  or  as 
vivid  as  in  the  preceding  ages.    For — 

(1)  The  Sun-god  is  a  married  divinity,  "engaged  in  happy  converse 
with  his  heavenly  consort",  and  therefore  not  the  unique  Lord  of  former 
times. 

(2)  There  is  no  clear  statement  that  He  made  the  waters  or  anything 
else  without  some  qualification.  They  are  assumed  as  already  in  exist- 
ence, tlie  strongest  expressions  being  "He  commanded"  or  "At  his  bid- 
ding", and  then  only  of  formations,  not  of  creations  in  the  strict  sense. 

(3)  It  seems  strange  that  the  creation,  or  at  least  the  stationing,  of 
sun,  moon  and  stars,  should  have  been  omitted,  as  they  are  such  con- 
spicuous objects.  This  suggests  that  they  are  looked  upon  as  eternal  or 
co-ordinate  with  the  supreme  divinity,  and  his  very  name  as  the  "Sun- 
Spirit"  seems  to  indicate  that  he  is  himself  the  sun,  that  the  sun  is  the 
source  of  all  being. 

(4)  The  expressions,  "brooding  over  the  waters",  evolving  things  "out 
of  eggs"  however  metaphorical  they  may  be  taken  to  be,  can  hardly  be 
passed  over  without  revealing  a  strong  analogy  with  the  supposed  "hatch- 
ing-power" of  the  sun,  and  as  he  is  himself  the  sun-god,  the  induction  is 
not  too  remote,  that  he  acts  by  solnr  power,  that  creation  is  largely 
immanent  and  evolutional. 

The  Buru-Bonga  as  a  Germ-God 

This  is  further  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  the  term  bunt  as  a  designa- 
tion for  the  "mountain-spirit"  has  obtained  a  vague  meaning  analogous 
to  "mystery"  or  "medicine"  of  the  North-American  Indian.  It  is  applied 
to  all  the  lesser  divinities,  here  distinctly  "totems",  not  full-fledged  per- 
sonalities, from  which  all  the  Mundas  are  descended,  and  into  which  they 
return  at  the  hour  of  death.  Of  these  there  are  no  less  than  339,  among 
which  Sin-Bongn  is  the  greatest  or  the  Mainng  Bunt,  while  the  manita 
bonga^s  are  good,  and  the  bauita  bongas  are  bad  burus,  others  again  being 
neutral,  like  the  "red  earth". — merely  elemental  beings.  This  idea  of 
metamorphosis  is  in  fact  the  key  to  llie  wliole  system.  Every  unit  in  nature 
possesses  the  power  of  developing  into  a  higher  unit,  and  apart  from  the 
question  of  a  personal  Creator,  already  fully  discussed  above,  it  seems 
quite  certain  that  the  idea  of  a  gcrmiiinl  development  of  being  is  here  for 
the  first  time  insinuated.' 


'Roy,  op.  cit.  p.  468-671.     Frazer.  Totemisin  and  ExoRamy.  \'ol    II.  p.  284-318. 


CREATION  153 

LATER  TOTEMIG  SYSTEM 
(M,  2)  The  Bantus  op  Eastern  Africa 

But  if  these  were  the  only  materials  for  establishing  the  proposition 
their  convincing  power  might  be  regarded  as  weak,  the  facts  not  sulTi- 
ciently  numerous.  When,  however,  we  find  a  group  of  notions  in  a  dis- 
tant area  which  is  closely  parallel  to  them  and  accompanied  by  a  very 
similar  complexity  of  culture,  we  begin  to  feel  that  there  may  be  some 
solid  reasons  for  connecting  these  ideas  with  a  definite  stage  of  material 
development.  Now  among  the  Bantus  of  East  Central  Africa  we  have 
already  seen  that  the  position  of  Mulungu  is  to  some  extent  analogous  to 
that  of  the  Marang  Bum  of  India.  In  both  cases  we  have  an  old-time 
heaven-god,  who  has  been  drawn  into  the  sphere  of  nature  with  a  greater 
or  less  degree  of  consistency,  and  the  only  point  which  now  remains  to 
consider  is  the  extent  to  which  this  change  has  influenced  the  idea  of 
creation.  It  will  be  instructive  to  note  that  here  also  the  term  for  "divinity" 
may  be  taken  in  a  double  sense,  one  for  the  Father  in  Heaven,  another  for 
the  mysterious  forces  of  nature.'    For — 

(1)  Mulungu,  with  a  capital  M,  is  etymologically  the  "Heavenly  One", 
not  only  in  Bantu,  but,  as  we  have  seen,  also  in  the  Oceanic  tongues. 
(Compare  Mu-untu,  Ba-lingo,  Ka-langi,  of  Central  Borneo  and  Celebes).  As 
such  He  is  a  supreme  Father,  the  particle  mu  being  originally  used  only 
of  personal  action  or  subsistence, — "He  who  is  in  Heaven".  At  the  same 
lime,  Mulungu,  (or  mu-longo),  is  also  the  name  for  anything  sacred  or 
mysterious,  and  is  applied  in  fact  to  nearly  everything  under  the  sun,  in- 
cluding the  latter. 

(2)  This  being  is  said  to  have  made  all  things,  but  in  no  single  case 
is  there  a  definite  statement  as  to  exactly  what  he  has  created,  or  how. 
We  are  left  with  the  vague  remark  that  He  is  the  Ancient  of  days, — 
Unkulunkulu — ,  that  "He  makes  the  rain  to  fall,  and  the  corn  to  grow". 

(3)  The  idea  of  a  vegetation-deity  is  strongly  suggested  by  the 
numerous  taboos  on  food,  especially  on  certain  wild-fruits,  which  they 
may  not  eat  for  fear  of  consuming  an  ancestor.    These  also  are  mu-longo. 

(4)  Nothing  is  said  of  any  creation  of  sun,  moon,  and  stars.  It  is 
assumed  that  they  already  exist,  and  through  large  sections  of  the  Bantu 
domain  it  has  been  shown  that  the  sun  is  de  facto  the  center  of  the  cult, 
that  the  highest  mulongo  is  invariably  identified  with  the  solar  orb.  This 
tends  to  show  that  Mulungu  and  the  sun  are  identical  terms. 


1  For  Mulungu,  the  Heaven-God,  see  LeRoy,  La  Religion  des  Primitifs,  p.  184ff.  For 
mulungu,  the  totem,  consult  Frazer,  Totemism  and  Exogamv.  Vol.  II.  p.  402,  and  Rev.  H. 
Cole,  Notes  on  the  Wagogo  of  German  East  Africa,  in  J.  A.' I.  Vol.  XXXII.   (1902),  p.  317. 


154  CREATION 

LATER  TOTEMIG  SYSTEM 

(5)  The  close  relation  between  sun,  serpent,  and  hyaena,  shows  that 
mulungu  may  also  reveal  himself  as  an  animal,  and  in  some  cases  it  has 
been  proved  that  an  animal  cult  is  alone  in  evidence. 

(6)  The  absence,  or  extreme  rarity,  of  any  account  of  the  creation 
of  man  is  a  point  that  requires  some  explanation.  In  the  few  instances 
in  which  such  a  "making"  is  hinted  at,  man  is  invariably  connected  with 
the  lower  creation,  he  is  the  offspring  of  snakes,  serpents,  or  hyaenas,  into 
whose  bodies  he  migrates  at  the  hour  of  death.  This  a  point  of  funda- 
mental importance.  For  just  as  the  soul  of  man  as  a  rational  supposit  is 
not  recognised  as  in  any  sense  unique,  as  it  may  dwell  in  human,  animal, 
or  even  astral  body  indiscriminately,  the  inference  is  irresistible  that  the 
great  "Soul"  of  the  universe  is  very  much  of  the  same  nature,  that 
Mulungu  in  the  sense  of  totem  is  hardly  more  than  a  formative  principle, 
an  elemental  deity.  This  of  course  does  not  destroy  His  original  role  as 
Creator,  but  it  brings  into  bold  relief  the  growing  consciousness  of  secret 
forces  in  nature,  that  are  not  directly  dependent  on  the  influx  of  a  higher 
power. 

The  Mulungu  as  an  Evolving-Force 

From  what  can  be  inferred  from  the  combined  material  that  has  so 
far  come  into  our  possession,  it  must  surely  be  admitted  that  the  concept 
of  mulungu  is  not  so  simple  a  one  that  it  can  be  applied  to  any  very  defi- 
nite being, — whether  personal  or  impersonal — ,  to  the  exclusion  of  every 
other.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  its  linguistic  application  to  the  whole 
of  the  East-African  area  in  the  sense  of  taboo,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
sufficient  examples  may  be  collected  to  show  that  animal,  vegetable,  and 
even  mineral  forms  are  not  regarded  as  fixed  and  stable,  but  that  they  have 
the  power  of  self -trans  formation  in  the  sense  that  the  lower  can  become 
the  higher,  and  the  higher  return  into  the  lower  by  an  immanent  power 
which  is  frankly  recognised  as  incomprehensible.  That  this  is  no  mere 
metaphor  is  proved  by  the  extraordinary  practice  of  giving  the  bodies  of 
the  dead  to  the  hyaenas  to  eat  "in  the  hope  that  their  spirits  may  share 
the  occult  powers  of  the  animal,  that  they  may  communicate  with  their 
ancestors".'  The  Nandi  imagine  that  hyaenas  hold  communication  with 
the  spirits  of  the  dead  and  can  talk  like  human  beings.  To  imitate  the  cry 
of  the  hyaena  involves  banishment  from  the  tribe,  sometimes  refusal  of 
marriage,  for  it  is  the  mouth-piece  of  the  cherished  ancestor.  The  same 
ideas  are  held  in  many  parts  of  the  serpent,  the  sun,  and  other  mulungvs. 
This  can  hardly  be  explained  except  on  the  basis  of  a  transmigration  of 
species. 


'A.  C.  Hollis,  The  Nandi,  (Oxford,  1908),  p.  70flf.  Fra2er.  1.  c.  II.  442. 


CREATION  155 

LATER  TOTEMIC  SYSTEM 

(M,  3)  The  Arunta  Tribes  op  Central  Australia 

The  logical  conclusion  of  these  notions  is  reached  in  the  Australian 
cosmogony,  where  we  find  a  completely  closed  world-system  in  which  the 
different  links  of  an  endless  chain  of  causes  may  for  the  most  part  be 
recognised.    These  links  are  somewhat  as  follows : — 

(1)  Altjira  is  the  "Ancient  One",  the  quondam  Heavenly  Father,  a  big 
strong  man  of  ruddy  complexion  and  with  long  flaxen  hair,  representing 
the  sun's  rays.  He  is  a  married  divinity  whose  emu  feet  and  red  hair  con- 
nect him  directly  with  the  sun-totem.  But  though  he  sits  in  the  high 
heavens,  he  no  longer  creates  or  governs  the  world,  he  has  no  relation  to 
man,  he  is  a  mere  mummy. 

(2)  All  things  are  eternal,  they  were  never  made,  they  had  no  begin- 
ning. This  is  distinctly  stated  in  so  many  words,  it  is  not  a  mere  infer- 
ence. Instead  of  creation  we  have  the  famous  Alcheringa  or  "Dream- 
Time",  during  which  all  things  were  gradually  evolved  from  shapeless 
masses  called  inapertwa^  or  inter-interas,  and  were  subsequently  brought 
to  their  present  state  of  perfection  by  a  series  of  lizard-gods  described  as 
amunga-quinia-quinia.  These  beings  are  known  as  altjira-inkaras,  the 
"immortal"  ones,  and  with  these  the  Wind  and  Water-totems  are  directly 
connected. 

(3)  The  same  germinal  power  gives  birth  to  the  grass  seed,  the  witch- 
etty  grub,  the  Hakea-plant,  and  other  forms  of  vegetable  and  animal  life, 
the  yam-totem  being  particularly  conspicuous,  as  one  of  the  staple  foods. 

(4)  In  no  case  are  the  heavenly  bodies  looked  upon  as  a  later  orna- 
ment, except  possibly  as  the  fire-totem,  by  which  it  is  believed  that  the 
sun's  power  can  be  increased  or  diminished  at  pleasure.  The  sun  is  in 
fact  identified  with  Altjira  himself,  and  is  the  first  and  greatest  inkara. 

(5)  A  still  higher  development  is  reached  by  the  frog,  the  lizard,  the 
wallaby,  and  finally  by  the  Emu-totem,  the  national  bird  of  Australia.  As 
to  man  himself,  so  far  from  being  created  or  even  formed  by  the  supreme 
divinity,  he  springs  out  of  the  higher  inapertwas  of  half  animal  half 
human  shape,  and  is  fashioned  by  the  above  lizard-gods  in  a  manner  that 
leaves  no  room  for  doubt  that  insignificant  creatures  of  this  class  are 
believed  to  be  endowed  with  powers  that  are  otherwise  assigned  to  a 
supreme  Creator.  Even  if  the  lizard  be  looked  upon  as  a  demiurge,  of 
which  there  is  not  a  sign,  he  surely  cuts  a  sorrowful  figure  in  this  "scheme 
of  ascent".' 


°  The  entire  sequence  of  thoughts  may  be  found  in  Spencer  and  Gillen,  The  Northern 
Tribes  of  Central  Australia,  pp.  143-176,  176-319,  though  it  is  difficult  to  speak  of  a 
"sequence"  in  this  matter. 


156  CREATION 

LATER  TOXEMIC  SYSTEM 

Such  in  short  are  the  world-beliefs  of  the  Aruntas.  Taken  as  it  stands, 
it  cannot  be  said  that  such  an  idea  of  germinal  development  of  being  is 
per  se  incompatible  with  a  creating  first  cause,  a  Maker  of  all.  On  the 
contrary,  it  reveals  a  wider  grasp  of  the  creative  process,  of  a  Being  who 
by  a  single  stroke  of  his  omnipotence  has  endowed  the  first  created  germ 
with  such  a  marvellous  power  of  self-propagation  and  so  on  &s  to  contain 
within  itself  the  potentiality  of  giving  birth  to  the  whole  universe  of  life 
and  action.  I  say,  it  is  not  impossible,  that  is,  not  at  all  unthinkable, — but 
whether  such  a  process  has  ever  actually  taken  place,  this  is  another  ques- 
tion upon  which  I  am  not  at  present  prepared  to  enter.  Yet  the  manner 
in  which  this  belief  reveals  itself  among  these  peoples  is  inconsistent  with 
any  clear  consciousness  of  an  ever-acting  Creator  as  the  remote  or  proxi- 
mate cause  of  the  phenomena.  Such  a  creation  is  not  only  e.xplicitly 
denied  by  the  reports,  but  the  universe  is  described  as  actually  coeternal, 
and,  as  we  have  seen,  partly  identical  with  Him.  Moreover  there  is  strictly 
speaking  no  sequence  of  things,  no  beginning  or  end  to  creation,  no  defi- 
nite divisions  of  nature  according  to  species.  Every  grade  of  being  is 
a  potential  inkara,  an  immortal  one,  the  highest  being  concealed  in  lowest, 
and  vice  versa.  Even  Altjira  is  brought  into  this  connexion  as  the  sun- 
spirit,  then  again  as  the  Emu-totem. 

This  is  pantheistic  evolutionism, 

in  which  creation  in  any  proper  sense  can  no  longer  be  spoken  of.  Each 
unit  of  being  is  self-created,  and  has  the  potency  of  becoming  anything  in 
heaven  and  earth  by  its  own  intrinsic  essence. — it  is  a  "high  potential". 
This  point  deserves  to  be  emphasised.  There  is  no  hint  at  polytlieism  in 
the  above  beliefs.  The  totems  are  neither  personalities,  nor  "spirits",  nor 
"gods"  in  anything  but  a  poetical  or  metaphorical  sense.  The  totems  are 
neither  worshipped,  nor  invoked,  nor  prayed  to.  They  are  simply  looked 
upon  as  magic  centers  of  action,  affording  power  and  protection.    Thus 

the  totems  are  protecting  "mysteries", 

capable  of  developing  into  anything,  but  controllable  for  tlie  most  jjiirt  by 
secondary  and  occult  agencies.  Wind,  rain,  and  carpet-snakes,  all  are 
manufactured  or  multiplied  by  certain  magical  practices  known  as  the 
intichiuma  ceremonies,  in  which  any  recognition  or  invocation  of  a 
supreme  Being  is  very  generally  absent.  Even  under  the  most  favorable 
inlerj)retation,  totem  is  multiplied  by  totem,  and  by  nothing  higher,  while 
Altjira  sits  in  iiis  chair  and  has  fallen  asleep. 


CREATION  157 

LATER  TOTEMIC  SYSTEM 

(M,  4)  The  Prairie  Indians  op  North  America 

In  the  North  American  region  we  meet  with  the  same  fundamental 
notions,  but  in  still  more  elaborate  form.  Among  the  great  Siouan  family, 
which  includes  the  Dakotas,  Omahas,  Ponkas,  Kansas,  Missouris,  and 
other  tribes,  there  is  such  a  striking  similarity  of  beliefs  on  this  subject 
that  they  may  be  said  to  form  par  excellence  the  totemic  province  of  North 
America.  Here  also  nature  is  divided  into  certain  great  "kingdoms", 
though  there  is  the  same  vagueness  as  to  the  order  and  succession  of 
phenomena. 

THE  SEVEN   GREAT  WAKANDAS 

The  seven  principles  of  nature  are  commonly  enumerated  as  Dark- 
ness, Upper  World,  Ground,  Thunder-Being,  Sun,  Moon,  and  Morning 
Star.  These  are  evidently  given  in  reverse  and  partly  confused  order,  as 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  "the  principal  Wakanda  is  in  the  upper  world 
and  above  everything."  They  are  also  incomplete,  as  they  ignore  the 
vegetable  and  animal  creation  which  is  at  least  equally  important.  Sup- 
plemented by  these,  however,  they  will  reveal  the  following  picture : — ^ 

(1)  The  Sun-Wakanda:  It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  the  sun 
as  the  greatest  Wakanda  is  the  center  and  source  of  all  life  and  the  radiat- 
ing point  of  the  ritual.  He  is  symbolised  by  the  central  pole  in  the 
tribal  sun-dance,  and  is  invoked  in  a  manner  that  is  almost  personal, 
though  I  have  already  given  the  reasons  why  this  stateftient  must  be 
largely  modified.  In  any  case,  it  is  from  this  being  that  all  things  are 
ultimately  derived,  no  other  wakan  having  the  same  prominent  position. 

(2)  The  Moon  by  contrast  is  seldom  invoked.  He  is  dreaded  and 
feared  rather  than  worshipped,  and  is  believed  to  be  the  cause  of  erratic 
notions,  of  hermaphrodism,  and  the  like.  It  is  interesting  to  see  by  what 
natural  feelings  the  moon  is  associated  with  "lunacy"  even  at  this  early 
period  of  human  history.  Its  midnight  glitter  over  the  waters  produces  a 
specially  uncanny  elTect,  and  has  become  a  mystic  emblem  of  the  later 
ghost-dance. 

(3)  The  Morning  Star  is  the  symbol  of  hope;  he  is  addressed  in  sym- 
pathetic language,  and  is  believed  to  secure  favors  as  with  the  other 
heavenly  bodies.  But  throughout  the  stellar  and  lunar  cult  is  compara- 
tively undeveloped,  and  this  marks  it  ofT  from  the  strongly  astronomical 
setting  of  the  later  cosmologies,  in  which  the  position  of  the  stars  and 
planets  exert  a  direct  and  even  a  productive  influence  on  the  world  of 
nature  and  man. 


*  Materials  in  J.  O.  Dorsey,  A  Study  of  Siouan  Cults.  11th.  Report  of  the  Bureau  of 
American  Ethnology,   (Washington.  1894),  pp.  371-403fr, 


158  CREATION 

LATER  TOTEMIG  SYSTEM 

(4)  The  Thunder-Being  is  another  wakan,  who,  with  the  Wind  and 
Rain,  is  the  guardian-spirit  of  the  sun-  and  thunder-men.  These  by  throw- 
ing water  into  the  skies,  etc.,  are  beheved  to  control  the  climate,  and  even 
the  seasons. 

(5)  By  the  "Upper  World"  is  to  be  understood  all  the  heavenly  hier- 
archy united;  it  is  a  generic  expression  for  everything  exalted,  everything 
divine. 

(6)  The  "Ground"  is  another  comprehensive  term  for  all  things  that 
grow  or  live  on  the  earth, — plants,  animals,  and  man.  Of  these  the  ash, 
the  cedar,  the  corn,  and  the  buffalo  are  the  most  important,  and  are  looked 
upon  as  possessing  a  secret  power  far  beyond  that  of  any  other  beings. 

(7)  Finally  there  is  the  Darkness,  synonymous  with  the  spirit  of 
danger,  the  spirit  of  evil,  the  spirit  opposed  to  the  Great  Wakanda,  etc. 

The  Wakanda  as  an  "Affinity" 

Here  we  have  a  well-ordered  arrangement  or  natural  grouping  of 
things,  which  seem  at  first  sight  well  thought  out,  eminently  suggestive. 
But  apart  from  the  grave  question  as  to  whether  the  Sun-Wakanda  is  in 
any  full  sense  a  personal  Creator,  for  which  there  are  arguments  on  both 
sides,  it  is  no  less  evident  that  this  being  produces  the  world  by  a  secret 
immanent  process,  in  which  he  is  in  turn  identified  with  nearly  every 
object  in  nature,  the  sun,  the  sacred  corn  and  the  buffalo  forming  as  it 
were  the  climax.  With  these  same  beings  man  has  an  essential,  vital  rela- 
tion,— they  are  his  "afTmities".  In  the  creation-story,  men  were  originally 
"buffalos,  who  dwelt  under  the  surface  of  the  water.  When  they  came  to 
the  surface,  they  jumped  about  in  the  water,  making  it  muddy.  Having 
reached  the  land,  they  snuffed  at  the  four  winds  and  prayed  to  them  (sic). 
The  north  and  west  winds  were  good,  the  south  and  east  winds  were  bad" 
etc.  At  death  the  departing  souls  are  told  that  they  are  "going  to  the 
animals,  the  buffalos,  they  are  going  to  rejoin  their  ancestors",  which  is 
sufficiently  strong  proof  that  there  is  no  essential  difference  between  man 
and  beast."  In  other  words  each  wakan  has  the  power  of  spontaneously 
generating  a  higher  wakan,  and  is  symbolised  by  the  dotted  circle,  the 
spiral  or  the  "whorl"  as  the  most  appropriate  expression  of  evolutionary 
force.  The  same  symbols  are  found  in  India,  Africa  and  Australia,  and 
very  probably  with  the  same  meanings." 

The  "Sun-Serpent" 

binds  in  fact  four  continents  in  the  common  inheritance  of  a  great  mys- 
tery-force, in  which  the  totems  are  protecting  "medicines",  and  Wakanda 
is  the  "Great  Medicine",  willing  to  save  and  to  heal  his  people. 


'Dorsey,  Omaha  Sociology,  3d.  Rep.  B.  A.  E.  p.  229.  •  Dorsey,  Siouan  Cults  (supra) 
p.  394ff.  showing  tent-designs.  Comp.  E.  Thurston,  Ethnographic  Notes  in  Southern  India, 
(Madras,  1904),  p.  290ff.  and  PI.  XXIII.    Spencer  and  Gillen,  Northern  Tribes,  p.  182ff. 


CREATION  159 

TOTEMIG  WORLD-SYMBOLS 

As  against  the  simple  straight-line  patterns  of  earlier  days,  the  cosmic 
forces  are  now  represented  by  complicated  curves  and  spirals,  which  are 
meant  to  portray  the  germinal  or  evolving  power  of  the  universe.  Though 
many  of  these  signs  have  in  the  course  of  time  become  purely  conven- 
tional or  ornamental,  there  is  evidence  to  show  that  they  were  originally 
descriptive  symbols,  among  which  the  circle,  the  spiral  and  the  epicycle 
are  fairly  universal  and  stand  for  three  different  aspects  of  evolution, 
while  the  eye-pattern  becomes  the  natural  expression  for  higher  animal 
life,  and  then  for  the  soul  of  man. 

(1)     The  Circle  tTl/"    ^^^  ^^®  "World-Embryo"  (Burn). 


This  symbol  enjoys  a  very  wide  distribution  and  is  generally  identified 
with  the  sun  throughout  totemic  India,  Africa,  Central  Australia,  and 
North  America.  It  very  often  appears  with  the  central  dot,  which  in  com- 
bination with  the  peripheral  rays  makes  its  solar  symbolism  unmistakable. 
As  the  "Sun-Ancestor"  it  is  the  common  expression  for  the  chief  divinity, 
as  the  "World-Egg"  it  is  suggestive  enough  of  the  hatching-process  of 
nature,  and  is  de  facto  identified  with  the  Emu-egg  in  Australia,  which 
we  know  to  be  identical  with  the  Sun-totem.    This  is  its  primary  meaning. 

(2)     The  Spiral  (^\  for  the  "Sun-Serpent"  (Muru-Muru). 

Certified  for  the  above  area  in  the  sense  of  simple  evolution,  "vortex". 
As  the  coil  of  the  serpent  this  theme  will  speak  for  itself. 


(3)     The  Epicycle       ^V^5\©  foi"  the  "Great  Whorl"  (Wulunku). 


The  action  by  which  the  sun-serpent  projects  the  universe  of  matter, 
synonymous  with  "compound  evolution",  the  dynamic  differentiation  of 
things.    In  a  derived  sense  it  may  stand  for  the  intestines  of  an  animal  ( !) 

(4)     The  Mystic  Eye   ^^^^>»    for  the  "Sacred  Buffalo"  (P^arang-u). 

This  is  a  reasonable  induction  for  those  countries  in  which  the  buffalo" 
is  the  staple  animal  of  the  hunt,— India,  Africa,  North-America.  In  Aus- 
tralia it  is  replaced  by  the  Emu.  The  eye  is  believed  to  have  wonderful 
mystical  properties  and  to  reflect  in  some  sense  the  essence  of  the  soul. 

Developed  Cyclograms 
Of  these  the  double  serpent  0QO000C  ^®  *^®  °^°^*  distinctive, 
and  is  supposed  to  represent  the  multiplication  of  totems'  by  sun-magic. 
As  a  development  of  the  circle  pattern,  this  idea  is  easily  suggested. 

1  Materials  in  E.  Thurston,  Ethnographic  Noteje  in  Southern  I"<li^.-,  (^?f '■^^.!;^i^°^Kb« 
XVI.  XXIII,  XXXVII.  LeRoy,  Les  Prim.tifs,  p.  126ff  Spencer  and  G>UenNorthero  Tribes 
of  Central  Australia,  p.  177,  696ff.  Dorsey.  S.ouan  Cults,  (A,  B.  E.  11th  Report.  Washing- 
ton, 1894),  p.  403ff.  Danzel,  Die  .A-nfange,  PI.  XII-XIII. 


160 


CREATION 


TOTEMIC  WORLD-SYMBOLS 

Thk  Evolution  op  the  Sun -Serpent 

It  must  be  understood  that  the  above  symbols  are  interpreted  in  their 
primary  sense  only,  a  meaning  which  can  generally  be  inferred  from  the 
study  of  the  mythology  and  the  context  in  which  they  are  implied,  whereby 
some  connexion  between  symbol  and  idea  may  be  established  with  a  fair 
degree  of  probability,  sometimes  with  certainty.  As  an  example  in  which 
the  primary  symbolism  is  still  retained,  we  may  take  the  following  draw- 
ing in  rice-flonr  which  is  meant  to  represent  the  world-serpent  as  issuing 
from  the  sun  and  giving  birth  to  the  entire  universe  of  being.  It  is  used 
in  the  Malabar  ceremony  of  the  snake-totem.  (Southern  India) : — '^ 


This  diagram  furnishes  at  least  a  proximate  clue  to  the  original  mean- 
ing of  the  sand  and  rock-drawings  as  they  are  found  on  the  five  great 
continents,  and  which  are  often  difTicult  to  interpret  with  any  hope  of 
success.  For  though  we  have  abundant  evidence  for  the  "Emu-Sun"  and 
other  Sky-Wakandas  as  associated  with  similar  spiral  lines,  this  con- 
nexion is  not  always  maintained  in  practice,  and  it  is  certain  that  in  some 
cases  (hey  have  undergone  an  entire  change  of  meaning.  This  makes  the 
above  example  all  the  more  valuable,  and  is  further  supplemented  by  the 
palaeontological  evidence,  which  has  revealed  a  similar  combination  of 
twisted  lines  in  the  Aurignacian,  Magdalenian,  and  .\zylian  caverns.* 

Symbolism  and  Natur.\lism 
It  will  be  seen  that  the  dominant  note  of  the  art-work  of  this  period  is 
symbolic  and  cyclograpliic.  tliere  i.^  whirl  and  nictimi  in  tilings.  Side  by 
side,  however,  we  note  the  commencement  of  the  line  art*  in  the  proper 
sense,  the  portrayal  of  complete  ^ub.jeeis  as  they  appear  in  nature,  with  a 
studied  desire  to  imitate  Iheir  colors.  Here  again  the  painted  bisons,  emus, 
and  ostriches,  recall  the  similar  themes  of  late-glacial  man.' 


=  Thurston,  Ethnographic  Notes.  PI.  XVI,  p.  290.  Comp.  PI.  XXIII.  (ibid)  for  the  con- 
nection between  sun  and  serpent.  ■'  See  Obermaier,  Der  Mensch  der  Vorzeit,  p.  188,  218,  235. 
Dechelette.  Manuel  d'Archeologie.  p.  2iO.     «  Obermaier.  I.  c.  f.  2.^ff. 


THE  SEVEN  TABLETS  OF  CREATION 

"THE  CHAOS" 

SPECnrEK    OF   TABLET    I.    WITH    RESTORED    AND    CORRECTED    BEADCNOS 
ACCORDING    TO    THE    TEXTS    OF    THE    BRITISH    MTSECM,    VOL.    XUL    PL.    1 


lO 


15 


e-NU-M^      e  —  l.\^  LJk      HA-BU—  U  SA-   t>\A-MU 

SAP-  uS     AM-MA-TUM  Ju    -  MA  UA  SAK-TWT 

APSU MA     •H.tS    —  TU   u  ZA-^Ul  Su   —  UN 

MU— UM-MU      -n— AMAT      MU-AL.  -   H  —  JJA  — AT  »lM-f>.l-Sa-<lN 

If  }h*-1^^  {=^>T<<  ^^^^^ 

Me   —    Su  -  MU         il  - -re~Nia  t  — tjt— ku  ~  u— nw 

*l    —  T>A--RA  LA          Kl— IS-eU— 1NA            au  -  SA-A     LA      4e  —  ' 

«-NU-MA  lUANI                     LA       iu  —  ■PU  —  U               M* —MA-MA, 

5u-WA            LA  ZUK-KU     -TttJ         &I— AAA-TU         uA     L^*""^] 

IB— »A_NU     U    MA  ILAHI  Kl fWa    [ivMA-WlJ 

(ILU)    l^-MU  (M-U)     LA-HA-MU          u)i  — T*.  —  1»U  —  U 

A-»l             1?*.  —  BU       —       U                                          I 

AN-iAR     (^ILU)  Kl  —  4aW.        IB— BA-NU-MA     E-H— 4u-{(«u] 

un.  —n,\  —  Ku  uMC  u u* ^ 

H^l^^^Tf  u^M^ "^ 

(\\.U)    A— MU         A  -  Pll j;u   -MU -._-_-.  MUf- 

^^    v^l^    ^ 

AM-iAR  Ol-U")   A  — MUM 


COMPARE  L.  W.  KllfO.  THE  SEVEN  TABLETS  OF  CBE.4TION.   (LONDON,  1»«2). 

VOL.  L   1.   n.   IFF.   DEUTZSCH,   DAS   B.\BYL0NI8CHE   WELTSCHOPFl  NG8EPOS, 

r.    6«rF.      JENSEN.    KB.    \X    1.      WINKLER.    KT.    102.      DHOR.ME,    CHOIX    DE 

TEXTE8   (PARIS.  1»07),  P.  4-M. 


CREATION  161 

NEOLITHIC  AND  RECENT  SYSTEM 

With  the  beginning  of  the  new  stone  age  we  enter  a  somewhat  different 
cycle  of  thought.  The  old  totems, — sun,  moon,  air,  water,  earth,  and  so 
on — ,  are  no  longer  mere  mysteries.  They  have  become  the  symbolic 
expression  of  personal  spirit-forces,  each  operating  in  complete  indepen- 
dence, yet  controllable  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  by  a  supreme  Spirit,  from 
whom  they  derive  their  mana, — the  power  of  influencing  all  objects  by 
their  secret  spiritual  force.  This  transition  to  a  complete  hierarchy  of 
"gods"  was  not  the  work  of  a  day.  It  was  rather  a  slow  process  of  devel- 
opment, showing  the  marks  of  a  closer  relation  to  nature  in  former  times, 
of  a  generation  of  gods  out  of  natural  forces,  of  a  theogony.  We  must 
not  be  surprised,  therefore,  to  find  this  notion  somewhat  strongly  developed 
in  the  earliest  period,  to  be  gradually  purified  with  the  rise  of  the  priest- 
hood. 

(N,  1)  Early  Babylonian  Form 

The  Seven  Tablets  of  Creation,  though  dating  in  their  present  appear- 
ance from  the  Hammurabic  age, — about  2000  B.  G. — contain  elements  of 
undoubtedly  Sumerian  antiquity,  and  their  close  parallelism  with  the 
Egyptian  system  shows  that  the  main  body  of  this  tradition  may  be  safely 
assigned  to  the  third  or  fourth  millennium  before  Christ.  As  is  well 
known,  they  are  mostly  fragments,  which  have  been  pieced  together  with 
much  patient  labor.' 

I.     1.    "When  above  the  heavens  were  not  yet  named, 
And  the  earth  beneath  yet  bare  no  name, 
When  Apsii,  the  deep,  the  first  that  brought  them  forth, 
And  Mummu,  the  Chaos,  Tiamat,  the  Depth,  the  mother  of  them  all, 

5.      Had  mingled  their  waters  in  one  stream, — 

And  no  field  had  yet  been  formed,  no  marsh  was  to  be  seen. 
When  of  the  gods  not  one  had  been  produced, 
No  name  had  yet  been  yiamed,  no  destiny  been  fixed, — 
Then  were  evolved  the  gods  in  heaven's  midst. 

10.    Lachmu  and  Lachamu  were  the  first  to  rise. 

Long  ages  passed, 

AnSar  and  KiSar  were  created 

Long  were  the  days,  .  .  .  {then  there  came  forth) 

.  .  .  Anu,  (their  son) 

15.    AndAn^ar ,  , 


ipor  the  Text  see  L.  W.  King,  The  Seven  Tablets  of  Creation,  (London,  1902),  in 
Luzacs  Semitic  Text  and  Translation-Series,  Vols.  XII,  XIII.  Compare  also  Jensen's 
translation  in  Keilinschr.  Bibliothek.  VI,  1,  2,  and  Delitzsch,  Das  Babylonische  Weltschop- 
fungsepos,  p.  92.  This  is  the  famous  Enuma  Etisb,  so  called  from  the  opening  lines,  "When 
above",  etc. 


162  CREATION 

NEOLITHIC  AND  RECENT  SYSTEM 

Early  Babylonian  Form 

Tlie  second,  Uiii*d.  and  fourth  tablets  are  occupied  chiefly  with  the 
exploits  of  the  Semitic-Babylonian  national  divinity,  Bel-Marduk,  and  are 
probably  of  later  composition.  They  describe  how  the  gods  took  counsel 
together,  and  appointed  Marduk  as  their  champion  against  the  alarming 
power  of  Tiamat,  the  chaotic  deep,  here  represented  as  a  huge  serpent : — 

[V.     137.     "And  he  cleft  her  in  twain,  like  a  flat  fish,  in  two  partis. 

The  one  half  of  her  he  set  up,  and  made  a  covering  for  the 
heaven  ", — etc. 

143.     "Then  Bel  measured  the  structure  of  the  Deep,  {the  ocean). 
A  great  house,  a  copy  of  it,  E-Sarra,  he  founded. 
The  great  house  E-Sarra,  he  built  as  the  heaven, 
He  made  Anu,  Bel,  and  Ea  to  inhabit  as  their  city". 

The  fifth  tablet  describes  the  formation  or  stationing  of  the  sun,  moon 
and  stars,  and  the  appointment  of  years  and  months,  thus — 

V.  1 .     "He  mmLe  the  stations  for  the  great  gods. 

As  stars  resembling  them,  he  fixed  the  signs  of  the  zodiac.'- 

He  ordained  the  year,  defined  divisions. 

Twelve  months,  ivith  stars,  three  each,  he  appointed." 

5.     After  he  had  (fixed?)  the  days  of  the  year  .... 
He  fixed  the  station  of  Nibir,  (Jupiter)  *  .  .  .  . 
That  none  of  the  days  might  err,  none  make  a  mistake,  etc. 

12.    He  caused  Sin,  the  moon-god,  to  shine  forth,  gave  him  the  night. 
Appointed  him  as  a  night-body,  to  determine  the  days'. 

The  sixth  tablet,  (restored  by  King),  describes  the  creation  of  man:^ 

VI.  1.    "When  Marduk  heard  the  voice  of  the  gods, 

His  heart  prompted  him,  and  he  devised  (a.  cunning  plan). 

He  opened  his  mouth,  a)id  unto  Ea  (he  spoke), 

That  which  he  conceived  in  his  heart,  he  imparted  to  him: — 

5.     'My  blood  will  I  take,  and  bone  will  I  (fashion), 
I  irill  make  man,  that  man  may  .... 
/  will  create  man,  who  shall  inhabit  (the  earth). 
That  thr  serrire  of  the  gods  he  rstahHshpd.  and  that  their  <:hrinp^ 
(may  be  built)'. 

The  seventh  tablet  is  a  hymn  of  praise  to  Marduk.  "the  Bestower  of  all'. 


-  Kakkahani  lumasi  generally  taken  as  zodiacal  constellations,  "protecting  stars".  ^.\ 
clear  reference  to  the  zodiac  with  the  .^6  decani  or  subdivisions,  *  S'ibiru  generally  for  the 
North  Pole,  or  the  highest  point  of  the  ecliptic,  the  summer-solstice,  then   for  the  planet. 


THE  SEVEN  TABLETS  OF  CREATION 

"THE  MAKING  OF  HEAVEN  AND  EARTH" 

(C.  T.   Xm.    PL.    18> 


IV 
«7 


1« 


H)   —  W  —   •'    —  MA  Kl  _  MA,    NU-MU    MM  -jjl  — C         A    _  MA     ilMA.-  &U 

Ml-ia  -  UJ-Uft- KA.      A  — Ku-tJAM — Ma    4a_ma-ma  u-Sa-j«_-UL. 

ItM  — jdU  — Uy  MA       BE.— LUH    iA     A-Pmi         »l  — NU  — TVl  — ui — fcu 

«»-««,(.—   LA   TAM-&t  —  t.A,-Au  U Kl    —    «N  C— &A«,-FM, 

k2  -  «*A.  —   «-^        ■  -  4*».-»»A    *A       IB  — MU —  U  lU  —  IKA—  MU 

(tui)A-NUM(iui)aec  u(lUJ^r-A   MA-jf* — zi  — Ju-uh  u*-wa»*-Ma 


THE  MAKING  OF  MAN" 

(»2«29  +  K.   ».>26   ETC.) 


VI. 

i 


iO 


(l».U)MA\M>UK       alK.— TM  lt-»*41  £|nA       Se  -    Ml    —  Su] 

[«^]  -^  jS  ^  J.  te>4e^Tf^'^lt«^] 

[_UbJ-— BAJ.         MB— AA  — ^  t   —    BAH  —  l*A-A  [nik-LA-A-T\J 

^I-P] iu       W  1 &U      A— KM       (tUU)      e-A       1^1   -   2AK-KAT<J 

3VK  —  Ml  UU UK  aul^-IAA    IS   •« IM-fTUM) 

LU  —  U&— ZIX— MA  ,AMBUA        (a')     LU    A-ME-LU    ------ 

W^^'^^^':^!^    V — 

LU    —   UB  —  Ml  — MA  A«MrUA         fA)  A-itB -_  — -- 

LU  U        EN  — z>u     auu— LU        ILA^4I  —  MA    Su --^lU   LU-U  *l^.«<— 

"SE  T  "^  ^  *^  "^^  w  w -^HKHfwf ^t»ga 

LM-iA-AM-NI— WAA      AL KA— KA  IS        I  LAN!      t.U  -  HAK- K)-- 

:^  :J^  « "^S  J^ ^^:^  •^TT^^^H^^EJlff- 

IS  -  TTC-Nli     Lu    KUB-BU Tu MA   A— MA  UM-MA  Uf-U  — 


THE  BI-LINGUAL  TABLETS  OF  SIPPAR 

CCNZXFOBM  TEXTS,  VOL.  Xm.  FL.  Sa,  1-10.  KINO.  OP.  CIT.  I.  ISO 

"THE  PRIMITIVE  OCEAN" 


BITU  J     EL— LtM     BIT      ILAMI  IMA    AS  R|        tL-LIM       UL      e  —  1»U uS 

»R!^    ^f    ^ft;?     .^       •^-t:—  ni^^ 


^Lu  UU  E:  —   T»U  -   US         NAM  —  NVVS  —  Su li  Ul-       SA KlKl 


40 


Ul_        MA 


—  AT-     NA  — AL— BAN— Tl       UL. 


UL   .e-  —  r-u  —  ii5       >^i-u      ui_       '   BA  ^ 

•t:^^  m.^^  ^  >^  *^ 


SarI 


^  y^tr  »^  ^-^i^A  .^v;:^  ^^f 


R.UK         UC  e  fU uS  e— MIN         UL  BA  — -  Nt 

►y^  ►^^^sr   >M  <fe'   *-^^—  *^(r 

MA— TA-—  A ^TTJ  TAIVI TUK.-1  MA 


NAP-HAFt. 


THE  CB-EATTION  OF   MAN   (U.  17-11) 


19 


ic 


21 


^„^aK  A-NtA— AM   IHA   y-A-  AN      MP    —  e'  I  Fl  — -     ku  — —  LIS 

^R_RA      Ml—   ^AR  JA- K\'      A— niR     NAN1  -  "mv  .. —  I'S-.:: — ^yi 

.Vl    T»l  IB-^Ttt-N'A  ,     IT Tl  A—  Ml       iS^^U^^UK. 

DlNC3li=<v-T=u— e.— -NE   fei-biiR,«.^-r,uq-c;A  NF-  IN-  r>uR-  ru-ne-  e^-a-ma 


(ILUImIN      Zl    -      IB.    A  — Me-LU-Tl 


—  5\J       IE.—    LA NU 


FOB    A    SEPARATION    OF    Bl'MERIAN    AND    SEMITIC    BOIRCES,    SEE    JA8TROW, 

"Sl'MKRIAN  AND  ACCADIAN   VIEWS  OF  BEGINNINGS,"  J.  A.  O.   i   XXXV%    (IBIS), 

P.   27l-!8».     SEE   BELOW,   PAGE    104. 


CREATION  163 

NEOLITHIC  AND  RECENT  SYSTEM 

Early  Babylonian  Form 
Such  in  the  main  is  the  Babylonian  creation-story.    Two  questions  sug- 
gest themselves  in  its  regard: — (1)  What  is  its  age?     (2)  How  should  it 
be  interpreted?    What  is  its  theological  value? 

(1)    AGE  OP  THE  LEGEND 

The  external  evidence  carries  the  story  beyond  2000  B.  C.  in  all  sections 
that  are  not  distinctively  Semitic,  that  have  not  been  colored  by  the  later 
Babylonian  pantheon,  with  Bel-Marduk  as  its  head.  (Compare  the 
Mummu-Apsu  of  Ur-Nina  with  the  Nunu-Atum  of  Heliopolis,  and  the  gen- 
eral parallelism  with  the  Egyptian  nome-gods  in  the  order  and  succession 
of  natural  forces) .'  The  internal  evidence  shows  that  a  large  portion  of  the 
terminology,  of  the  divine  names,  etc.  must  be  referred  to  Sumerian,  not  to 
Semitic  sources.  Thus  we  have  Mummu,  (Chaos),  Apsu,  (Water),  Tiamat, 
(Depth,  Ocean),  Lachmu  and  Lachamu,  (Dawn,  Dew,  Twilight?),  Ansar 
and  Kisar,  (Heaven  and  Earth),  and  above  all,  Anu,  the  pre-Sargonic 
Heaven-God,  who  lives  in  the  E-sarra,  or  royal  "palace",  and  who,  we  have 
every  reason  to  believe,  took  the  place  of  the  Semitic  Bel-Marduk  in  the 
age  of  Mesilim,  the  latter  being  a  development  of  En-lil,  (Lord  of  the  Air), 
as  Ea  or  Aa  was  of  the  former  En-ki  (Lord  of  the  Deep).  In  any  case,  the 
combined  literary  and  monumental  evidence  places  the  main  part  of  the 
tradition  with  great  probability  in  the  fourth  millennium  before  Christ.^ 

(2)  Interpretation 

It  is  useless  to  pretend  that  a  former  evolution  of  gods  is  not  here  im- 
plied. Nor  is  anything  gained  by  a  vain  attempt  to  deny  it.  Anu  is  the 
"son"  of  heaven  and  earth,  who  are  the  children  of  the  dawn,  who  in  turn 
were  evolved  from  the  great  deep,  the  Chaos,  "the  mother  of  them  all". 
We  have  already  seen  that  the  idea  of  an  evolving  divinity  is  peculiar  to 
the  totem-age,  and  this  cosmogony  is  one  more  proof  that  the  neolithic 
divinity  has  passed  through  a  pantheistic  period  of  thought  on  its  way  to 
reinfranchisement.  Nevertheless  the  differences  are  deep  and  wide.  For 
whatever  may  have  been  the  origin  of  the  gods  in  former  times, 

Anu-Bel-Ea  are  a  cosmic  Triad, 

to  some  extent  personal  and  self-subsistent, — and  Bel-Marduk  is  the  creat- 
ing "logos"  of  Anu,  to  whom  all  the  forces  of  nature,  aU  the  lesser  divini- 
ties are  subject.  The  greater  depth  and  richness  of  this  concept  is  evident, 
Sin-Bonga  "hatches"  the  world,  Anu  "creates"  by  semi-divine  mediator. 


•  For  the  Ur-Nina  inscription  see  Keilinschr.  Bibl.  Ill,  1,  13.  ^  Compare  J.  Nikel,  Die 
Genesis  in  Keilschriftforschung,  (Freiburg,  1903)  pp.  24,  63ff.  King,  op.  cit.  I.  P.  LXXII- 
LXXX.  Dhorme,  I.  c  p.  IX-X  (Introduction).  Also  M.  Jastrow,  in  J.  A.  O.  S.,  Vol. 
XXXVI,  (Dec.  1916)  pp.  274-299,  "Sumerian  and  Akkadian  Views  of  Beginnings",  "The 
Composite  Character  of  the  Babylonian  Creation-Story".  I.  M.  Casanowicz,  Cosmogonic 
Parallels,  (Hblnies  Anniversary  Volume,  Washington.  1917),  p;  4Sff. 


164  CREATION 

NEOLITHIC  AND  RECENT  SYSTEM 

The  Bilingual  Tablets  of  Sippah 

A  bilingual  recension  of  the  creation-story  was  discovered  by  Rassam 
in  1882.  It  is  of  some  importance  as  revealing  a  logical  rather  than 
chronological  order  of  creation,  the  making  of  man  preceding  that  of  plants 
and  animals  in  order  to  emphasise  the  supreme  position  of  man  as  the  lord 
of  creation,  as  in  Gen.  2,  4-25.  It  also  pictures  the  paradise  of  God  as 
rising  out  of  the  ocean,  an  idea  which  we  have  found  to  be  very  primitive. 

Incantation  (Shiptu) : — ■  "A  glorious  house,  the  house  of  the  gods,  in  a 
gloiious  place,  had  not  been  made.  A  plant  had  not  grown  up,  a  tree  had 
not  been  created.  A  brick  had  not  been  laid,  a  beam  had  not  been  shaped. 
A  house  had  not  been  built,  a  city  had  not  been  constructed.  A  city  had 
not  been  made,  no  community  had  been  established.  Nippur  had  not  been 
built,  E-kurra  had  not  been  constructed.  The  Abyss  had  not  been  made, 
Eridu  had  not  been  constructed.  As  for  the  glorious  house,  the  house  of 
the  gods,  its  seat  had  not  been  made, — the  whole  of  the  lands  were  sea". 
(Note  the  negative  statements). 

"When  within  the  sea  there  uas  a  stream,  in  that  day  Eridu  was  made, 
E-sagila  was  constructed,— E-sagila,  which  the  King  of  the  Shining  Place  * 
founded  ivithin  the  ocean.  Babylon  ivas  built,  E-sagila  was  completed. 
He  made  the  gods  and  the  Anunaki,  (the  starry  host),  together,  the  glorioux 
city,  the  seat  of  the  joy  of  their  hearts,  supremely  he  proclaimed". 

"Marduk  bound  together  a  foundation  before  the  waters.  He  made  dust 
and  poured  it  out  beside  the  foundation,  that  the  gods  might  enjoy  a  pleas- 
ant habitation.  He  made  mankind — Aruru  made  the  seed  of  mankind  tvith 
him". 

Then  follows  the  making  of  the  "beasts  of  the  field",  of  the  rivers, 
(Tigris  and  Euphrates),  of  various  kinds  of  plants  and  trees,  and  finally 
the  building  of  cities  and  the  establishment  of  the  temple-worship.     In 

The  Adapa  Legend 

the  Sumerian  A-dam,  already  translated  by  namassu  above,  ("no  com- 
munity had  been  established",  that  is  "no  man  created"),  appears  in  the 
form  of  Adapa,  who  was  brought  into  existence  by  Ea  the  Ocean-god.  He 
also  rises  from  the  oceanic  Eridu,  and  is  called  zer  ameluti,  the  "seed  of 
mankind".'  Again,  in  the  Gilgamesh-Epic  the  same  hero  appears  as  Ea- 
bani,  "god-created",  who  was  fashioned  by  Aruru,  the  Earth(?),  and 
endowed  with  heavenly  wisdom." 

From  the  combined  fragments  it  is  not  too  much  to  assert  that  they  fur- 
nish a  valuable  supplement  to  the  Enuma  Elish,  they  reveal  a  "Creator".' 


■■'  In  the  main,  Pinches  translation  of  C.  T.  XIII,  35-37.  *  Lugal-Du-Aiag-Marduk. 
'Jensen,  K.  B.  IV.  1,  92ff.  Dhorme,  I.  c.  48.  •  Haupt,  Gilgamesh,  PI.  I.  2.  Dhorme,  1.  c.  186ff. 
^  Comp.  Jastrow,  Sumerian  and  Akkadian  Views  of  Beginnings,  1.  c.  p.  280-281.  Dhorme,  1, 
c.  p.  82ff. 


CREATION 


165 


an  Week-Day 

Interpretation 

Sunday           Nimeku 

"Wisdom" 

Monday          Barutu 

"Divination" 

Tuesday         Milku 

"Counsel" 

Wednesday    Palu 

"Dominion" 

Thursday       Siptu 

"Conjuration" 

Friday            Kadiltutu 

"Dedication" 

Saturday       Puluchtu 

"Veneration" 

NEOLITHIC  AND  RECENT  SYSTEM 

The  Sibittu  and  the  Seven  Spirits  op  God 

The  "Septessence"  of  God,  or  rather,  a  sevenfold  manifestation  of  divine 
power,  is  an  idea  which  appears  very  early,  being  suggested  by  the  seven 
movable  bodies  of  the  firmament,  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  five  planets, 
which  in  later  times  were  associated  with  the  seven  "gods"  of  the  minor 
pantheon,  the  seven  days  of  the  week,  the  seven  foundations  of  heaven  and 
earth,  and  finally  with  the  "Seven  Spirits  of  God,  sent  forth  into  all  the 
earth".  This  arrangement  is  loose,  but  finally  appears  in  the  following 
order : — 

Planetary  Name  Ror 

En-Zu,  Bel-SamaS,  (Sun) 
En-Zu,  Bel-Nannar,  (Moon) 
En-Martu,  Bel-Ninib,  (Mars) 
En-Pazag,  Bel-Nebo,  (Mercury) 
En-Lil,  Bel-Marduk,  (Jupiter) 
Nin-Lil,  Belit-Htar,  (Venus) 
En-Me-Sar,  Bel-Nergal,  (Saturn) 

This  association  of  names,  planets,  and  week-days  is  now  generally 
accepted.  As  to  the  abstract-titles,  we  have  SamaS  as  the  "Lord  of  Wis- 
dom" clearly  revealed  in  En-Zu,  Bel-Nimeki  (Emku),  a  title  also  applied 
to  Sin-Nannar,  with  this  difference,  that  while  the  Sun  is  supreme  wisdom 
in  the  sense  of  justice,  {Kittu),  Nannar,  the  Midnight-Mooa  is  the  father 
of  astral  wisdom  or  "Divination",  En-Zu,  Bel-Baruti,  "Lord  of  Decisions". 
Ninib,  as  Mars,  is  the  god  of  war  and  the  spirit  of  "Counsel",  for  En-Martu 
is  Bel-Milki,  "Lord  of  the  Counsel".  Nebo,  as  Mercury,  is  En-Pazag,  "Lord 
of  the  Scepter"  and  therefore  Bel-Pali,  Spirit  of  "Dominion".  Marduk, 
as  Jupiter,  is  the  En-Lil  par  excellence,  the  "Lord  of  the  Air",  Bel-Sipti, 
the  "Lord  of  the  Conjuration".  IStar,  as  Venus,  is  the  Nin-Lil-Ana,  the 
"Lady  of  Heavenly  Light",  KadiStu,  "Virgin  of  Dedication",  and  Nergal, 
as  Saturn,  is  the  En-Me-Sarra,  the  "Lord  of  the  Universal  Decree".  Sar- 
Aralli,  the  King  of  the  Underworld,  Puluchtu,  "Spirit  of  Holy  Fear".^ 

Such  a  sequence  of  thoughts  cannot  but  remind  us  of  the  "Seven 
Spirits"  of  Isaiah  (11,  2),  the  "spirit  of  wisdom  and  understanding,  the 
spirit  of  counsel  and  fortitude,  the  spirit  of  knowledge  and  piety,  and  of 
the  fear  of  the  Lord".  But  although  the  Sibittu  are  not  necessarily  poly- 
theistic, they  furnish  at  the  most  the  framework  for  the  revealed  Jewish 
idea,  as  witness : — 


•  For  the  names,  Delitzsch,  Assyrisches  Handworterbuch,  pp.  89-90  (emku-emuku-nimeku, 
"Weisheit"),  182  (baru,  birtu,  barutu,  "Hellsehen,  Verstand"),  412  (tnalaku,  milku,  "Rath, 
Berathung"),  525  (patu,  "WafFe,  Regierung"),  247  (siptu,  "Beschworung"),  581  {kadistu, 
"Weihung")  etc.  52/  (puluchtu,  "Verehrung").  For  association  with  planetary  gods,  Jas- 
trow,  Rel.  Bab.  u.  Ass.  I.  pp.  427  (Samas)  437  (Sin)  449iT.  {Ninib)  446  (Nebo)  502 
(Marduk)  535  (Istar)  469  (Nergal).  See  also  Lexicology,  Vol.  II.  998ff.  Texts  in  Raw- 
linson,  IV.  28,  1.  IV.  9.  II.  19,  1.  IV.  20,  3.  IV.  29.  1.  Craig.  I.  15-17.  King,  Bab.  Magic,  No.  27. 


166  CREATION 

NEOLITHIC  AND  RECENT  SYSTEM 

(1)  It  is  true  that  a  unity  in  plurality  is  vaguely  hinted  at  in  certain 
texts,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  as  the  entire  pantheon  was  looked 
upon  as  the  visible  expression  of  a  single  universal  God-head,  so  the  above 
"seven"  became  in  time  identified  with  His  sevenfold  power. 

(2)  On  the  other  hand,  the  above  names  and  titles  are  not  exclusive, 
but  admit  of  much  interchange,  their  antiquity  and  their  meanings  are 
not  always  beyond  challenge,  and,  while  the  sibittu  are  personal  demiurges 
more  or  less  identified  with  the  stars,  the  "Spirits"  of  Isaiah  are  created 
graces,  or  divine  gifts,  having  no  direct  connexion  with  the  planets.  While 
a  parallelism  is  therefore  certain,  an  identification  cannot  be  proved.^ 

The  Sukallu  and  the  Hierarchies 
A  different  question  is  that  of  personal  messengers.  Here  we  find  three 
gradations  of  divine  representatives,  appearing  under  various  forms  as 
(1)  Karubu,  Spirits  of  Adoration,  "Powerful  Ones",  who,  like  the  Cherubim 
of  Genesis  (3,  24),  are  human  figures  with  wings, — distinctly  persons  (Id. 
An.  Kal).  (2)  Lamassu,  Spirits  of  Domination,  "Protecting  Ones",  who 
as  the  Teraphim  of  Genesis  (31,  19)  are  patron-saints  or  household  gods, 
etc.  (Ideogr.  An.  Kal.  Ra).  (3)  Sukallu,  Spirits  of  Interpretation,  "Minis- 
tering Ones",  who,  as  the  biblical  Maleachim,  reveal  the  divine  will  in  par- 
ticular cases  (Id.  Pap.  Luh.  Mah).  Further  subdivisions  led  to  the  recog- 
nition of  "Nine  Choirs",  but  this  only  in  the  Jewish-Christian  system: — 
1  2  3 

(1)  Cherubim,  Seraphim,  Thrones, — for  the  service  of  Contemplation; 

4  5  6 

(2)  Dominations,  Principalities,  Powers, — for  the  service  of  Execution; 

7  8  9 

(3)  Virtues,  Archangels,  and  Angels, — for  the  service  of  Ministration.* 

The  Sibittu  as  Seven  Archangels 

As  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  Sibittu  were  also  taken  in  a  narrower 
sense  as  personal  ministers,  we  get  the  scheme  for  seven  archangels : — 

1  2  3  4  5  6  7 

Nimeku         Bamtu  Milku      Palu  Siptu      Kadiltutu     Puluchtu 

Wisdom  Understanding  Counsel  Strength  Knowledge     Piety     Holy  Fear 

This  is  one  of  the  few  explanations  of  the  "Seven  who  stand  before  the 
Lord",  Michael,  "Likeness  of  God"  (1),  Gabriel,  "Strength  of  God"  (4), 
Raphael,  "Medicine  of  God"  (7),  the  seven  being  regarded  as  persons 
(Dan.  8,  16.  10,  13.  Tob.  12,  15). 

The  Sibittu  as  Seven  Tormentors 

Opposed  to  these  is  the  World-Serpent,  Tiamtu,  and  his  seven  tormen- 
tors,—fZ/uAr/fM,  Shedu,  Wu,  Ekimmu,  Rabisu,  Labartu.  Labasu. — persecut- 
ing demons.' 

'Comp.  Hehn.  Biblische  und  Babylonische  Gottesidee  (Leipzig,  1913)  p.  176-178.  'For 
karubu,  Delitzsch.  op.  cit.  p.  352,  Rawlinson,  II.  31.  3,  13.  Comp.  korubu-sarsar,  to  worship, 
Delitzsch,  350.  Also  Nikel,  Genesis,  ISSff.  For  lamassu-lcrapim  Delitzsch,  381.  713.  Rawl.  IV. 
29,  1.  V.  35,  14.  For  sukaltu-nialeachim.  Idem,  498,  Rawl.  III.  68,  64.  (Paf>sukal).  *  See 
below,  p.  174.  'Jastrow,  op.  cit.  I.  278flF.  Further  light  on  this  subject  in  Dhorme,  Rel. 
Assyr.-Babylonienne,  p.  37ff. 


THE  MODELLING  OF  MANKIND  ON 
THE  POTTER'S  WHEEL 


THE   TWO   WORKS   OF  KHNUM-"RA  OF  THE  CATAFJACT 


MBNED   CHNUM  NEB  NEB  NEJEKU  HEMTeT 


"KHNUM  CREATED.  FASHIONED.  AND  FORKED  THE  GODS  AND  MANKIND" 


THE    WORKS    OF  AMMON-RA   OF  THEBES 


»TEF  ITEFU        NET'eHU      NEBU       Ay 


PET     JSrR 


IKI      METtU  K.EMA  WENENUTt 


INED    HEREK   IRI      NBTtU    NEBED    NEB   MA>ET  ITEF  NETERU 


IRI    REMTET 


KEr«/1A 


AUT  IR»    ANAy       AUT     NET^JUT 


"O  KING  OF  ALL  DIVINE  BEINGS!  HOLDING  ALOFT  THE  SKY.  REPELLING  THE  EARTH. 
MAKING  THAT  WHICH  IS.  CRE-ATING  THAT  WHICH  EXISTS".  "HAIL  INTO  THEE.  THOU 
Al'THOR   OF   ALL   THAT   IS,    POSSESSOR    OF    TRITH,    FATHER    OF   GODS,    AITHOR    OF   MEN. 

CRE.4TOR  OF  ANIMALS.  MAKING  TO  Ln'E  THE  ANIMALS  OF  THE  DESERT!" 
TEXTS  BY  DARESST.  HYMN  TO  KHNIM.  8.  28.  IN  MA8PER0.  RECIEIL  DES  TRAVACX.  VOL. 
XXVn.  AND  BY  GREBAUT,  HYMN  TO  AMMON-RA,  PL.  \'II,  8,  AND  PL.  VHI.  1.  S.  TRANS- 
LITERATION AND  TRANSLATION  BY  PROF.  G.  8.  DINCAN,  OF  JOHN  HOPKINS  I'NIVERSITY. 
BALTIMORE,  (PRITATE  SOURCES,  1911),  AND  COMPARE  VIREY,  LA  RELIGION  DE 
L'ANCIENNE    EOYFTE,    (PARIS.    1910),    PP.    4,    M. 


CREATION  167 

NEOLITHIC  AND  REGENT  SYSTEM 

(N,  2)  Egyptian  Form 

A  connected  Egyptian  cosmogony  analogous  to  that  of  Babylonia  is 
hardly  to  be  found.    But  there  are  scattered  materials  dating  from  different 
ages  out  of  which  some  such  cosmogony  may  be  reconstructed.    Foremost 
among  these  is  the  Ennead  of  Heliopolis,  where  we  find  the  series — 
12  345678         9 

(Nun)  Atum-Shu-Tefnut-Geb-Nut-OsiriS'Isis-Set-Nephtys — , 
(Chaos)  Father,  Air-Dew,  Earth-Sky,  Sun-Corn-Deep,  Mistress. 
Compare  this  with  the  Babylonian  System — 
1  2  3  456789 

(Mummu)  Apsu-Lachmu-Lachamu-AnSar-KiSar-Anu-Bel-Ea-Bau,  —  and 
the  parallelism  is  evident,  some  connexion  in  the  remote  past  seems  certain. 
Who  was  the  originator,  and  who  was  the  borrower  of  this  chain- 
system?  This  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge  it  is  impossible  to 
determine.    But  the  chief  points  in  our  present  controversy  are  these : — 

(1)  Nun,  Nunu,  Mummu,  are  clearly  convertible  terms.  Apart  from 
the  similarity  of  sounds,  the  idea  of  a  primaeval  chaos,  associated  more  or 
less  with  Light  or  Water, — Turn  or  Apsu — ,  is  too  striking  to  be  accidental. 

(2)  Shu  and  Tefnut,  as  Air  and  Dew,  may  be  plausibly  connected 
with  Lachmu  and  Lachamu,  the  meaning  of  which  is  similar, — Day  or 
Dawn?  (Lucas,  Jensen,  etc.) 

(3)  The  Geb-Nut  couple  are  evidently  an  inversion  of  AnSar-KiSar, 
or  vice-versa.    Heaven-and-Earth  themes  are  promised  in  both  cases. 

(4)  Osiris-Isis-Set  suggest  a  parallelism  with  Anu,  Bel,  and  Ea,  being 
more  or  less  synonymous  with  Sun-,  Air-,  and  Deep-power  respectively. 
The  later  Egyptian  "trinity", — Osiris-Isis-Horus — ,  tends  to  confirm  this 
notion,  Horus  however  occupying  the  same  position  in  Egypt  as  Bel- 
Marduk  in  Babylon. 

(5)  Finally  Nephtys,  the  Lady,  on  the  Nile,  the  patroness  of  the  house- 
hold, is  paralleled  by  Ishtar-Ba-u,  the  Mother,  the  "merciful  Lady"  on  the 
Euphrates. 

THE  POSITION  OF  Atum-Ra 
It  has  already  been  shown  that  these  terms  are  either  convertible  or 
appositional,  indicating  literally  "Father-Sun",  the  "Sun-Light".  That 
they  are  personalities  and  not  mere  forces  is  unquestionable,  even  in  the 
earliest  period  they  have  a  pronounced  cult  under  human  forms.  Never- 
theless here  also  the  evolutionary  concept  is  not  wanting,  for— 

Nunu,  the  Chaos,  gives  birth  to  flai- the  Sunlight." 
from  which,  as  out  of  a  "World-Egg,"  the  whole  universe  derives  its  being. 


*  For  the  evolving  Eunead  see  p.  91  above,  and  Erman.  1.  c.  p.  44,  Virey,  1.  c.  p.  7,  146ff. 
For  Creation  in  general  consult  Brugsch,  Religion  und  Mythologie  der  alten  Aegypter,  p. 
101,  Breasted,  The  Development  of  Religious  Thought  in  ancient  Egypt,  (1912),  p.  8-12. 
Casanowicz,  Cosmogonic  Parallels,  Holmes  Anniversary  Volume,  Fortson  Press,  Wash- 
ington, (1917).  P-  46. 


16S  CREATION 

NEOLITHIC  AND  REGENT  SYSTEM 

Egyptian  Form 

Here  we  find  the  hatching-theme  once  more  in  evidence.  This  is  well 
summarised  by  Brugsch  in  the  following  paragraph : — 

"In  the  beginning  there  was  neither  heaven  and  earth.  Surrounded 
by  an  impenetrable  darkness,  the  All  was  filled  by  the  primaeval  Deep, 
called  by  the  Egyptians  Nun,  which  concealed  in  its  bosom  the  male  and 
female  germs,  the  beginnings  of  the  future  world.  The  divine  primaeval 
Spirit,  inseparable  from  the  substance  of  the  primaeval  Deep,  (sic),  felt 
the  desire  of  creative  action,  and  His  word  called  the  universe  into  life, 
whose  aspect  and  multiple  forms  had  first  been  mirrored  in  his  eye.  Their 
bodily  outlines  and  colors  corresponded  after  the  creation  to  the  primaeval 
notions  of  the  Divine  Spirit  concerning  His  future  work.  (Exemplary 
ideas?).  The  first  creative  act  began  with  the  formation  of  an  egg,  out  of 
the  primaeval  waters,  out  of  which  the  Daylight,  Ha,  the  immediate  cause 
of  life  on  the  earth,  sprang  forth.  In  the  Rising  Sun  the  omnipotence  of 
this  divine  Spirit  embodies  itself  in  its  most  splendid  form". 

Who  is  the  primaeval  Spirit  that  is  here  intended?    He  is  no  mere  force, 

He  is  the  personified  Deep,  the  creating  Nun-Ra, 

who  acts  like  a  self-conscious  divinity, — foreseeing,  planning,  creating — , 
and  revealing  himself  in  Ra,  the  Sun,  (also  personified),  and  who  as  Tum- 
Ra  or  Sun-Father  is  the  concrete  source  of  all  being.  While  it  is  plain 
therefore  that  an  aboriginal  evolution  of  deities  is  distinctly  recognised,  it 
is  at  the  same  time  a  self-conscious  evolution  that  is  here  implied. 

The  deities  are  not  forces  but  persons, 

among  whom  Nun-Ra-Twn  forms  possibly  the  earliest  triad,  but  in  which 
the  figure  of  Atum-Ra  soon  becomes  transcendent,  the  only  Lord  of 
Creation. 

THE  Chnum-Ra  tradition 

Another  very  early  tradition  is  that  of  Chnum-Rn,  sometimes  identified 
with  Tiim-Ra  above,  or  with  Shu-Ra,  Ilor-Ra,  Plah-Ra,  etc.  He  is  the 
"Moulder,  Potter,  or  Workmaster,  who  models  the  Egg  which  conceals  the 
light  and  the  germ  of  the  future  world".  Here  the  idea  of  a  direct  personal 
action  is  particularly  pronounced,  and  argues  once  more  for  its  high 
antiquity. 

THE  CONCLUSIONS  TO   BE  DRAWN 

From  the  collected  evidence  it  would  seem  that,  although  the  Egj'ptian 
cosmogony  shows  deep  marks  of  an  emergence  from  pantheism,  the  idea 
of  a  persotml  creation  may  slill  be  traced  in  remote  outline,  reaching  its 
climax  in  the  Horus-cult  of  the  Menic  Age  fully  3000  years  before  Christ. 


CREATION  169 

r  NEOLITHIC  AND  REGENT  SYSTEM 

(N,  3)  Assyrian  Form 

In  so  far  as  the  early  Assyrian  belief  is  identical  with  the  old  Baby- 
lonian, it  is  the  inheritor  of  the  same  fundamental  notions  that  we  have 
already  considered  above,  the  cosmologies  are  identical.  But  in  the  separate 
development  of  the  northern  kingdom  it  was  inevitable  that  distinctively 
national  tendencies  should  find  their  way  into  the  mythology  at  a  com- 
paratively early  age  and  give  an  equally  distinctive  coloring  to  the  common 
Western-Asiatic  notions  of  creation  and  world-origins. 

As  against  the  local  idea  of  divinity,  by  which  each  of  the  Babylonian 
patesis  invoked  their  own  slate-protectors  as  in  some  sense  the  only  "gods", 
the  position  of  Ashur  is  by  comparison  unique  and  universal.  It  is  true 
that  he  is  still  one  among  many,  that  Ishtar,  Shamash,  Adad,  and  the  rest, 
still  claim  an  important  share  of  his  divine  attributes,  but  with  this  differ- 
ence that  while  Bel  was  unheeded  outside  of  Nippur  and  Babylon,  Ashur 
was  known  and  worshipped  in  nearly  every  city  of  Assyria;  he  became  in 
fact  the  symbolic  expression  of  the  political  unity  of  all  the  lands  of  the 
Tigris.  With  this  idea  of  a  centralised  kingship  well  to  the  front,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  the  northern  divinity  was  destined  to  become  a  formidable 
rival  to  the  old  Sumerian  pantheon,  and  finally  to  consign  the  Babylonian 
Triad,  Anu,  Bel,  and  Ea,  to  the  realm  of  the  forgotten,  if  not  to  the  actual 
position  of  dependent  or  created  beings.  In  any  case  the  following  crea- 
tion-fragment from  the  time  of  Sennacherib  should  be  instructive: — 

"To  Ashur,  King  of  all  the  gods.  His  own  Creator,  Father  of 'gods. 
Whose  power  is  in  the  deep.  King  of  heaven  and  earth, 
Lord  of  all  gods,  protector  of  Igigi  and  Anunnaki, 
Creator  of  Heaven,  of  Anu,  and  of  the  lower  world.  Creator  of  all  men, 
Dweller  in  the  shining  heavens,  Lord  of  gods,  Master  of  destiny, 
Dweller  in  the  Royal  Palace  at  Ashur, — to  his  Lord  hath  Sennacherib, 
King  of  Assyria,  made  an  image  of  Ashur".^ 

Now  while  the  title  "father  of  gods"  is  common  enough  and  in  no 
sense  distinctive,  the  expression  "self-created", — ba-nu-u  ram-ni-su — ,  and 
the  description  of  Ashur  as  pa-ti-ik  M-mi  ilu  A-nim  u  Ki-gal-li,  the 
"fashioner  of  the  heaven  of  Anu  and  of  the  Underworld",  shows,  in  the 
words  of  Craig,  that  "the  doctrine  of  a  divine  self-existence,  of  a  self- 
begotten  god,  was  taught  in  more  than  one  text",  that  we  have  got  beyond 
a  theogony.  As  a  more  purely  Semitic  people,  their  idea  of  creation  was 
more  vivid,  more  strictly  philosophical.^ 


1  Craig,  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  Religious  Texts,  PI.  83.  (K.  5413,  A).  Also  p.  III. 
(Introduction).  ^  Comp  Jastrow,  Die  Religion  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  Vol.  I.  pp.  S23- 
524  (Edition,  1905). 


170  CREATION 

NEOLITHIC  AND  REGENT  SYSTEM 
Phoenician  Parallels 

If  the  same  cannot  be  said  of  the  seafaring  Phoenicians,  it  is  owing  to 
our  fragmentary  knowledge  of  their  cosmological  ideas  rather  than  to 
any  demonstrable  absence  of  the  creation-idea  as  such.  From  the  items 
collected  by  Damascius  in  his  work  De  Principiis  it  would  seem  that  this 
cosmogony  reveals  points  of  contact,  partly  with  Egyptian,  partly  with 
Jewish-Palestinian  notions.' 

On  this  system  the  evolution  of  the  world  is  founded  on  two  principles: 

Pneuma  and  Chaos according  to  Byblius. 

Aether  and  Aer according  to  Mochos. 

Chronos  and  Pothos according  to  Eudemos. 

The  latter  however  adds  one  more  principle,  Cloud-Mist,  or  Water,  as 
the  chief  constituent  of  the  universe. 

Through  the  combined  action  of  these  principles  or  "elements"  there 
arises  a  great  primaeval  matter,  which  contains  the  germs  of  all  life.  This 
"protoplasm"  ultimately  assumes  the  form  of  an  egg,  which  splits  itself 
into  heaven  and  earth.  Thereupon  the  heavenly  bodies  begin  to  be 
formed, — apparently  spontaneously — ,  and  living  beings  begin  to  appear 
on  the  earth  and  in  the  seas.  Though  the  evidence  is  only  negative,  there 
is  no  suggestion  that  these  things  were  formed  by  a  superior  power, — they 
simply  evolve. 

On  the  other  hand  the  genealogj'  of  man  is  not  left  vaguely  in  the  dark, 
but  is  carried  back  to  two  definite  individuals,  whose  names  according  to 
Philo  Byblius  are  as  follows : — 

(1)  Atiemos  and  Bau, — from  whom  are  descended 

(2)  Aion  and  Protogonos, — and  from  these  again 

(3)  Genos  and  Gennea, — the  ancestors  of  the  present  Phoenicians. 

These  names  are  evidently  descriptive  or  generic,  but  they  show  that 
the  ancient  tradition  of  a  primitive  human  couple  has  been  preserved, 
though  the  setting  of  the  creation-legends  is  otherwise  strongly  evolu- 
tional. Expressions  like  "Breath"  "Air"  "Time"  "Desire"  and  so  on,  all 
point  to  abstract,  if  not  physical  forces,  and  the  Egg-motif  again  suggests 
"hatching",  the  old  totemic  theme.  But  the  whole  subject  is  too  obscure 
and  the  sources  too  fragmentary  to  admit  of  any  definite  conclusions. 
Names  alone  mean  little,  and  may  easily  stand  for  personalities,  for  creat- 
ing divinities.  The  question  must  therefore  be  left  open,  there  are  no 
means  for  proving  the  point. 


'Quoted  by  Nikel,  Genesis,  p.   117ff.     From  Dunascius,  De   Principiis.  c.   125      Comp 
Dillman,  Die  Genesis,  (Leipiig,  iSga),  pp.  6-7. 


CREATION  171 

NEOLITHIC  AND  REGENT  SYSTEM 

(N,  4)  Hebrew-Palestinian  Form 

The  Hexahemeron  of  the  Hebrews  is  too  well  known  to  require  any 
lengthy  exposition  in  these  pages.  It  may  be  useful,  however,  to  call 
attention  to  two  questions,  (1)  regarding  its  antiquity,  and  (2)  regarding 
its  interpretation,  in  so  far  as  they  have  a  bearing  on  the  present  discus- 
sion. 

(1)  ANTIQUITY 

As  a  counterblast  to  the  doctrinnaire  assertions  of  former  times,  the 
combined  results  of  modern  Assyriology  have  shown  that  there  is  no  a 
priori  objection  to  an  immense  antiquity  for  the  main  body  of  this  tradi- 
tion, though  such  an  antiquity  is  not  in  itself  demanded,  either  for  its 
authenticity  or  its  doctrinal  value.  On  the  one  hand,  the  close  parallelism 
with  Babylonian  forms  has  revealed  the  fact  that  many  of  these  ideas 
were  current  in  Western  Asia  at  least  as  early  as  the  third  millennium 
before  Christ,  the  "bottomless  deep",  the  "brooding  over  the  waters",  the 
"six-period"  development — ,  on  the  other  hand  the  internal  evidence  shows 
just  as  clearly  that  the  striking  differences  both  in  lexicology  and  doc- 
trinal content  can  only  be  explained  on  the  hypothesis  of  an  independent 
origin, — either  directly,  in  the  mind  of  the  author,  (Mosaic  age), — or  in- 
directly, by  drawing  upon  sources  which  embody  a  tradition  which 
descends  far  into  the  prehistoric  past,  nay, — not  impossibly  to  the  very 
beginnings  of  the  human  race.  This  will  become  increasingly  evident, 
the  more  this  tradition  is  compared  with  the  earliest  mythologies, — and 
this  makes  the  theory  of  a  continuous  transmission  of  the  divine 
"deposit",  if  not  the  only  possible,  at  least  the  most  easy  and  natural  hy- 
pothesis. Be  this  as  it  may,  we  may  safely  make  the  assertion  that  in  its 
present  form  the  creation-story  is  at  least  as  old  as  the  Amarna-Period  (ca. 
1500  B.  C),  while  its  main  outlines  can  be  traced  back  indefinitely  and  not 
inconceivably  to  the  earliest  ages  of  mankind.* 

(2)    INTERPRETATION 

That  we  are  here  in  presence  of  something  unique,  something  extraor- 
dinary, is  admitted  on  all  sides.  It  has  been  described  by  persons  of 
very  different  persuasions  as  "the  sublimest  poem"  that  ever  fell  from  the 
lips  of  man.  But  apart  from  its  esthetic  and  educational  value,  it  is  impor- 
tant to  call  attention  to  its  doctrinal  features,  in  so  far  they  concern  its 
relation  to  former  systems  and  its  own  incomparable  superiority.  This 
can  best  be  appreciated  by  directing  attention  to  the  following  facts: — 


'  For  the  priority  and  independence  of  the  Mosaic  tradition,  see  Nikel,  Die  Genesis, 
(passim),  esp.  pp.  1-124,  on  the  cosmogony, — at  present  the  best  and  clearest  treatment  of 
this  subject,   (Freiburg,  1903). 


172  CREATION 

NEOLITHIC  AND  RECENT  SYSTEM 

ABSENCE  OF  PANTHEISTIC  COLORING 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  meaning  of  bara  to  the  Hebrew  mind, — 
whether  that  of  "making",  "chiselUng",  etc.  or  that  of  strict  "creation"  in 
the  philosophical  sense,  there  is  evidence  to  show  that  it  is  used  only  of 
divine  action,  never  of  the  action  of  secondary  causes.^  But  apart  from 
this,  the  position  of  Bara  Elohim  at  the  head  of  the  sentence  indicates  a 
unique  divine  causality,  distinct  from  the  created  world,  yet  terminating 
in  the  entire  universe, — "heaven  and  earth"  being  the  strongest  expression 
known  to  the  language.'  Furthermore  the  vivid  pictures  of  the  "speaking" 
of  Elohim,  of  His  "commanding"  in  the  imperative  mood,  of  His  fashion- 
ing man  "out  of  the  dust  of  the  earth",  of  His  "breathing  into  his  nostrils 
the  breath  of  life",  of  His  "blessing"  the  work  of  each  day  and  declaring 
it  "good", — all  this  is  clear  evidence  that  we  are  dealing  with  a  supreme 
Personality,  not  with  a  mere  nature-force,  a  "World-Soul". 

ABSENCE  OF  POLYTHEISTIC  TOUCHES 

In  view  of  the  strong  polytheism  of  the  surrounding  nations,  it  would 
not  be  surprising  to  find  vestiges  at  least  of  polytheistic  terminology. 
These  supposed  "vestiges"  are  the  use  of  the  nominal  and  verbal  plural, 
affecting  such  forms  as  Elohim,  (gods?),  and  Na'ase  Adam,  (Let  us  make 
man).  This  classic  objection  to  the  divine  Unity  is  however  not  of  much 
force  in  view  of  fact,  now  generally  conceded,  that  these  are  plurals  of 
"majesty",  or,  at  least,  that  they  may  be  safely  taken  as  such.  But  there  are 
other  considerations  which  suggest  a  more  simple  solution.  The  con- 
tinuous alteration  of  singular  and  plural  numbers  defies  all  the  ordinary 
laws  of  Hebrew  syntax.  At  the  very  beginning  we  have  Bara  Elohim,  a 
grammatical  discordance.  It  is  possible,  of  course,  that  these  are  no  more 
than  poetical  "licenses", — the  divine  Unity  is  in  any  case  safe  with  Bara — , 
but  the  almost  deliberate  change  to  the  first  person  plural  in  the  above 
passages  is  suggestive,  at  least,  of  trinitarian  notions, — an  opinion  which 
gathers  additional  weight  by  the  similar  construction-changes  in  other 
parts  of  the  book  of  Genesis.^ 

A  RETURN  TO  PRIMITIVE  MONOTHEISM 

A  divine  Unity  of  Nature  is  therefore  unassailable,  even  if  a  Trinity  of 
Persons  be  indirectly  hinted  at.  On  any  hypothesis,  we  are  here  once  more 
in  presence  of  a  single,  supreme,  personal  Creator,  who  brings  all  things 
into  existence  "by  His  Word",— without  "egg",  without  "lizard",  without 
"demiurge". 


2  Comp.  Is.  45,  7.  48,  7.  65,  18.  Jerem.  4,  5.  Amos,  4,  13.  '  Ha-shammaim  we  ha-aretz  is 
the  nearest  approach  to  "cosmos",  the  universality  of  things.  *  See  the  passages  given  p. 
103  above,  as  these  concern  the  nature  of  Elohim-Jahwe,  rather  than  His  creative  action. 


THE  HEBREW  HEXAHEMERON 

WITH  ASSYRIO-BABYLONIAN  PARALLELS 

BKTEAI.INO  ITS  IMUEN8E   ANTIQCm  BUT  THEOLOGICAL  UTOEPENDENCB 

TnEt_UDEC<3EN.l,l) 

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EAKm"  I        ' M??SfcAU^        ROACH-EUaHlM  IS  OPPOSED SPT  IB-BVWi^U  IIANI  (T.'^) 

SAID-    1        MARDUK-iAMA^  AS  SOLAR  CEITY  IS  UCHT.HCBOES  NOTCPB\-IErr. 
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6AIX>: 


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'■^^UwTuT      '     CRraAK.I>BeaHR:A3lAtJ-MULA-V)A-MU(l,iq 


THAT  IT 
WAS 


SECOND  XAY  -  WATei^  (1,6) 

"  MARDUki  CUEFT  HER  IN  TWAIN  UKE  A  PUAT  FtSH  " 

^ni^'u')  mn  Tim  Tf^^i'  D^rri^stDsvi^ 

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'VlAMATCU-n  A^m  TIAMAtSapUIT,  ASUP1*RAm.U)V<BV0CBANCS.50lV 
(  J>AY-  NU  MBERS  AFlt  VV^NTING)      (I  Ll^  SaMAS   I-MA  ^&0  SaME  (S",  i^  ) 

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MARJSUtC  IS^CI^EATOFl  OFGWWNjBESTWS/EROFFUANnHq^" 

i3)i5D  S"^  D^DTi/nrinnQ  dot  ii^^  wni^H^iaiin  9 

yiNU-bBS^MAWJUK-B^  A4  HEAVEN-EAKTH-CCeAN  »«mHGUttHED(PASStt(9 
T^^CE:..        (the   SEPAHATIOK    OP  LAND  AHD  VA/ATEK  IS  HH^fe  IMPUED) 

•^"^^  n w  n&  Yy  y'^r  T)Vi  ynv  mi  yn^sn  jm^i 

ClU^ASAn-RI    SA-RIK  MI-RIS-T1    MU-KIN  C&-T<A-T1    orPlAKTIKfi" 
SANU-U  ^e-AM  U  Wl-E   MU-Xe— SI   UR.-Kl-n  "CREATOR  ^«BAIM 
A^^l>  -PLANTS » WHO  CAUSED  THE  C?»Eai  HEBBTDSWIMft  WCJOT.i.a) 

•/'Qi^bw  bv  "T^r^nn  :a"iv-m  I'i:^!^ 

(lUW-  NUMBERS  ANDDeaAJWmON OF  GCODheSS  ARCVftNUHO) 


'ANDQOD 

SAID 

LETTHERE 

BeA 

URMAMENT 

SEIWEEN 

THE 

waters' 


"andciod 

said: 

LET■n^E 

WATERS 

SE 
GAIHBSED 
TOGETHER 

INTO  ONE 


J»KflAND 
APPEAlC 

•LtrmE 

e^RTH 

FOKIH 

THE 

<REEVI 

herb' 


LET  THERE 

BE 

LIGHTS 

IMTWE 


OP 
HEAVEN 

TO  I 

I>1V\I>E 

THE  HAY  ; 


ANBTHE 
NIGHT" 


THE  HEBREW  HEXAHEMERON 

'    ktinS  D^o>an  T?>'ti  n^ii^Q  *n*  Q^nVs'in^'i  14 

■•      «  ^««  BEL-MAraUK-  MAl>e-WE  STATIONS  FO^  TH E GREAT  COBstMAN2«A-)  CT.i) 

"  THE  STARS,  TWEIM  MAGeS,AS  THE  STARS  OFTWE  ZQIHACHE  nXEB"- 

KAKKABANI     TAM-|l\_-6u-NU      Ul-MA-fel      u!fe - 21 -1 2  CS"  1) 

r-R.^^   *^^<QPf  j^^.  D^i^i^n  JTi^n  u\ir-ji«  q^h^k  \!i^ii6 

•  HEOR»A>HEDTWEVEAR  AND  INTO  SECTIONS  HEWVtDED  iV^MmATA^^y  3) 
'■HECAUSa)T><EKlO<5H-GODTO9HtMEFOKm'"(y,ia^  "uNTOTHETAW  OFTHE 

■'T:ii  or  iv^^i'^n^i  I'^y^n^i  i9.D':i:M:)rr  ra 

SUN  TMOU  SHALT  CAUSE  TO  rnWW  NKIhI^III^UT  OKDCH.  is  mVERTTD) 

Firm  IiA.Y-''Ah4IMALS''a,10) 

*  ^1^1  n*n  ym  T>iir  d^qft  ijs'^w^  t^n^i^  "ii^*]  20 

CREATION  0FUVlM(5SElM<SS(slKH>srr  NAPISTOONiy  \M  CT-St^-V  C^.T.  +  l) 
OFNAyARI.'l>OLPHINS'.OR  MONS-reH*    OFTHEDeEp, IN  CT.3BC,24-')  . 

HaxaSinim  as"whales'  seems  to  include  creatures  opthis  kind 

(  J>lVlNe  BLEISINCi  AKD  CCMStAkCBOIT  fROPAOATION  UN\VHR&MJ.Y  ABSrUT^ 

:'mu  DV  -i^a-^n*!  i^iynn  ^3:^i1)Q  n^  t^iyrn  05^1 

CFowLs  a*"thunde:r-b\ri>s'  May  be  implied  iN-me  conttext) 
Sl>cm  UAV-"  mam"  (1.16) 

"MYBLOCBJ  WILLITAKE  AND  BONE  WILLI  FASHION--I  WILL  MAKE  MAN  " 
SA-M(   LU-UK-aun-MA  l3-aMM-TUM(LU-U8-NI)— LU-ui-ZIZ-KlA  AMELA 

"  I  WlLLCHEACre  MAN.WHO  SHALL  (NHABITTMC  EAKTH— -mATTHESEIWICE 
OFTKE  qODS  BE  ESriABLiSHEC  AKlO-mArT>IElR.SHRWeSM^\BEaUUT(Tn;5^10) 

ran  z&Dm  im  m^Ji  i>r  imKtiD^rf?>^  Di)Vi 

"iMAfiE  AM3>  UKENESS''MlSSlNa,BUTPOSaiBl>f  IMPUEDIN  jai-Ml'MYBU»D" 

Yii§T;iHii<i>oi  1111  1*^  titles  bnS'^QH*!  D^n^cmn 

'  BIV1NE»tE8SIM<»AH»  COMMAHB  OFPfWPAft^TlON  A«A1N  VMHTl  Nq  .THOUGH 

;»\iim  Dr  *it?:i-*m  iiy-*nn  tho  nic:^  -run^ 


"AUDOPTI 

said: 

LET  THE 

WATERS 

FORTH 

THE 

CREEPINa 

THING 

HAVING 

UFE" 


"andcxid 
SAID  : 
LET  US 
MAKE 
KiAKl 
IN  OUK 
IMAGE 

AND 
LIKENESS 


'Be 

FRurmji 

AND 

MUtTTPiy 

AND 

•mc 

EATCTH* 


THHOrOHppT.a>AT»^DONOT^CO^^^^^^^^^ 


CON81LT  L.  W. 


ABOVK  CITATIONS 


CREATION  173 

NEOLITHIC  AND  REGENT  SYSTEM 

"IN  THE  BEGINNING  GOD  CREATED  THE  HEAVEN  AND  THE  EARTH" 

Yet  simple  and  direct  as  these  narratives  are,  they  are  far  more  elab- 
orate and  philosophical  than  anything  to  be  found  in  primitive  times. 
They  reveal  a  desire  to  describe  the  world-process  in  more  intricate  terms, 
to  give  the  reader  a  more  complete,  more  profound,  more  expanded  view 
of  the  creation-drama.  Hence  the  opinion  which  makes  them  "scientific", 
embodying 

The  Supposed  Concordance 

This  system  is  based  on  certain  parallelisms  which  are  believed  to  exist 
between  the  Mosiac  "Days"  and  the  successive  evolution  of  the  cosmos 
as  presented  by  the  data  of  astronomy,  geology,  palaeontology,  etc.  as  fol- 
lows : — 

I.  Archaean  Time  (Primary  Period) I.  First  Mosaic  Day. 

Azoic  Age.  (No  organisms).  Light  The  "formless  void"  with  "dark- 
gradually  penetrates  the  "hydro-  ness  upon  the  deep".  "Let  there 
sphere".  be  Light!" 

II.  Silurian  Time II.  Second  Mosaic  Day. 

Early  Palaeozoic  Age.  Differentia-  Separation  of  higher  and  lower 
tion  of  liquids  and  gases.  (Deep-  "waters".  "Let  there  be  a  firma- 
sea  Ufe).  ment",  etc. 

III.  Devonian  Time III.  Third  Mosaic  Day. 

Late  Palaeozoic  Age.  First  up-  "Let  the  dry  land  appear!",  "Let 
heaval  of  land.  (Fishes  followed  by  the  earth  bring  forth  the  herb", 
ferns).  etc. 

IV.  Triassic  Time  (Secondary  Period) IV.  Fourth  Mosaic  Day. 

Early  Mezozoic  Age.     Dissipation         "Let  there  be  lights  in  the  firma- 
of  vapors.     Heavenly   bodies   be-         ment!"  (Days,  years,  seasons), 
come  visible. 

V.  Jurassic  Time V.  Fifth  Mosaic  Day. 

Later  Mezozoic  Age.  Lower  ani-  "Let  the  waters  bring  forth  the 
mal  life,  creeping  and  flying  (Rep-  creeping  thing",  "Let  the  fowl 
tiles  and  birds).  fly",  etc. 

VI.  Eocene-Pliocene  Time  (Tertiary) VI.  Sixth  Mosaic  Day. 

Cenozoic  Age.  Higher  mammalian  "Let  the  earth  bring  forth  the  liv- 
life.  First  appearance  of  man  ing  creature!"  "Let  us  make 
(Pliocene?).  man!"  etc. 

The  most  cursory  inspection  of  this  table  will  show,  that,  though  the 
parallelism  is  suggestive,  it  fails  to  be  rigidly  scientific,  especially  in  the 
matter  of  deep-sea  life  and  of  "luminaries".  Nevertheless,  as  a  popular 
synopsis  of  the  six  great  "works"  of  creation,  its  value  is  inestimable.  As 
to  the  method  of  creation,  the  expressions  "Let  the  waters,  let  the  earth 
bring  forth",  etc.  leave  room  for  secondary  forces,  while  the  personal  "Let 
us  make  man"  indicates  a  closer,  more  immediate,  more  direct  activity." 

»Comp.  G.  Hoberg,  Die  Genesis  nach  dem  Literalsinn  erklart,  (Freiburg,  1908)  pp.  1-11. 
Karl  Braun  Uber  Kosmogonie  vom  Standpunkte  christlicher  Wissenschaft,  (Miinster,  1905). 
F  Kaulen,  Der  biblische  Schopfungsbericht  (Freiburg,  1902).  H.  Strack.  Die  Genesis 
(Munich,  1905).  A.  Dillman,  ditto.  (Leipzig,  1892). 


Chochmah 

"Wisdom" 

Binah 

"Understanding" 

Etzah 

"Counsel" 

Geborah 

"Fortitude" 

Da  'ath 

"Knowledge" 

Yirah 

"Piety" 

Morah 

"Holy  Fear" 

174  CREATION 

NEOLITHIC  AND  RECENT  SYSTEM 
The  Seven  Spirits  op  God  and  the  Hierarchies 

The  Seven  Spirits  of  Isaiah  (H,2)  are  seven  divine  gifts  or  charismata, 
to  wit: 

appearing  as  early  as  Gen.  3,  6.  Ex.  31,  3. 
Deut.  4,  6.  3  Kings,  4,  29,  often  united.'" 
indefinitely  ancient  as  ethical  terms, 
often  convertible  (Ex.  15,  2.  Ps.  1, 1) 
traceable  to  Gen.  2,  9,  20,  11.  22,  12.  etc., 
piety  and  fear  being  convertible  and 
described  by  morah,  as  in  Ps.  9,  21. 

It  seems  quite  probable  that  these  are  the  Seven  Spirits  or  "Eyes"  of 
the  Lord,  mentioned  by  Zekeriah  (4, 10)  and  reappearing  in  the  Apocalypse 
(1,  20.  4,  5.)  Moreover  as  the  Babylonian  Sibittu,  they  may  claim  an  im- 
mense antiquity. 

As  to  a  personal  hierarchy,  we  find  the  nine  choirs  in  vague  outline : — 

(1)  The  Cherubim  (Assyr.  Karubu),  "Powerful  Ones",  who  guard  the 
gate  of  paradise  with  the  flaming  sword, — evidently  dependent  beings, 
ministers.    Then 

(2)  The  Seraphim,  "Noble  Ones",  appear  for  the  first  time  in  Isaiah 
(6, 2) .   They  have  six  wings,  and  intone  the  Trishagion, — Holy,  Holy  Holy. 

(3)  The  Thrones  are  Pauline  in  terminology,  but  may  be  traced  back 
in  germ  to  the  ascending  and  descending  spirits  of  Gen.  28,  12.  (Jacob's 
Ladder). 

(4,  5,  6)  Dominations,  Principalities,  and  Powers  are  also  Pauline, 
but  are  represented,  partly  by  the  Teraphim  as  protecting  spirits  (Gen.  31, 
19),  partly  by  the  Maleachim  as  battling  spirits,  (Exod.  14,  9)  (the  Assy- 
rian Lamassu). 

(7,  8,  9)  Virtues,  Archangels,  and  Angels  as  simple  Maleachim  are 
common.  Three  are  named  as  Mi-ka-el  ("Who  is  like  unto  God?"),  (Dan. 
10,  13),  Gabri-el  ("Man"  or  "Strength  of  God"),  (Dan.  8,  16),  Rapha-el 
("Medicine  of  God"),  (Tob.  12,  15),  "one  of  the  seven  who  stand  before  the 
Lord".  These  are  undoubtedly  personal  archangels,  having  a  faint  analogy 
with  the  Babylonian  messenger-gods,  (Sukallu). 

The  objection  that  these  are  not  personalities  but  nature-powers,  bor- 
rowed partly  from  Assyrian,  partly  from  Iranian  sources,  is  therefore  of 
not  much  force.  As  to  personality,  they  speak  and  act  like  persons,  (comp. 
the  "talking  angels"  of  Gen.  16,  7),  and  as  to  a  possible  borrowing,  the 
profane  data  furnish  at  the  outside  interesting,  but  very  defective  parallels, 
the  karubu  being  at  least  half-human,  and  the  Iranian  Seven  probably 
more  them  divine  abstractions.  They  show  on  the  contrary  that  the  idea 
of  sukallu  or  "vicegerent"  of  God  is  extremely  ancient.  The  same  of 
Hanachash,  the  "Serpent"  of  Gen.  3.  1.— (Babyl.  riama/),-— a  dependent 
being,  destined  to  be  vanquished. 

">The  text  in  Gen.  3,  6  has  nechmad  haetz  khaskii  (Kittel).  haskil  being  Hiphil  of 
sakal,  to  be  wise.  A.  V.  "A  tree  to  be  desired  to  make  one  wise". 


THE  PERSIAN  DUALISM 

AS  EXPRESSED  IN  THE  ANCIENT  AVESTA 

CREATION  AND  COUNTER-CREATION 

"THE  POINT  AND  MEANINO  OF  THE  ENTIBE  DOCTRINB  18  THAT  A  GOOD  GOD  CANNOT  BE 
RESPONSIBLE  FOR  PERMANENT  EVIL;  THAT  IMPERFECTION  AND  SIFFERING  ARE 
ORIGINAL  AND  INHERENT  IN  THE  NATURE  OF  THINGS,  AND  PERMANENTLY  SO.  THE 
SWALLOWING  UP  OF  BIN  AND  SORROW  IN  ULTIMATE  HAPPINESS  BELONGS  TO  A  LATER 
PERIOD.  IT  18  NOT  GATHIC  ZOROA8TRL4NISM.  E%'IL  WAS  THE  WORK  OF  AN  INDEPEN- 
DENT BEING".    (8.  B.  E.  XXXI.  SS). 

"THUS  ARE  THE  SPIRITS  PRIMEVAL" 

(YASNA.  XXX.  3) 
A5R(J^AtEM         VAFte)NA    YCMS.        iX         TWOUnuYE  MAJNVfl        AT-T& 

akbmchA      vahyS       \6      &vs»o-mAN3t        vachahick^     manamicma 

OUZH£AONHd  NdiT         ^^ySirX  EREi        HUfiSoNHd        AV^CH>( 


"THEN  THOSE  SPIRITS  CREATED" 

(YASNA.  XXX  4) 

apAzrfe .   paouryTm    ^asa^tem      mainvQ     hem    -n^      \ftAT        atcha 

ANHUS        APCWEM      ANHAT         YATH>icHA         AJYSrfTMCHX  <:AiMCH?V 

WAMO  VAHI&TEM  ASHAUNS.         AT         3)R.E<SVATV^  ACMiItTO 

TEXT  AND  PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTION  BY  L.  H.  MILLS,  "A  STUDY  OF  THE  FIVE  ZORO- 
A8TRIAN  OATHAS"  (BROCKH.\US-LEIPZI0,  18eS-l«94),  GIVINO  ALSO  THE  PAHLAVI.  SAN- 
SKRIT. AND  PERSI.4N  EQUIVALENTS.  TRANSLATIONS  IBID,  AND  IN  8.  B.  E.  XXXI.  P.  2»-S0. 
ALSO  IN  "GATHAS"  (SHORT  EDITION,  LEIPZIG.  1800),  P.  4S.  COMP.\RE  A.  CARNOY,  "IRANIAN 
VIEWS  OF  ORIGINS  IN  CONNECTION  'WTTII  SIMn..\R  B.4BVLONL\N  BELIEFS",  J.  A.  O.  8. 
(DEC.  1»1«),  P.  SOOff.  CASANOWICZ.  "COSMOGONIC  P.*RALLEL8",  HOLMES  ANNIVER8.VRY 
VOLUME,    (WASHINGTON,    1811),   P.   i4ff. 


CREATION  175 

NEOLITHIC  AND  REGENT  SYSTEM 

(N,  5)  Aryan  Development 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  idea  of  pairs,  couples,  or  antagonistic  prin- 
ciples is  a  leading  characteristic  of  the  early  Caucasian  theology.  We 
have  the  Lachmu-Lachamu  series  in  Babylonia,  with  the  AnSar-Kisav 
relation  the  Shu-Tefnut  couple  in  Egypt,  with  the  Geb-Nut  development, 
both  giving  rise,  in  theory  at  least,  to  the  national  triads,  Anu-Bel-Ea,  and 
Osiris-Isis-Horus,  which,  however,  we  have  good  reasons  for  believing  to 
have  been  prior  to  the  artificial  constructions  known  as  "enneads".  The 
same  idea  is  found  in  such  combinations  as  Pneuma-Chaos,  Aether-Aer, 
Chronos-Pothos,  etc.  which  represent  the  conflicting  principles  of  the 
Phoenician  cosmogony.  Now  the  above  couples,  in  so  far  as  they  are  not 
mere  supplements,  male  and  female  principles,  physical  or  mathematical 
divisions,  contain  the  germs  of  a  dualistic  system,  in  which  the  two  have 
become  independent  and  mutually  exclusive  personalities, — each  creators, 
each  eternal,  each  supreme,  but  the  rulers  of  two  antagonistic  worlds,  the 
one  essentially  good,  the  other  essentially  evil.  This  idea  is  for  the  first 
time  prominently  developed  in  the  Persian  theology,  which  we  have  every 
reason  to  believe,  represents  one  of  the  earliest  and  purest  forms  of  Aryan 
faith. 

EARLY  IRANIAN  FORM 

By  contrast  to  the  Chaos  and  Water-theme  of  the  Babylonian-Egyp- 
tian system,  we  find  two  First  Spirits  at  work  from  the  very  commence- 
ment, to  wit: — 

CREATION  AND  COUNTER-CREATION 

"Thus  are  the  Spirits  primaeval. 

Who  as  twain  by  their  deeds  are  famed. 

In  thought,  word,  and  deed, 

A  better,  they  two,  and  an  evil, 

Of  these  let  the  wise  choose  aright, 

And  not  as  the  evil-minded". 
"Then  those  Spirits  created, 

As  first  they  two  came  together. 

Life  and  our  death  decreeing, 

How  all  at  the  last  shall  be  ordered. 

For  evil  men  Hell,  the  worst  life. 

For  the  righteous  the  best  Mind,  Heaven".' 

The  "coming  together"  of  two  opposite  forces  is  a  striking  reminder  of 
the  doublets  mentioned  above,  though  the  differences  are  equally  marked. 
While  in  the  former  we  see  a  theogony.  here  we  have  a  dualistic  theology.^ 


1  L.  H.  Mills,  The  Gathas  of  Zoroaster,  (Leipzig,  1900),  p.  4.3.  S.  B.  E.  XXXI.  p.  29-30. 
'  See  explanatory  introductions  by  the  same  author   (ibidem). 


176  CREATION 

NEOLITHIC  AND  RECENT  SYSTEM 

Iranian  Form 

the  ameshas  and  the  seven  spirits  of  god 

In  the  Amesha-Spentas  or  "holy  spirits"  we  have  either  the  personified 
attributes,  or,  what  is  more  probable,  the  created  spirits  of  Ahura-Mazda, 
the  original  number,  six,  favoring  the  supposition  that  they  were  looked 
upon  as  essentially  dependent,  either  as  archangels,  or  as  groups  of  divine 
manifestations  or  hierarchies.  These  are  opposed  by  the  great  antagonist, 
Angra  Mainyu,  and  his  corresponding  legion  of  evil  ones: — 

Amesha-Spentas  opposed  by  Daevas,  (demons) 

(1)  Ahura-Mazda,  the  "Great  Wise  (1)  Angra-Mainyu,  the  "Wicked 
One",  Creator  of  good.  (The  Divine  Spirit",  Creator  of  evil.  Author  of 
Wisdom).  Discord. 

(2)  Asha-Rita,  the  Order,  the  (2)  Druj,  the  "Lie",  the  She-devil, 
Logos?   (The  Divine  Truth).  the  Falsity,  the  Disorder  of  things. 

(3)  Vohu  Manah,  the  "Good  Mind",  (3)  Akem  Manah,  the  "Wicked 
the  Spirit  of  Love.  (The  Divine  Mind",  the  Hate,  the  Evil  Plan,  the 
Goodness).  Bad  Will. 

(4)  Kshathra,  the  "Law",  the  King-  (4)  Dush  Kshathra,  the  "Anarchy", 
ship,  the  Dominion.  (The  Divine  Inverted  Power,  False  Liberty,  Re- 
Authority),  hellion. 

(5)  Aramaiii,  the  "Toil-Mind",  the  (5)  Taramaiti,  the  "Insolence",  the 
Prayer.     (The  Divine  Sanctity).  Indolence,  the  bold  Effrontery. 

(6)  Haurvutat,   the    "Allness",    the  (6)    Avaetat,   the    "Dejection",    the 
Perfection   of  things.    (The   Divine  Failure,  the  Incompletion  of  life. 
Fruition). 

(7)  Ameretatat,  the  "Immortalisa-  (7)  Merelhyu,  the  "Death",  the  Cor- 
tion"  of  being.  (The  Divine  Con-  ruption.  the  Putrefaction  of  being 
summation).  (Nasu). 

These  seven  "Immortals"  by  no  means  exhaust  the  list  of  Yazads, 
Fravashis,  Daevas.  There  is  Mithra,  Haoma,  Sraosha,  Friendship,  Health. 
Obedience,  A  tar,  Fire,  Gaush-Urvan,  Kine-Soul,  Nasu,  Corruption.  Aeshma, 
Death-Fury,  and  Azhi-Dahaka,  the  three-headed  infernal  with  a  thousand 
joints.  But  the  early  prominence  of  the  "seven"  can  liardly  be  doubted,  and 
they  furnish  a  distant  parallel  to  the  "Seven  Spirits"  of  Zechariah  (4,  10), 
and  to  the  "Seven  Stars"  and  "Seven  Spirits"  of  the  .\pocalypse  (I,  20. 
4.  5),  while  Aeshma  appears  as  Asmodeus  in  Tobit  (3,  8),  and  Azhi  Dahaka 
as  the  seven-headed  Dragon  of  tiie  Johannine  vision  (Ap.  12,  3). 

This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  thorny  question  of  the  derivation 
and  possible  interconnection  of  these  "spirits".  There  is  evidence  to  show, 
that,  while  the  arrangements  are  similar,  the  two  theologies  are  entirely 
independent,  whether  in  structure  or  content.' 

•  L.  H.  Mills,  Avesta  Eschatology  compared  with  the  Books  of  Daniel  and  Revelations, 
(Chicago,  iy08)  p.  67ff.  ^  Comp.  the  Babylonian  "septcssencc"  of  God  as  a  possible  common 
source,  and  Hchn,  Die  biblische  und  babylonische  Gottcsidec  (Leipzig,  1913)  pp.  17-18,  for 
hissalu  Hani  as  "sevenfold  universality".  Also  Idem,  Die  Siebenzahl,  from  which  it  appears 
that  the  number  seven  is  a  common  Western-Asiatic  possession. 


CREATION  177 

NEOLITHIC  AND  RECENT  SYSTEM 

Iranian  Form 

According  to  the  later  Bundahish  version,  Ahura  Mazda  created  ttie 
world  in  six  periods,  the  order  being  parallel  to  that  of  Genesis, — Heaven 
(Light)  Waters,  Earth,  Plants,  Animals,  Man.  Gajomart,  the  first  human, 
issues  evolutionally  from  cosmogonic  forces.  From  his  seed,  but  after 
forty  years,  the  first  human  couple,  Mashia  and  Mashiana,  grew  up  like 
plants,  and  gradually  assumed  human  form,  but  the  soul  was  directly 
inspired  by  Mazda,  with  the  words :  "You  are  man,  you  are  the  ancestry 
of  the  world!"'  Though  these  items  do  not  by  any  means  imply  a  late 
redaction,  their  absence  in  the  earlier  Yasna  points  to  some  parallel  extra- 
Iranian  tradition  as  their  source. 

Brahministig  and  Taoistig  Form 

In  strong  contrast  to  the  early  Vedic  Faith,  identical  with  the  Avestic- 
Iranian,  the  later  Brahminism  shows  a  distinctly  downward  tendency, 
prompted  no  doubt  by  the  growing  contact  with  Dravidian  totemism  and 
metempsychosis-doctrines. 

From  a  primaeval  Void, — neither  being  nor  nothing,  but  simply  the 
indefinable  "That", — there  arises  through  Thought  and  Desire  the  All- 
Darkness,  the  All-Water,  from  which  are  evolved  the  germs  or  embryos  of 
all  things.  Among  these  embryos  is  the  "World-Egg".*  In  the  Law-Book 
of  Manu,  this  egg  brings  forth  Brahma,  the  Father  of  all  existence.  By  the 
power  of  his  thought,  he  splits  the  egg  into  two  parts,  from  one  of  which 
he  forms  heaven,  from  the  other  the  earth,  and  between  them  the  atmos- 
phere, etc.  He  has  produced  all  things  and  is  still  producing  them.°  In 
the  Dharma  Shastra  man  issues  from  the  earth  at  the  command  of  Vishnu, 
who  gives  him  life  and  the  power  to  recognise  his  creator.  Later  he  gives 
him  a  female  as  a  companion." 

In  the  Chinese  "Book  of  Changes"  it  is  T'ai-ki  Wu-ki,  the  "Great 
Absolute  Nothing"  which  gives  birth  to  the  yang  and  the  ying,  male  and 
female  principles,  from  which  heaven  and  earth,  stars,  plants,  animals  and 
man  are  derived.'  The  later  Taoism  substitutes  the  "vital  monad"  for  this 
indefinable." 

Western -Aryan  Form 

The  Theogony  of  Hesiod  also  shows  a  Chaos,  producing  Erebus  and 
Styx,  Aether  and  Phos,  Gaia  and  Ouranos,  Oros  and  Okeanos.  Later 
Prometheus  fashions  the  body  of  man,  but  the  soul  is  inspired  by  Athene.* 
In  the  Old  Norse  legends  it  is  Odin  who  slays  the  monster  Ymir,  out  of 
which  he  makes  the  world,  and  then  "finds"  the  first  humans,  Ask  and 
Embla,  on  the  sea-shore.'" 

3  Bundahish,  c.  15  (S.  B.  E.  V.  S2ff.)  *  Rig- Veda,  X,  121,  129,  and  very  generally  through- 
out.   '  Sources  in  S.  B.  E.  passim.     '  Comp.  J.  Nikel,  Die  Genesis  in  Keilschriftforschung 

(Freiburg,  1903),  p.  119.    '  Yi-King,  passim  (S.  B.  E.  Vol.  XVI).    «  Tao-Teh-King,  (S.  B.  E. 

Vol.  XL).  9  Hesiod,  Theogony,  vv.  160ff.  '"The  Sibyl's  Song  of  Voluspa,  the  poetic  Edda. 
to  be  found  in  Meyer,  Die  eddische  Kosmogonie,  (Freiburg,  1891).  Comp.  Idem,  Mythologie 
der  Germanen,  (Strassburg.  1903). 


178  CREATION 

NEOLITHIC  AND  RECENT  SYSTEM 

(N,  6)   AUSTRONESIAN  FORM 

The  main  body  of  the  Western- Asia  tic  tradition  is  thus  seen  from  a 
more  or  less  homogeneous  unit,  which  may  be  traced  in  its  essentials  far 
into  Northern  India,  and  not  impossibly  to  the  shores  of  the  Yellow  Sea. 
In  nearly  every  case  a  theogony  stands  in  the  background,  but  is  soon  over- 
shadowed by  a  single  commanding  Personality,  who,  together  with  other 
divinities,  creates  or  educes  the  various  forms  of  being  quite  after  the 
manner  of  the  ancient  Heaven-God.  How  far  can  this  idea  be  traced  to 
the  still  more  distant  Orient,  among  the  neolithic  and  half-civilised  popu- 
lations of  Oceania?  It  will  be  found  that  here  loo  the  ancient  concept  of 
a  watery  chaos,  giving  birth  to  higher  forms  of  matter,  is  again  con- 
spicuous, but  never  without  an  accompanying  "lord",  master,  or  demiurge, 
who,  together  with  minor  spirits,  forms  or  fashions  the  entire  universe  of 
being. 

(1)  Indonesian  Form, — North-West  Borneo 

Of  the  cosmologj'  of  the  Sea-Dayaks  of  Sarawak  we  have  two  accounts, 
which  them  pieced  together  furnish  a  fairly  complete  picture.  For  the 
sake  of  clearness  I  will  bring  this  picture  once  more  before  the  reader. 

(a)  perham's  version 
"Batara  first  expanded  the  heavens, — thick  as  the  crest  of  a  red  rooster. 
Batara  first  created  the  earth, — thick  as  the  fruit  of  the  horse-mango. 
Batara  first  poured  forth  the  waters, — great  as  the  fibres  of  the  rattan. 
Batara  first  cleft  the  clay  in  two  parts. — and  it  tierame  man".' 

(b)    DUNNS   VERSION 

In  the  beginning  there  was  nothing  but  a  huge  expanse  of  water,  over 
which  the  two  creative  spirits,  Ara  and  Irik,  hovered  in  the  form  of  birds. 
They  dived  under,  and  brought  forth  two  solid  substances  of  the  size  of  a 
hen's  egg.  Out  of  one  of  tliese  .\ra  made  the  heaven,  and  Irik  the  earth. 
By  comparing  heaven  and  earth  it  was  found  that  the  earth  was  loo  large. 
So  they  pressed  it  together,  and  mountains  and  valleys  were  formed.  Trees 
and  plants  then  sprouted  forth  from  the  earth  of  their  own  accord.  The 
two  spirits  then  essayed  the  creation  of  man,  first  as  a  red-sapped  tree, 
and  finally  as  a  figure  of  clay,  who  as  male  and  female  became  the  ances- 
tors of  the  race,  known  as  Tannh  Kumpok,  the   'earth-formed". = 

That  there  is  a  connection  between  (a)  and  (b)  seems  certain,  for  Mgr. 
Dunn  distinctly  states  thai  'all  spirits  came  from  Rntara.  who  made  them 
all"." 


'  H.  Ling-Roth,  The  Natives  of  Sarawak  and  British  North  Borneo,  (London.  1896). 
Vol.  L  p.  168ff.  »In  Anthropos.  I.  (1906),  p.  16.  "Ibid.  p.  177.  Comp  also  W  Schmidt, 
Austronesische  Mythologie,  (Vienna,  1910),  p.  4-8. 


CREATION  179 

NEOLITHIC  AND  RECENT  SYSTEM 

(2)  Polynesian  Form 

The  creation  of  the  world  by  sexual  genesis  is  the  leading  idea  of  the 
Polynesian  mythology.  It  indicates  a  rather  advanced,  but  clearly  a 
debased  stage  of  reflective  thought,  as  this  idea  is  either  absent  or  not  all 
pronounced  in  the  earlier  legends,  where  the  supreme  Atum-Ra,  Ashur, 
Ahura,  etc.  is  generally  sexless  and  wifeless,  even  if  not  childless.  It  rep- 
resents the  coarsest  side  of  an  anthropomorphic  divinity,  but  it  shows  that 
in  the  mind  of  neolithic  man  the  forces  of  nature  are  conceived  to  be  real 
human  beings,  that  they  are  not  impersonal  agencies.  The  main  ideas  of 
this  "procreative"  cosmology  are  as  follows : — 

Originally  Rangi,  the  Heaven,  and  Papa,  the  Earth,  were  so  closely 
united  in  wedlock  that  no  ray  of  light  could  penetrate  the  eternal  darkness. 
This  darkness  is  called  Po,  the  primaeval  Night,  with  which  Tangaroa,  the 
lunar  orb,  is  identified  as  the  child  of  Heaven.  With  Po,  the  eternal  Night, 
are  associated  Mutuhei,  the  eternal  Silence,  and  other  children.  Then  are 
born  Atea  Tane,  the  Light,  and  Rongo,  the  Sound,  who  conquer  the  empire 
of  Night  and  of  Silence.  During  this  battle,  Atanua,  the  Dawn,  is  born, 
and  through  the  union  of  Atea  and  Atanua,  Light  and  Dawn,  there  issue  the 
minor  divinities,  and  finally  mankind  in  the  full  light  of  day. 

The  detailed  creation  of  man  is  recounted  with  some  uniformity  in 
these  legends.  In  nearly  every  case  he  issues  from  some  lower  order  of 
being,  yet  not  evolutionally,  but  per  saltum,  which  suggests  the  influx  of 
some  higher  power.  Thus  in  the  Tonga  myth,  man  is  formed  out  of  the 
head  of  a  serpent,  he  does  not  grow  out  of  it,  he  springs  suddenly  into 
being.  As  yet  he  is  without  sex,  without  name.  This  is  well  expressed  by 
the  description  that  is  actually  given  of  him, — Kohai — ,  that  is.  Who?, — a 
naive  attempt  to  describe  what  is  indescribable,  a  being  created  by  the 
"Mother-Dawn",  half  material,  half  spiritual,  but  not  otherwise  picturable, 
not  exactly  definable.  It  is  the  best  way  out  of  a  dilemma,  a  candid  con- 
fession of  ignorance. 

There  are  several  items  in  this  scheme  that  recall  the  classic  Western- 
Asiatic  traditions.  The  primitive  darkness,  the  birth  of  Light,  the  separa- 
tion of  Heaven  and  Earth  implied  in  the  sequel,  these  suggest  Babylonian 
and  even  Hebrew  parallels.  But  while  Elohim  "creates"  heaven  and 
earth,  Rangi  is  himself  the  heaven;  he  creates  all  things,  it  is  true,  yet 
not  "by  His  Word",  but  by  his  secret,  his  connubial,  his  spermatic  power. 
This  is  about  as  far  as  one  could  well  proceed  in  carrying  the  original 
'man'-notion  to  its  logical,  but  decidedly  depraved  conclusion.  When  not 
continually  purified,  the  father-god  tends  to  become  a  merely  human  gen- 
erator, sharing  his  productive  power  with  the  lower  animal  creation. 


*A.  Bastian,  Die  heilige  Sage  der  Polynesier.  (Leipzig.  1881).  p.  29flF.     Comp.  Schmidt, 
Austronesische  Mythologie,  p.  ^-100. 


180  CREATION 

NEOLITHIC  AND  RECENT  SYSTEM 

(N,  7)  Pan-American  Form 

In  the  North-American  mythologies  the  six  different  periods  of  crea- 
tions are  sometimes  vaguely  revealed.  In  the  Pueblo  cosmogony  we  find  a 
fairly  complete  cycle  of  divine  operations,  beginning  with  the  supreme 
"Sun-Father"  and  culminating  in  the  "Wisest  Man".  The  creation-hymn 
opens  in  majestic  strain  and  is  singularly  free  from  frivolous  touches: — ■ 

"Before  the  beginning  of  the  New  Making,  Awonaivilona,  the  Maker 
and  Container  of  all,  the  All-Father,  solely  had  being".  He  then  evolved 
all  things  by  "thinking  Himself  outward  in  space",  etc.  These  divine 
"thoughts"  are  then  projected  in  a  manner  which  implies  a  definite  order: 

(1)  Projection  of  Light,  the  first  cosmic  emanation  of  the  All-Sun, 
being  in  nature  nearest  to  His  own  essence, — the  shining  Father  in  heaven. 

(2)  Projection  of  Water  as  distinguished  from  Light  and  implying  a 
division  of  the  universe  into  upper  and  lower  regions, — the  twins,  Ehkona- 
Yaluna. 

(3)  Projection  of  Heaven,  Earth,  and  Underworld  in  their  present 
form,  known  as 

(a)  Apoyan  Tachu,  the  "All-covering  Fafher-Sky",  the  highest  point 
of  creation, 

(b)  Awitelin  Tsitu,  the  "Fourfold-containing  Mother-Earth",  the  mid- 
dle point. 

(c)  Awiten  Tehulnakwi,  the  "Fourfold  ^^■omb  of  the  World",  the 
lower  regions. 

(4)  Projection  of  Sun,  Moon,  and  Five  Planets,  as  distinct  constella- 
tions, implied  in  the  visible  differentiation  of  the  three  parts  of  creation. 

(5)  Projection  of  the  "Sacred  Corn  planted  by  the  Seven  Stars", — 
who  as  the  quondam  "totems"  occupy  a  prominent  position. 

(6)  Projection  of  the  higher  Life-germs,  including  Man,  who,  how- 
ever, does  not  spring  from  the  semi-humans,  but  rises  out  of  the  ocean  as 
a  perfect  being,  Poshaiyanka,  the  man  of  wisdom,  the  "foremost  of  men". 
That  this  is  accomplished  at  the  bidding  of  Awona  is  evident  from  the  fact 
that  he  cries  to  the  Sun-Father  for  help  from  the  surrounding  waters  of 
the  deluge,  and  that  not  even  the  Raven  and  the  Macaw,  who  are  His  mes- 
sengers, are  brought  into  any  connexion  witli  this  act.  This  is  a  good 
indication  that  the  All-Father  is  transcendent,  that  He  is  a  personal  Being 
above  the  nature-powers. 

This  picture  cannot  but  remind  us  of  the  doublets  and  triads,  the  four, 
and  the  sevenfold  division  of  the  world,  which  we  have  already  certified 
for  the  classic  Orient.  The  Twin-brothers  of  light,  the  three  greater 
Emanations,  the  fourfold  Womb  of  the  world,  the  Seven  Stars  (whether 
as  Planets  or  Pleiades), — all  seem  to  postulate  some  contact  with  the 
ancient  world,  though  many  of  these  thoughts  may  well  have  arisen  inde- 
pendently. 

"  F.  H.  Gushing,  Outlines  of  Zuni  Creation-Myths,  13th.  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ameri- 
can Ethnology,  (Washington,  1891),  pp.  379-384flF.  Comp.  Casanowicz,  Cosmogonic  Parallels, 
d.  c.  supra),  p.  46ff.  for  Babylonia.  Egypt.  PoI>'nesia,  and  North  America. 


CREATION  181 

NEOLITHIC  AND  REGENT  SYSTEM 
Pan-American  Form 

The  similar  position  of  Tirawa,  the  "Spirit-Father"  of  the  Pawnees, 
the  "Power  above  that  moves  things",  and  with  whom  red  man  "lives"  at 
the  hour  of  death,  shows  that  these  ideas  extend  over  a  wide  portion  of 
the  more  advanced  Neolithic-American  zone,  they  are  characteristic  of 
the  highest  North-American  culture.  Their  strong  personality,  combined 
with  a  forcible  eschatology,  raises  these  figures  far  above  the  simple  Sky- 
Wakandas  of  the  prairies." 

As  a  link  between  North  and  South  America,  the  Mexican  Aztecs 
deserve  at  least  a  passing  notice.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the 
antiquity  of  their  traditions,  the  commanding  position  of  Quetzalcoatl 
and  his  three  brothers  is  still  to  be  accounted  for.  As  the  sons  of  the  Infi- 
nite Being,  the  Mayan  Hunabku,  they  are  evidently  demiurges,  to  whom 
the  creation  of  the  world  has  been  entrusted.  Fire,  sun,  heavens,  waters, 
and  fishes, — all  are  directly  from  their  hands, — and  from  the  flesh  of  the 
great  Fish,  Cipactli,  was  formed  the  solid  earth,  and  the  first  man  and 
woman,  Cipactonal  and  Oxomuco.  The  dignity  of  the  legend  is  however 
considerably  impaired  by  the  continual  strife  between  the  four  brothers, 
who  are  each  jealous  of  the  other's  work,  and  the  suggestion  of  a  primaeval 
dualism,  partly  overcome  by  the  triumph  of  the  elder  brother,  is  too  strong 
to  be  resisted.'    (Comp.  ancient  Persia). 

As  to  the  South-American  Incas,  I  have  already  shown  that  Pach- 
acamac  is  the  "World-Soul",  "advancing  the  sun  beyond  all  the  stars  of 
heaven".  But  he  is  also  the  son  of  Wiracocha,  the  pre-Inca  Sun-god,  who 
is  described  as  the  "White  One,  the  Creator  and  Possessor  of  all  things". 
As  such  he  shares  in  the  divine  qualities  of  his  father,  who  arose  from  the 
bosom  of  the  Lake  Titicaca,  and  presided  over  the  building  of  cities.  He 
created  the  luminaries  and  placed  them  in  the  sky,  and  peopled  the  earth 
with  inhabitants.  After  punishing  his  rebellious  creatures  by  lightning, 
he  became  reconciled  to  them,  and  taught  them  all  the  arts.  Another 
version  reveals  distinctly  Asiatic  traits.  Wichima,  the  half-brother  of 
Pachacarnac,  obtains  from  his  father  three  eggs, — gold,  silver,  and 
copper — ,  from  which  princes,  females,  and  plebeans  spring  forth, — an 
idea  which  recalls  once  more  the  "world-eggs"  of  India,  Phoenicia,  and 
ancient  Egypt.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  Pachacarnac  is  an  expan- 
sion of  a  former  solar  deity  after  the  manner  of  Bel-Marduk  in  Babylon, 
whom  in  some  respects  he  resembles.' 

This  must  suffice  as  a  general  delineation  of  the  main  currents  of 
thought  on  this  subject,  the  Central  and  South  American  data  being  intro- 
duced simply  by  way  of  additional  illustration.  Those  who  are  interested 
in  the  subject  should  consult  the  sources  given  on  pp.  H7,  302,  and  386. 


'G.  B.  Grinnell,  Pawnee  Hero  Stories  and  Folk-Tales  (New  York,  1889).  Also,  Idem. 
Blackfoot  Lodge  Tales  (N.  Y.  1892),  both  standard.  'See  the  sources  given  above,  p.  119. 
*Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  Royal  Commentaries  of  Peru  (op.  cit.  supra).  Comp.  Ehrenreich, 
Siidamerikanische  Mythologie,  pp.  i3,  41  £F. 


182  CREATION 

RECENT  WORLD-SYMBOLS 

To  obtain  an  adequate  idea  of  the  general  tendency  of  speculation  dur- 
ing this  period,  its  graphic  symbolism  cannot  be  passed  over  without 
revealing  some  important  links  in  the  history  of  its  development.  Among 
these  the  Star,  the  Triangle,  and  the  Swastika  will  be  found  to  represent 
three  distinct  themes  of  creation  and  to  correspond  to  some  extent  to  the 
order  in  which  they  appear,  being  typical  of  the  early  neolithic,  the  cop- 
per, and  the  bronze  ages  respectively.  While  this  order  is  not  always 
demonstrable,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  they  furnish  the  basis  for  the 
elaborate  astrological  combinations  of  later  times. 

(1)  The  Star  .^  for  the  "World-Soul"  (Anutu). 

This  symbol  is  the  earliest  Babylonian  hieroglyph  that  we  know  of, 
and  is  certified  for  the  entire  neolithic  belt,  being  found  on  the  menhirs, 
dolmens,  rocks,  and  pottery  of  this  period,  either  in  simple  four-rayed  or 
in  more  complicated  eight-rayed  form.  The  Egyptian  pentagon  and 
the  Chinese  cross  are  variations  of  the  same  sign.  From  what  has  been 
said  in  the  preceding  chapter,  it  is  highly  probable  that  this  is  a  general 
astronomical  symbol  for  that  vague  cosmic  personality  that  is,  theoreti- 
cally, at  least,  the  "life"  or  "spirit"  of  the  universe,  and  which  seems  to 
be  postulated  at  the  back  of  all  the  solar  or  stellar  phenomena. 

(2)  The  Triangle      yN.    for  the  "Cosmic  Triad"  (Kissatu). 

Next  in  antiquity  is  the  triangle,  by  which  the  triple  theme  of  Heaven, 
Earth,  and  Underworld,  or  some  other  divine  combination  is  sought  to  be 
expressed.  Originally  the  "Allness"  or  Perfection  of  things, — "Kissatu" — , 
it  became,  in  India  and  China,  the  symbol  of  the  great  "Trimurti". 

(3)  The    Swastika  M-i    for    the    "Life-Mystery"  (Assatu). 


Finally  we  have  the  mysterious  Fylfot  or  Swastika,  whose  phallic 
meaning  some  will  regard  as  certain  while  to  the  majority  it  will  suggest 
the  more  obvious  theme  of  the  rotating  sun  or  fire-wheel.  In  both  cases, 
however,  the  idea  of  fecundation  by  solar  or  germinal  "fire"  is  clearly  im- 
plied, "Assatu".  Ashur,  Ishtar,  and  the  Hindoo  Asuras  are  one  and  all 
"flaming"  divinities,  and  the  Swastika  brings  out  the  dynamic  or  repro- 
ductive side  of  the  deity. 

Analogous  Radiograms 
The  Triskelion^r    the  Volute  Va^and  the  Meander  L-i-i  are  evidently 

'  (/^  EJel 

variations  of  the  above,  and  probably  stand  for  the  same  notions.' 


'Materials  in  Barton,  Babylonian  Writing,  Nos.  13  (Anu),  5,  6,  7  (Ba-Zu-Su),  353 
(Kissatu),  261,  419  (Irsitu),  186  (Isatu),  1,  353  (As,  Assur),  116  (Istar,  Inina),  196, 
261  (Arallu),  S(X)  (Assatu).  Delitzsch,  Assyrisches  Handworterbuch,  pp.  94.  134,  l.?6, 
143,  148,  154,  360  (Kissat-Ilani,  Su,  Kis,  Sar).  Danzel,  op.  cit.  PI.  XXXVIff.  T.  Wilson,  The 
Swastika,   (Washington.  1896)  p.  76Sff. 


THE  BABYLONIAN  ZODIAC 
AN  ADVANCED  PLANISPHERE 


SHOWIMO  THE  "MUSIC    OF  TH£   8PHEBES" 
IN  COSMIC,  FLANETABV,  AND  ZODIACAI.  OBIEirrATION 


UtOl*4 


^ATEF^M^^ 


(1)   REALM  OF  LIGHT— ANU-BEL-ENLIL-EA 
(S)    REALM    OF    WATER — APSC-LAKMC-LAKAMU 
(3)    REALM   OF  LAND — BEL-MARDCK-NEBO 
(•»)   REALM  OF  STARS — 8AJIAS-8IN-I8TAB 

(5)  REALM    OF   ANIMALS — BEL-MARDUK-TIAMAT 

(6)  REALM  OF  MAN— AOAPA-ABCBC-EABANI 

(7)  REALM  OF  DARKNESS — ARALC-BEL-NEBOAI^EA 


COSMIC  TRIAD  (DTVINE  SIGN) 
DIVIDINO   COUPLE    (HYDROSPHERE) 
CREATING   DEMIURGE    (Tree  of  Life) 

THE  se^t;n  planetarx  gods 

THE  TWELVE  ZODIACAL  GODS 
CULTURE-HERO  (WORLD  SERPENT) 
LAND  OF  SHADES  (UNDERWORLD) 


F«R  SOURCES  CON8CT.T  THE  KUDUBU-8T0NE8  AND  THE  TABLES  OF  DESTINY,  (ANU-ENLIL 
SERIES),  APUD  aASTBOW,  KCOLER,  JEBEUIAS,  ETC.  OP.  CIT.  INFBA. 


CREATION  183 

REGENT  WORLD-SYMBOLS 
The  Babylonian  Zodiac 

But  triangular  and  quadrilateral  themes  are  not  the  only  ones.  The 
pentagon,  the  hexagon,  and  even  the  heptagon  appear  very  early,  the 
latter  being  the  symbolic  expression  for  the  "holy  seven",  the  sun,  the 
moon,  and  the  five  planets,  and  then  for  the  seven  days  of  the  week. 
Another  line  of  reasoning,  that  of  counting  the  number  of  days  during 
which  sun  and  moon  complete  their  wanderings  through  the  starry  vault, 
led  to  the  discovery  of  the  "twelve  houses  of  the  sun"  and  the  "twenty- 
eight  stations  of  the  moon",  that  is  the  solar  year  and  the  lunar  month 
(roughly  12x30=360),  and  thus  the  broad  basis  of  the  duodecimal  and 
sexagesimal  system  had  been  laid. 

In  order  to  picture  the  world  as  it  appeared  to  the  first  Babylonian 
"astronomers",  we  must  not  carry  our  twentieth-century  zodiac,  or  even 
our  planets,  into  the  age  of  Hammurabi.  The  former  had  just  begun  to  be 
sketched,  while  the  latter  were  only  five  in  number,  more  or  less  visible 
to  the  human  eye.  And  so,  in  going  back  to  the  days  when  the  first  map 
of  the  heavens  began  to  be  made,  we  must  not  expect  anything  either 
complete  or  accurately  scientific.  A  few  kudurms,  or  boundary-stones, 
are  about  all  we  have  in  the  line  of  inscriptions,  and  these  are  often  so 
jumbled  and  incoherent  that  it  is  difficult  to  draw  any  certain  conclusions. 
It  is  only  from  the  astrological,  or  divination-literature,  here  fairly 
copious,  that  definite  results  can  be  obtained.  In  the  following  diagram, 
which  is  only  ideal, — not  the  copy  of  any  existing  print — ,  I  have 
endeavored  to  indicate  how  the  heavens  appeared  to  the  early  Chaldeans, 
and  what  meanings  were  assigned  to  the  different  bodies  and  to  their 
position  with  regard  to  the  ecliptic,  during  the  age  when  the  spring- 
equinox  was  in  the  constellation  of  Taurus. 

(1)  Cosmic  Orientation:— TYiQ  first  thought  that  will  naturally  sug- 
gest itself  to  the  mind  of  man  is  that  of  "the  heavens  above,  the  earth 
beneath,  and  the  waters  that  are  under  the  earth"  (Exod.  20,  4),  an  idea 
which  can  be  traced  in  its  germ  to  the  sky,  wind,  and  water-spirits  of  the 
earliest  times.  This  in  its  more  recent  form  is  expressed  by  the  cosmic 
triad,  for  which  the  early  Babylonian  furnishes  probably  the  model.  Thus 
we  have  Anu-Bel-Enlil-Ea  for  the  highest,  middle  and  lowest  points  of  the 
universe,  to  which  correspond  to  some  extent  the  original  Egyptian  Osiris- 
Isis-Set-Horus,  the  Assyrian  Ashur-lshtar-Adad  (Heaven-Earth-Storm), 
the  Indo-Iranian  Asura-Mithra-Soma  (Heaven-Sun-Earth),  the  Hindoo 
Brahma-Vishnu-Siim  (Heaven-Air-Moisture),  the  Chinese  Khien-Khwan- 
Kan  (Heaven-Earth-Man),  the  Polynesian  Rangi-Papa-Tangaroa  (Sun- 
Earth-Moon),  the  N.  American  Tachu,  Tsitu,  Tehulnakwi  (Sky-Earth- 
Underworld),  etc. 


184  CREATION 

RECENT  WORLD-SYMBOLS 

(2)  Planetary  Orientation: — Next  in  importance  are  the  seven  mov- 
able bodies  of  llie  firmament,  which  in  later  times  were  associated  with 
the  days  of  the  week,  and  then  with  the  zodiacal  signs,  as  under: — Samas- 
ApoUo  (Lion),  Midday-Sun, — Sunday,  Sin-Diana  (Crab),  Scarab-Moon, — 
Monday,  Niiiib-Mars  (Lion), — Tuesday,  Nebo-Mercury  (Scorpion), — 
Wednesday,  Marduk-Jupiter  (Bull), — Thursday,  Utar-Venus  (Virgin), — 
Friday,  Nergal-Saturn  (Waterman), — Saturday.  Of  these.  Sun,  Moon,  and 
Venus,  are  indefinitely  ancient,  as  are  also  the  Pleiades. 

(3)  Zodiacal  Orientation: — Having  obtained  the  four  points  of  the 
universe  by  dividing  the  middle  line  into  East  and  West,  the  next  step  was 
to  associate  these  points  with  the  ecliptic,  or  path  of  the  sun,  which,  in 
the  age  of  Taurus  (about  2000  B.  G.) — ,  the  period  during  which  the 
skeleton  of  the  zodiac  first  began  to  be  mapped  out — ,  was  known  as  the 
Lion,  the  Waterman,  the  Bull,  and  the  Scorpion,  the  orientation  being  in 
every  case  to  the  south,  as  in  the  Mohammedan  Kibla  and  the  modern 
Roman  system.  Thus,  the  Lion  as  the  highest  point  was  the  realm  of  Anu 
and  other  heavenly  ones,  while  the  Waterman  as  the  winter  solstice 
belonged  to  Ea,  the  Lord  of  the  Deep  [Apsu).  Between  the  two  was  the 
realm  of  Bel,  who  as  the  "Lord  of  the  Lands"  became  divided  between  the 
Bull  and  the  Scorpion,  the  spring  and  the  autumn  equinox.  (Compare  the 
four  Beasts  of  Ezekiel  (1,  10),  and  the  Apocalypse  (4,  7),  and  the  four 
Winds  and  four  Gospels  of  Irenaeus  (Adv.  Haer.  3,  11).  In  the  middle 
was  the  "sea  of  glass",  with  the  throne  of  heaven.  Here  Waterman=: 
"Flying  Eagle").  This  identification  is  rendered  increasingly  certain  by 
the  signs  of  the  inner  zodiac,  in  which  Samas-Ninnib  is  the  mace  with  the 
"Lion's"  head  (=Ann),  Apsn-Nergal  is  the  "Water-Eagle"  {=Ea),  Marduk 
is  the  eastern  "Bull",  and  Nebo  the  western  "Scorpion"  (Equation:  Bel- 
Marduk-Nebo).  Moreover  the  intermediate  signs  should  also  be  con- 
sidered:— Lachmu  and  Lachamu  for  the  Twilight, — the  "Twins"  (?), — 
Sin-Diana  for  the  spider-moon  or  scarab, — the  "Crab" — Utar-Venus  for 
the  "Virgin",  (Triad:  Samas-Sin-Istar),  AnSar  and  KiSar  for  equilibrium, — 
the  "Balance", — Pazag  for  shooting  Centaur  (or  scorpion-man), — the 
"Archer", — Mummu  for  wisdom, — the  "Goat", — Nunu  for  profundity, — 
the  "Fish", —  (Triad:  Mummu- Apsu-Nunu=Ea),  and  finally  Tiamat  for 
dragon-head  near  Marduk — the  "Ram".  While  exact  divisions  were  not 
fixed  until  far  later  times,  it  seems  quite  certain  that  some  such  arrange- 
ment of  celestials,  terrestrials  and  internals  is  hinted  at, — the  main  features 
can  hardly  be  accidental.' 


'Sources  in  F.  Winkler.  Himmels  und  Weltenbild  der  Babylonier  (Leipzig,  1903),  E. 
Stiikken.  Astralmythen  (Leipzig,  1907),  P.  Kugler  S.  J.  Sternkunde  und  Sterndienst  in 
Babel  (Freiburg,  1911),  A.  Jeremias,  The  Old  Testament  in  the  Light  of  the  Ancient  East, 
(Leipzig-New  York,  1911),  M.  Jastrow,  Die  Religion  Babvloniens  und  Assyriens  (Giessen, 
1912),  Vol.  n.  pp.  41Sff   679ff 


CREATION  185 

REGENT  WORLD-SYMBOLS 
The  Jewish  Kabbala  and  the  Johanninb  Wisdom 

The  Babylonian  Talmud  is  naturally  replete  with  astral  allusions.  It 
is  more  especially  among  the  Jewish  writers  of  the  Kabbala  that  we  meet 
with  an  over-scruplous  desire  to  adapt  the  pagan  wisdom  to  the  letter  of 
the  law,  to  find  in  every  symbol  of  the  orient  a  direct  allusion  to  the  "faith 
once  delivered".  In  this  manner  Jehovah  and  His  seven  archangels  were 
the  rulers  of  the  Father-Sky  and  the  seven  planets,  many  arbitrary  names 
were  invented  in  order  to  make  the  resemblance  more  striking,  and  the 
whole  universe  was  mapped  out  as  a  cryptic  revelation  of  the  divine 
Mind.' 

These  ideas  are  clearly  more  ancient  than  the  mediaeval  theosophy. 
They  find  their  roots  in  Sargon  of  Akkad,  in  Moses  and  the  Prophets,  in 
Pythagoras  and  Philo,  and  were  finally  welded  into  a  higher  unity  by  that 
master  of  mystic  wisdom,  St.  John,  the  Divine. 

(1)  Cosmic  Interpretation: — The  old  triad, — Heaven,  Earth,  and 
Ocean — ,  is  now  the  symbol  of  the  Trinity,  the  Father  in  Heaven,  the  Logos 
on  Earth,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  in  Wafer  and  Fire; — the  first  Sign  of  the 
Cross,  the  baptismal  formula.  Though  the  signs  are  ancient,  the  things 
signified  are  "concealed".  "I  will  utter  things  concealed  from  the  foun- 
daton  of  the  world".^ 

(2)  Planetary  Inter pretaiion: — The  seven  stars  of  the  ancients  are 
the  seven  Spirits  of  Isaiah  and  the  "Seven  Stars"  and  "Seven  Spirits"  of 
St.  John,  applied  also  to  the  seven  "angels",  the  seven  "lamps",  the  seven 
"candlesticks",  and  finally  the  seven  sacraments.  "Seek  Him  who  made 
the  seven  stars  and  Orion"  (either  planets  or  pleiades).  Again,  "The 
mystery  of  the  seven  stars  which  thou  sawest  in  my  right  hand,  and  the 
seven  golden  candlesticks".' 

(3)  Zodiacal  Interpretation: — The  four  points  of  the  universe  are  the 
four  Beasts  of  Ezekiel  and  the  four  Faces  of  St.  John, — the  Ox,  the  Lion, 
the  Man,  and  the  Eagle — ,  certainly  Cherubim,  or  adoring  divinities.  For 
St.  Irenaeus  they  are  also  the  four  winds  of  heaven  and  the  four  gospels. 
The  primaeval  ocean  is  the  "Sea  of  Glass",  with  the  Merkaba,  or  Throne 
of  Crystal.  As  to  the  inner  zodiac,  we  have  Christ  as  ttie  Ram,  or  the 
"Lamb  with  seven  horns",  as  the  Bull  or  the  Ox,  the  symbol  of  "strength", 
as  the  celestial  Twins,  possibly  for  His  two  "witnesses",  as  the  Scarab  or 
the  "Lord  of  life",  as  the  "Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Juda",  as  the  "Virgin-King", 
as  the  Balance,  or  the  "Son  of  Justice",  as  the  Scorpion,  as  the  Archer,  as 
the  Scapegoat,  as  the  Waterman,  and  above  all  things  as  the  Fish,  the  most 
distinctive  symbol  of  the  apostolic  church." 


'See  Kohut,  Angelologie  im  Talmud.  ^  Matt.  13,  35.  John,  1,  14.  3,  5.  »  Comp.  Is.  11. 
2.  Job,  9,  9.  38,  31.  Amos,  5.  8.  Apoc.  1,  20ff.  *  Is.  6,  2.  Ezek.  1,  10.  Dan.  7,  2.  Ap.  4,  2ff. 
'Many  of  these  signs  have  been  identified  in  the  Catacombs.  Comp.  Ap.  5,  6.  4,  7.  11,  3.  2, 
10.  5,  5.  14,  4.  6,  6.  9.  5.  6.  2.  13,  8.  7,  17.  19,  9.  and  the  sacrament-chapels. 


186  CREATION 

RECENT  WORLD-SYMBOLS 

(4)  Supplementary  Sigm: — In  addition  to  the  twelve  zodiacal  points 
as  vaguely  symbolical  of  the  twelve  characters  of  Christ,  we  have : — 

(a)  Christ  as  the  King  of  Heaven,  seated  on  the  white  horse,  and  iden- 
tified with  the  morning  star, — "I  am  the  bright,  the  morning  star"." 

(b)  Mary  as  the  Queen  of  Heaven,  the  "woman  clothed  with  the  sun" 
and  "upon  her  head  a  crown  of  twelve  stars" — "Sinless  and  beautiful, 
Star  of  the  Sea".' 

(c)  Joseph  as  the  star  of  Bethlehem, — "We  have  seen  his  star  in  the 
East",  the  star  of  the  Messiah.' 

(d)  Lucifer  as  the  falling  star,  "Wormwood",  the  "seven-headed 
dragon",  etc.* 

The  Apocalyptic  Signs  Are  a  New  Revelation 

In  the  accompanying  diagram  I  have  brought  together  a  few  of  the 
more  prominent  "converted"  signs,  in  order  to  show  that,  however  ancient 
and  venerable  the  pagan  zodiac  may  be  taken  to  be,  it  can  hardly  serve  as 
more  than  the  outer  garment  of  the  new  dispensation,  it  is  the  mere  frame- 
work for  an  enirely  original  picture.  Where  before  we  had  the  firewheel 
and  the  swastika,  we  now  have  the  beautiful  Cross  with  its  saving  rays  of 
light,  where  former  ages  saw  nothing  but  sensual  and  phallic  symbols, 
they  now  see  the  Son  of  man  triumphing  over  the  eternal  serpent.  That 
these  are  entirely  new  ideas  is  evident  from  the  most  cursory  inspection 
of  their  content;  it  is  not  a  question  of  reading  a  few  cryptic  meanings  into 
the  symbolism  of  the  heavens,  but  of  interpreting  the  entire  celestial  phe- 
nomena in  the  light  of  a  unique  supernatural  fact,  a  fact  which  makes 
Christ  and  His  Heavenly  Mother  the  illuminating  principle  of  a  new  order 
of  creation.  It  will  thus  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  what  was  unknown  to 
the  pagan  world  is  dimly  foreshadowed  in  the  prophets  and  fully  revealed 
in  the  wonderful  visions  of  St.  John  the  Divine.  In  this  way  it  will  become 
more  clear  than  ever  that  the  old  heavens  do  not  give  birth  to  the  new,  but 
are  rather  transformed  by  the  latter,  made  to  be  the  symbols  of  a  unique 
dispensation. 

The  New  Cryptograms 

(5)  The  Mystic  Numbers: — Finally  we  get  the  following  numerical 
values: — 1,  for  the  Divine  Unity;  2,  for  the  double  Nature;  3,  for  the  Holy 
Trinity,  and  theological  virtues;  4,  for  the  four  gospels  and  the  cardinal 
virtues;  5,  for  the  divine  missions;  6,  for  the  hexahemeron;  7,  for  the  sab- 
bath, the  seven  spirits,  the  seven  heavens,  the  seven  sacraments;  12,  for 
the  twelve  apostles,  the  twelve  foundations;  666,  for  antichrist,  perverted 
power,  perdition.  Their  separation  from  the  prehistoric  signs  is  beau- 
tifully described  by  St.  Thomas  in  I,  qu.  32,  a.  1. 


•Apoc.  19,  11.  22,  16.  'Ap.  12,  1.  (Star  of  the  Sea  transferred  from  Ishtar,  the  even- 
ing star).  'Matt.  2,  2.  (the  great  planetary  conjunction,  or  possibly  a  supernatural  star). 
•Ap.  8,  11.  12,  3.  10  Further  light  on  this  subject  in  Jeremias,  op.  cit.  and  W.  Ramsay,  Was 
Oirist  born  in  Bethlehem,  p.  215.     See  also  under  Redemption  below. 


THE  CONVERTED  ZODIAC 

OR 

THE  CHRISTIAN  HEAVENS 


t\ 


^  ©APE  GO  aT 


(1)    REALM  OF   LIGHT— DIVINE  SIGN— HOLY   TRINITY— SON   OF   MAN— (COSJUC) 
(X)    REALM  OF  WATER— VEIL  OF  MYSTERY— SEA  OF  GLASS— MERKABA— RAINBOW 
(8)    REALM  OF  LAND — CREATING  LOGOS— TREE  OF  LIFE — PARADISE — (COSMIC) 
(4)    REALM  OF   STARS — THE   SEVEN   SPIRITS   AND   THE   STAR   OF  BETHLEHEM — (PLANE- 
TARY) 
(8)   REALM  OF  ANIMAI.S— THE  TWELVE  CHARACTERS  OF  CHRIST    (ZODIACAL  SIGNS) 

(6)  REALM  or  MAN— CHRIST  TRIUMPHINO  OVER  THE  FALLING  STAR   (LUCIFER) 

(7)  RE.ALM  OF  DARKNESS— SHEOL— GEHENNA— OUTER  DARKN^ESS— UNDERWORLD 

FOR  SOURCES  AND  IDENTIFICATIONS  SEE  THE  ACCOMPANYING  TEXT. 


CREATION  187 

COMBINED  DATA 

To  obtain  a  general  impression  of  the  creation-idea  as  pictured  in  the 
mind  of  prehistoric  man,  it  will  be  necessary  to  combine  the  foregoing 
material  in  such  a  manner  that  the  main  drift  and  tendency  of  prehistoric 
thought  may  the  more  easily  be  recognised.  This  will  resolve  itself  info 
three  questions,  from  the  answers  to  which  some  such  picture  may  be 
reconstructed.  These  concern:  (1)  The  Manner  of  Creation,  (direct  or 
indirect?),  (2)  The  Order  of  Creation,  (logical  or  chronological?),  (3)  The 
Extent  of  Creation,  (continuous  or  periodic?).  Though  it  will  be  dilTicult 
to  give  a  satisfactory  answer  to  these  questions  in  every  single  instance, 
the  combined  weight  of  a  considerable  number  of  data  should  be  suffi- 
cient to  establish  a  solid  preponderance  in  favor  of  one  or  other  of  these 
alternatives,  or  at  least  to  shed  some  light  on  their  general  tendencies. 

I.    PRIMITIVE  AGE 

(1)  Manner  of  Creation 

(A)  Kari  creates  directly  the  entire  spiritual  world, — for  Pie  is  depend- 
ent. He  creates  indirectly  the  entire  material  world, — for  Pie  is  a  demiurge. 
Pie  fashions  the  body  of  man,  but  "Kari  gives  them  souls"  (direct  inhala- 
tion). Peng  is  identical  with  Kari,  and  Tulian,  Pirman,  essentially  the 
same,  the  position  of  Pie  being  paralleled  to  some  extent  by  Lanyut  and 
To-Entah.  (B)  Puluga  creates  without  demiurge(?)  the  material  and 
spiritual  worlds.  As  a  spider.  He  "spins  out"  the  world,  but  creates  the 
first  human  pair  directly.  (D)  Amaka  and  Quat-Marawa  are  also  spin- 
ning spiders,  but  Ba-lingo-Ka-langi-Samoa  are  super-human — ,  they 
"breathe  into  man  the  breath  of  life".  (F)  Baiame  creates  all  things 
directly,  Gregorally  being  a  divine  "son".  Bundjil  is  Creator  of  all.  He 
makes  two  men  out  of  clay,  first  a  black  and  then  a  less  black  one.  He 
"breathes"  into  their  mouths  and  they  live.  Marra-Boona  is  apparently 
Creator,  He  forms  the  first  man  with  tail  but  without  knee-joints;  then 
the  tail  is  cut  off  and  the  joints  lubricated (?).  (H)  Kaang  makes  the  first 
man  whole  and  entire.  Tailed  baboons  occur  later.  (K)  Kamushini  spins 
the  universe  out  of  his  brain.  He  has  made  men  out  of  arrows  and  women 
out  of  maize-stampers, — the  first  human  pair. 

These  examples  are  sufficient  to  show, — and  they  may  be  multiplied 
indefinitely — ,  that  in  the  mind  of  the  primitive  savage  there  is  a  strong 
persuasion  that  he  and  all  things  came  directly  from  the  hand  of  the 
Creator.  This  is  more  especially  the  case  with  the  soul  of  man,  which  not 
even  a  demiurge  is  capable  of  producing.  Even  the  "soul-bird"  comes 
from  paradise. 


188  CREATION 

COMBINED  DATA 
(2)  Order  of  Creation 

A  certain  chronological  sequence  of  world-events  seems  to  be  vaguely 
revealed  in  the  earliest  legends,  as  witness: — 

(A)  Kari-Peng-Tuhan  creates  (i)  Threefold  Heavens,  (2)  Ple-Lanyut- 
To-Entah,  the  demiurge,  (3)  Sky,  Wind,  and  Earth-spirits,  (4)  Paradise- 
Bridge,  connecting  the  stars,  (5)  The  Earth  and  the  Underworld,  (through 
Pie),  (6)  The  body  of  man,  (through  Pie),  and  the  soul  directly. 

(B)  Puluf/a  in  a  similar  manner  (1)  The  Sky-Palace,  (2)  Pijchor,  the 
only  "son",  (3)  Numerous  Sky-spirits,  etc.  (4)  Paradise-Bridge,  (5)  Earth 
and  Underworld,  (6)  The  first  humans,  Tomo  and  Ghana. 

(D)  Amaka-Quat-Marawa  spins  out  Heaven  and  Earth,  Light  and 
Darkness,  Storms,  Rains,  Winds,  Seasons,  and  finally  Man,  known  as  Adja 
and  Djaja,  etc. 

(F)  Daiame's  creation  is  in  all  respects  similar  to  (A)  and  (B).  The 
same  of  Bundjil,  Daramulun,  etc.  as  far  as  known  to  us.  The  order  of 
material  creation  is  generally:  Earth,  Trees,  Man,  or — mineral,  vegetable, 
and  animal  kingdom. 

(G)  Waka-Kaang.  etc.  are  universal  Makers,  but  details  are  not  forth- 
coming. 

(K)  Kamushini  resembles  (D)  and  (E).  He  spins  out  Heaven  and 
Earth,  Sun,  Moon,  and  Stars,  and  is  the  Father  of  Keri  and  Kame,  the  first 
human  twins. 

We  therefore  get  the  following  outline  of  creative  epochs: — 

I.  (1)  The  Heavens  in  general,  the  abode  of  divinity,  the  "Crystal 
Light     Palace",  synonymous  with  "Light",  the  "shining  place",  etc. 

IL  (2)  The  Demiurge,  or  "only  son",  who  as  creator  of  the  material 
Water  world  separates  the  higher  from  the  lower  creation  by  "brood- 
ing clouds". 

in.  (3)  The  Sky,  Wind,  Earth,  and  Water-spirits,  who  as  angels  or 
Earth  archangels,  "breathe"  on  the  shapeless  earth  and  evolve  the  con- 
tinents. 

IV.  (4)  The  Paradise-Bridge  spanning  from  the  earth  to  tlie  sun. 
Stars      moon,  and  stars,  the  latter  the  abode  of  the  blessed. 

V.  (5)  The  Earth  and  the  Underworld  as  productive  of  plants,  ani- 
Animals    mals,  serpents,  monsters,  and  demons,  the  good  and  the  evil 

creation. 

VI.  (6)  The  first  human  couple,  made  out  of  earth  and  water,  and 
Man      directly  fashioned  in  the  image  of  divinity,  "inhaling"  the  divine 

life. 

(3)  Extent  of  Cre^vtion 

In  every  case  the  creative  action  is  continuous  and  universal,  there  are 
no  breaks.  Only  under  (B)  is  the  origin  of  the  wicked  spirits  undeter- 
mined.   General  ideogram  reveals  Sky-,  Wind-  and  Thunder-fruit-God. 

From  the  combined  material  it  is  not  loo  nnich  to  assert  that  creation 
is  iookrd  upon  as  direct,  immediate,  and  advancing  in  great  stages. 


CREATION  189 

COMBINED  DATA 

II.    TOTEMIGAGE 

The  earliest  totemic  cosmogony, — that  of  the  Munda-Kol  of  central 
India, — is  still  comparatively  pure  and  undeniably  biblical.  In  the  more 
advanced  regions  of  America,  Australia,  and  Eastern  Africa,  we  note  the 
gradual  intrusion  of  a  naturalistic  system,  as  follovi's: — 

(1)  Manner  op  Creation 

(M,  1)  Sill  Bonga  is  a  universal  "maker"  who  lives  in  the  sun,  or  is 
the  sun.  But  he  is  a  Marang  Burn,  a  nature-deity,  who  creates  by  "hatch- 
ing", "breeding  over  the  waters",  developing  mankind  out  of  a  swan's  egg, 
etc.    His  spirits  are  largely  burns,  of  half  animal  and  even  mineral  form. 

(M,  2)  Mulungu  as  the  Heavenly  One  is  all-powerful,  as  the  Sun-totem 
he  is  a  vague  mystery-force,  concealed  in  every  plant  or  animal  in  nature. 
The  lesser  mulungus  are  mere  magical  centers  of  fertilisation. 

(M,  3)  AUjira-Tukura  of  Central  Australia,  though  theoretically 
supreme,  has  entirely  lost  the  power  of  creating.  He  has  become  part  of 
the  world  which  is  eternal,  self-winding,  and  self-depending, — an  auto- 
matic machine.  Creation  has  become  immanent,  a  secret  potency  con- 
tained in  all  being.  Entities  are  multiplied  by  magic,  more  especially  by 
the  emu-totem. 

(M,  4)  The  Wakanda  of  North-America  is  of  very  similar  character. 
He  is  the  "fountain"  of  all  the  wakans,  yet  he  is  himself  a  wakan,  a  "mys- 
tery" of  nature,  a  mere  link  in  the  endless  chain  of  existence,  an  evolving 
divinity. 

It  will  be  seen  that  while  a  personal  Creator  is  still  in  the  background, 
independent  evolutionism  is  gradually  beginning  to  assert  itself. 

(2)  Order  op  Evolution 

(M,  1)  The  order  in  which  the  Sun-spirit  evolves  the  creation  is  this: — 

(1)  The  High  Heaven,  (the  sun),  partly  identified  with  himself.  (2) 
Sky,  Wind,  and  Water-Bwriw,  who  produce  the  primaeval  ocean.  (3)  The 
tortoise,  the  crab  and  the  leach,  the  latter  of  which  procures  the  clay  out 
of  which  the  earth  is  formed.  (4)  Herbs,  plants,  and  trees,  followed  by 
(5)  birds,  animals,  and  higher  bums,  known  as  manita  and  banita 
bongos, — good  and  bad  spirits,  and  finally  (6)  Man,  who  as  Tola  Haram 
and  Tola  Buri,  slip  from  the  swan's  egg. 

(M,  2)  A  similar  order  is  probably  traceable  in  the  mu?un,9W-system  of 
Africa. 

(M,  3)  In  the  Australian  system  all  things  were  evolved  in  "dreamtime". 
The  only  order  is  from  inkaras,  through  amungas,  to  interinteras,  showing 
a  gradation  from  life-units,  through  lizards,  to  half-human  forms. 

(M,  4)  In  North  America  The  Seven  Great  Wakandas  reveal  a  similar 
grouping,  but  are  equally  vague.  No  distinct  time-order  has  been  pre- 
served. 


190  CREATION 

COMBINED  DATA 

Periods  of  Evolution 
But  while  a  clear-cut  division  of  works  or    'days"  is  hardly  to  be 
expected,  there  are  vague  hints  of  a  chronological  succession,  somewhat 
as  follows: 

I.         (1)  The  Sun  as  the  first  emanation,  tantamount  to  "Light",  or 
Light     Sun-spirit,  the  "father  of  all  the  totems",  the  first  mystery. 

n.         (2)  The  primaeval  Ocean  measured  by  the  Australian  Dream- 
Water    Time,   and    illuminated   by   the    Moon-wakanda,    the    second 
mystery. 
in.        (3)    The   Earth   as   the   Life-Mother,   the    buru-wakan-inkara 
Earth     germinal  units  as  evolving  under  the  Morning  Star,  the  third 
mystery. 

IV.  (4)  The  same  units  as  "grass-seed"  totems,  fecundated  by  the 
Plants     Thunder-Being  and  other  Sky-wakandas,  the  fourth  mystery. 

V.  (5)  The  same  units  as  snakes,  lizards,  buffalos,  emus,  and  half- 
Animals   human  forms,  inter-interas  or  ''gvo\xnd."-ivakandas,  the  fifth 

mystery. 
VI.         (6)  The  evolution  of  man  (a)  from  the  egg,  (b)  from  the  semi- 
Man      humans  in  which  the  Sun-Wakanda  plays  a  leading  role,  the 

sixth  mystery. 

(3)  Extent  and  Meaning  op  Evolution 
This  is  apparently  a  continuous  process  of  self-evolving  germ-units,  in 
which  All-Father-Sun  acts  or  shines  in  or  through  the  creation.  On  the 
other  hand,  where  the  sun  does  not  shine,  there  the  All-Father  is  not 
directly  active,  unless  we  suppose  the  sun  to  be  concealed  under  the  burns, 
which  is  a  difficult  point  and  wanting  in  any  clear  proof.  It  is  certain 
that  in  some  cases  the  Sky-Father  is  completely  otiose,  He  starts  the  world 
and  then  leaves  it  to  itself,  it  is  its  own  productive  power.  This  sponta- 
neous ascent  from  lower  to  higher  may  be  said  to  take  place. 

(1)  The  Pre-Cosmic  Age,  with  the  hypothetical  "Sun-Spirit", 
who    as    the    World-Embryo    is    symbolised    by    the    dotted 

in        circle — 

(2)  The  Inorganic  Period,  during  which   the   '"Sun-Serpent" 
three      indicates    the    first     vortex     or    "wiiirl"    of    things    by     the 

spiral — 
stages      (3)  The  Organic  Period,  in  which  the  "Burfalo  Eye"  becomes 
the     life-     and     vision-symbol     and     culminates     in     spirit- 
man. 
Broad  eras  of  this  kind  are  no  doubt  everywhere  implied,  but  tiiey  have 
no  definite  boundaries,  they  dovetail  into  one  another  by  imperceptible 
degrees.    It  seems  to  be  fairly  evident,  however,  that  in  this  intermediate 
period  of  humanity  there  is  a   growing  consciousness  that   creation  is 
operated  by  secondary,  evolutional,  and  more  or  less  independent  forces, 
with  the  final  result  that  the  whole  universe  of  being  (including  the  infi- 
nite)  is  looked  upon  as  a  huge  evolutional  machine,  without  limits  in 
space,  and  without  beginning  or  nnd  in  time. 


CREATION  191 

COMBINED  DATA 

III.     RECENT  AGE 

In  the  second  stone  age  the  old  idea  of  personal  creation  rises  once 
more  to  the  front,  but  with  the  marks  of  the  preceding  pantheism  clearly 
visible  on  the  surface.  There  is  at  first  a  decided  "theogony",  an  evolu- 
tion of  gods  out  of  natural  forces,  but  these  soon  become  independent  and 
assume  the  role  of  personal  agents. 

(1)  Manner  op  Creation 

(N,  1)  If  Anu  be  the  equivalent  of  En-lil  in  the  prehistoric  age,  and  he 
again  the  equivalent  of  Bel-Marduk  of  Hamurabic  times,  the  conclusion 
is  not  too  forced  that  Anu-Bel-Marduk-Ea  is  a  personal  Creator,  that  he 
made  or  fashioned  all  things  by  "cleaving"  the  deep,  and  mankind  by  the 
cutting  off  of  his  head  and  the  mingling  of  his  blood  vi'ith  the  earth.  For 
if  Bel  be  described  as  the  logos  of  Anu,  and  Ea  the  divine  Wisdom,  the 
creative  actions  are  transferable.  In  default  of  this,  Anu  must  be  looked 
upon  as  an  Originator, — by  what  method,  we  do  not  know. 

(N,  2)  Tum-Ra-Osiris  is  a  very  similar  figure, — a  personal  Evolver.  As 
Chnum  Ra  he  is  the  Workmaster  who  models  the  egg,  which  contains  the 
World-Germ. 

(N,  3)  Ashur  as  the  "self-created"  is  clearly  transcendent,  an  all-power- 
ful One. 

(M,  4)  Elohim  is  unique.  He  creates  by  "His  Word",  both  directly  and 
germinally, — "He  commanded,  and  they  were  created". 

(N,  5)  Ahum-Mazda  creates  by  his  seven  spirits,  but  the  method  is 
evolutional.  Men  and  women  grow  up  like  plants  and  gradually  assume 
human  form. 

(N,  5)  Brahma  splits  the  World-Egg,  from  which  all  things  take  their 
being,  and  Vishnu  commands  the  earth  to  bring  forth  man,  later  woman. 
In  China,  all  things  are  derived  from  the  Tai-ki  Void  by  permutations 
known  as  the  yang-ying  principles,  from  which  males  and  females  are 
produced.  But  Shang-Ti  is  the  "Lord  of  creation",  and  Niu-Hoa  forms 
man  out  of  the  yellow  earth.  In  Greece  Chaos  is  distinctly  the  father  of 
gods,  but  Zeus  soon  becomes  the  only  one,  and  through  Prometheus  he 
fashions  the  body  of  man,  while  the  soul  is  inspired  by  Athene.  In  Ger- 
many-Scandinavia it  is  Odin  (Wotan)  that  conquers  Ymir  the  Deep  and 
that  "finds"  the  first  human  couple. 

(N,  6)  Batara  creates  by  expanding  and  cleaving.  He  forms  man  out 
of  clay,  either  directly  or  by  means  of  his  two  bird-spirits,  Ara  and  Irik. 
Rangi-Papa,  etc.  create  by  fecundation.  Man  springs  from  the  head  of  a 
serpent. 

(N,  7)  Awona  evolves  all  things  by  "thinking  himself  outward  in 
space",  and  Pachacamac  is  a  World-Soul,  under  whom  man  again  evolves 
from  the  egg. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  idea  of  a  Personal  Evolver  is  the  typical  theme 
of  this  period,  approaching  to  that  of  direct  Creator,  with  or  without  a 
personal  demiurge. 


192 


CREATION 


COMBINED  DATA 

(2)  Order  op  Creation 
From  the  numerous  cosmogonies  of  this  period  we  obtain  a  fairly  com- 
plete picture  of  the  succession  of  divine  works  or  manifestations,  begin- 
ning with  the  supreme  figure  of  the  restored  pantheon,  as  follows : — 

I.  From    Anu    (Bel-Ea),    Osiris    (Isis    Set-Horus),    Brahma 

Day  (Vishnu-Siwa),  etc.  from  Elohim  (with  Seven  Spirits)  or 

and  Ahura-Mazda  (with  six  Ameshas)  there  issues: — 

Night         (1)   The  primaeval  Deep  or  Chaos,    [Mumu-Nunu,  Apsu- 

Theme        Atiim,  Tiamat-Tehom-Temah-Tad-Taiki,  etc.),  followed  by 

(Light)       Light  and  Darkness   {Lachmu-Lachamu,  Shu-Tafnut,  Or- 

Choshek,  Adar-Tufar,  Asar-Sad,  Yayig-Ying,  Atea-Po,  Phos- 

Erebus,  etc.),  these  couples  being  fairly  universal. 

n. 

Heaven  (2)    Upper   and    Lower   Worlds,    {Aniar-KiSar,   Geb-Nut, 

and  Earth  Maim-Shamayim,   Varuna-Indra,  Khien-Khuan,  Ara-lrik, 

Theme  Rangi-Papa,  Ouranos-Gaia,  etc.),  the  order  being  sometimes 

(Firma-  inverted,  as  in  the  Egyptian  scheme. 

ment) 

in.  (3)    Heaven,   Earth,  and  Ocean  as  clearly   distinguished, 

Earth  (Anu-Bel-Ea)  Osii'is-Isis-Set  (Horus),  Brahma-Vishu-Siwa, 

and  Khien-Kwan-Shui,  Rangi-Papa-Tangaroa,  etc.),  the  divine 

Plant  Triads  in  cosmic  form,  appearing  more  vividly  in  An-Li- 

Theme  Ki,    SamaS-IStar-Ea,    Shamaghn-Eretz-Mayim, —    Varuna- 

(Land)  Indra-Soma,   Ouranos-Okeanos,   etc.     The    beginnings    of 

vegetation,  of  plants,  shrubs  and  trees  is  generally  implied. 

IV.  (4)  Visible  Constellations  and  Seasons,  expressed  by  Sun, 
Sun  and       Moon,  and  Stars,   {SamaS-Sin-IStar),  the  Hammeoroth  of 

Moon  Genesis,  the  Ahir-Mithra-Tishri  of  Indo-Persia,  the  Shao- 
Theme  Yang  and  Shao-Ying  of  China,  the  Apollo- Juno- J upiter- 
(Stars)        Venus-Sirius-%y?,{em.  of  Greece  and  Rome. 

V.  (5)  The  Animal  Creation,  very  general  throughout  the 
Serpent  series,  the  serpent  being  a  fundamental, —  (Tiamat-Apophis- 
Theme        Hanachash-Azhi  -  Dahaka  -  Pan  -  Ku-  Hydra  -  Ymir,  etc)  .— 

(Animals)     originally  or  partly  cosmic  powers. 

VI.  (6)  The  Creation  of  U.a.n,—Adapa,  Amelu,  Eabani,  Adatn- 
Human  Chawah,  Yima  (Yama),  Mashia-Mashiana,  Tanah-Kumpok. 
Theme  Deucalion-Pyrrha,  Ask-Einbla,  etc),  some  names  indicating 
(Man)  the  earth  as  the  materia  ex  qua. 

(3)  Extent  and  Meaning  op  Creation 
While  creative  action  seems  to  be  continuous  and  never-ending,  there 
are  nevertheless  broad  periods  of  greater  or  less  intensity,  symbolised  by 

(1)  The  eight-rayed  Star  or  Rising  Sun,  {Ann,  Tum-Ra-Osiris) 

(2)  The  Hexagonal  Cross  or  Triangle,  (Arntu  and  Trimurli) 

(3)  The  Swastika  or  Fire-wheel,  (Assatu,  Assur,  Asura,  Istar) 
expressing  (1)  Cosmic  Light  (2)  Differentiation  of  matter  (3)  Fecundation. 


CREATION  193 

-  COMBINED  DATA 

General  Picture  for  the  Neolithic  Age 

It  seems  to  be  evident  that  in  this  more  recent  epoch  of  liumanity  there 
has  been  a  return  to  the  more  primitive  concept  of  creation  as  a  direct,  a 
personal,  and  to  some  extent  a  supernatural  process.  But  this  action  is  no 
longer  a  simple  "making"  of  things  without  regard  to  their  proximate 
origins.  The  drama  of  the  creation  is  pictured  as  proceeding  in  grand 
evolutional  epochs,  which  correspond  to  some  extent  with  the  Semitic 
Hexahemeron,  while  the  latter  leaves  ample  room  for  secondary  forces, — 
"Let  the  earth  bring  forth",  "Let  the  waters  bring  forth", — a  Qerminal 
power.  Even  the  strongly-worded  "Let  us  make  man"  refers  to  the  soul 
rather  than  the  body  of  man,  as  is  clear  from  the  "image  and  likeness  of 
God"  which  follows  it.  That  this  is  a  direct  and  unique  process  can  hardly 
be  doubted.  For,  however  contemptible  the  origin  of  man  on  the  material 
side, — earth,  clay,  dust,  etc. — ,  nearly  all  the  traditions  agree,  that  the  soul 
of  man  was  inspired  in  a  very  extraordinary  manner  by  the  only  power 
that  is  at  all  commensurate  to  perform  such  an  act, — by  Infinite  Power: 
This  is  expressed  by  saying  that  the  chief  divinity  has  "surrendered  his 
blood", — a  tradition  which  comes  to  us  from  the  oldest  civilisation  as  yet 
known  to  us — from  the  land  of  Sumer. 

CONCLUSIONS 

By  comparing  the  results  obtained  for  the  three  prehistoric  ages,  it 
may  be  concluded  with  some  certainty  that  the  notion  of  creation  has  not 
been  uniform  throughout  the  prehistoric  past,  but  that  it  has  been  colored 
by  the  prevailing  philosophy  of  the  time, — theistic,  pantheistic,  or  poly- 
theistic,— as  the  case  may  be.    Thus  we  get 

(1)  Creationism  as  the  Archaic  Form, 

the  simple  consciousness  that  all  things  were  made  by  God,  regardless  of 
the  when,  the  how,  or  the  wherefore,  but  which  is  pictured  as  concrete, 
vivid,  and  anthropomorphic,  a  direct  fashioning  of  things,  an  "inhaling" 
of  souls. 

(2)  Evolutionism  as  the  Totemic  Form, 

the  growing  conviction  that  this  method  is  gradual  and  germinal  rather 
than  instantaneous,  that  creation  is  immanent,  tending  to  pantheistic 
monism. 

(3)  Creative  Evolutionism  as  the  Recent  Form, 

the  final  persuasion,  that  while  the  method  is  evolutional,  the  productive 
power  is  transcendent,  thus  returning  to  (1),  but  enriching  and  expanding 
the  notion  by  (2),  and  making  the  Creator  both  in  and  above  the  creation, 
transcendent  in  nature,  and  partly  immanent  in  action, — the  ideal  concept. 


1Q4  CREATION 

CONCLUSIONS 

Furthermore,  if  the  question  be  asked,  to  what  extent  the  existing 
divine  tradition  of  Gen.  1-2,  may  be  traced  to  remote  prehistoric  originals, 
the  answer  is  that  it  can  be  traced  to  none  in  particular,  but  rather  to  all 
combined,  that  it  embodies  a  series  of  ancient  beliefs,  the  germs  of  which 
antedate  any  existing  cosmology  by  indefinite  periods,  and  fragments  of 
which  have  survived  in  the  mythology  and  folk-lore  of  many  peoples,  and 
more  especially  in  the  oldest  legends  that  have  come  down  to  us, — but 
never  in  simple,  unsullied,  or  unadulterated  form.    In  other  words: — 

The  Divine  Tradition  is  Independent, 

though  closely  paralleled  by  the  earliest  systems.  It  must  be  looked  upon 
as  a  compact  body  of  truth  which,  apart  from  its  recent  redaction,  existed 
in  all  its  essentials  in  the  earliest  ages  of  man,  as  witness  the  general 
similarity  of  thoughts  and  topics  as  revealed  by  those  legends: — 

(1)  In  the  Primitive  Period, 

it  is  the  All-Father,  who,  either  with  or  without  the  demiurge  or  sur- 
rounding spirits,  "breathes"  out  the  whole  universe  of  being  in  six 
periods: — (1)  Light  and  Darkness,  (2)  Air  and  Water,  (3)  Earth  and 
Man,  (4)  Sun  and  Moon,  (5)  Plants  and  Animals,  and  finally  (6)  Man, 
who,  however  insignificant  his  earthly  origin,  is  looked  upon  as  the  spe- 
cial work  of  the  deity,  his  soul  being  in  nearly  each  case  inspired,  or 
modelled  after  the  divine  image. 

(2)  In  the  Palaeolithic  Period, 

the  fundamentals  of  (1)  are  still  preserved  in  the  Munda-Kol  cosmogony 
of  Central  India,  but  become  more  and  more  obscured  in  the  distant  areas, 
until  no  specific  difTerences  are  left,  all  things  being  hatched  out  of  min- 
eral, vegetable,  and  animal  forms  by  their  own  germinal  power. 

(3)  In  the  Neolithic  Period, 

the  six  "Days"  of  creation  come  once  more  to  the  front,  but  have  been 
enriched  by  a  wider  and  deeper  aspect  of  creative  power, — to  wit — . 
creation  by  evolution.    Hence — 

The  Divine  Tradition  is 

closest  to  (1),  in  its  personal,  direct,  and  monotheistic  setting, — less  close 
to  (2),  in  its  partly  evolutional  coloring,  ("Let  the  earth",  etc.),  least  close 
to  (3),  in  its  freedom  from  pantlieistic,  polytheistic,  or  dualistic  touches, 
though  forms  and  terminologies  are  undoubtedly  similar. 

It  may  therefore  be  afTn-med  with  some  confidence  that  we  have  in  the 
Hebrew  tradition  the  most  faithful  picture  of  the  early  consciousness  of 
man  on  this  subject,  however  recent  its  Mosaic  "redaction"  may  be  taken 
to  be. 


CHAPTER    THE    THIRD 
DE    DEO    ELEVANTE 


The  Traditions  on  the 
Elevation  and  Fall  of  Man 


PRIMITIVE  PARADISE  PICTURE 

8BOWINO  THE  SEVEN  HEAVENS  AND  THE  TBEE  OF  LtFZ 
AS  BEVEALED  IN  THE   EARLIEST   BfYTUOLOOIES 

(ZENITH  OBIENTATION) 

1 


(1)   LOWEST  HEAVEN— PLACE  OF  EMEBOENCE— UNDEBWOBLD— DABKNES8 

(»)  MAN-OF-EABTH  HEAVEN — SONS  OF  MEN — CrLTL'BE  EXBOES 

(8)   EAGLE  HEAVEN— WOBLD-SEBPENT— MAGIC  HAWK— OMEN  BtBD 

(4)   STAB-HEAVEN— LIGHT-SPIBIT8 — GBEAT    DIVIDE— PABADISE-BBEDGE 

(»)    BISING  LANT)  HEAVEN— CELESTIAL  ARCHIPELAGO— FBUIT  ISLANT) 

(fl)    THINDER-HEAVEN— WIND    AND    WATER-SPIRITS— B/VINBOW 

(1)   MAGIC  FBITT  HEAVEN- TBEE  OF  LIFE— BIRD  OF  PARADISE— CHEBCBIMT 


PARADISE  195 


In  approaching  the  subject  of  immortality  we  feel  that  the  burden  of  a 
heavy  analysis  is  considerably  lightened.  As  a  more  external  and  descrip- 
tive subject  it  is  also  more  tangible,  it  lends  itself  more  easily  to  popular 
treatment,  and  this  the  more  so,  as  it  is  a  problem  of  intensely  vital  and 
human  interest,  one  that  concerns  every  member  of  the  race  in  a  per- 
sonal and  intimate  manner.  Am  I  destined  to  live  for  ever?  If  so,  why 
must  I  die?  How  is  it  that  my  body  is  subject  to  pain  and  infirmity,  to 
disease  and  decay,  and  finally  to  death,  the  universal  messenger  of  time? 
Does  it  not  seem  as  if  something  had  gone  wrong  in  the  original  scheme 
of  creation,  as  if  the  initial  purpose  of  the  Creator  had  been  vastly  difTerent, 
had  somehow  been  frustrated  by  an  obstacle  not  originally  in  the  divine 
plan,  an  obstacle  not  impossibly  of  man's  own  making,  the  result  of  his 
own  free  choice,  the  consequence  of  a  failure,  a  fall,  a  rebellion?  These  are 
a  priori  considerations  which,  apart  from  the  revealed  teaching,  are  not  of 
much  value,  however  suggestive.  Another  answer  is  conceivable, — that 
these  are  not  real  evils  but  blessings  in  disguise,  that  death  is  a  necessary 
"purge"  of  humanity,  by  no  means  opposed  to  the  natural  law,  but  rather 
its  universal  fulfilment,  the  means  of  making  room  for  higher  and  better 
forms  of  life,  of  ridding  the  world  of  undesirables.  We  may  think  of 
these  things  as  we  may,  they  can  bring  us  no  nearer  to  the  main  question 
at  present  under  discussion, — a  question  of  fact.  What  was  the  early 
consciousness  of  man  on  this  subject?    How  did  he  face  the  problem? 

This  will  resolve  itself  into  the  investigation  of  the  following  points : — 

(1)  Did  man  consider  himself  as  essentially  immortal  in  the  beginning? 

(2)  Is  there  any  record  of  an  ideal  state,  or  a  possible  probation?    (3)  How 
was  this  immortality  lost,  and  with  what  consequences  to  mankind? 

From  this  threefold  consideration  it  should  be  possible  to  clear  up  this 
question  from  the  standpoint  of  facts,  regardless  of  what  philosophy  may 
have  to  say  in  the  matter.  For  if  philosophy  is  certain  of  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  it  is  theology  only  that  can  give  a  complete  solution  to  the 
mystery  of  death. 


196  PARADISE 

EARLY  OCEANIC  TRADITION 

(A,  1)  Malakka, — The  Negritos  op  Perak 

"To  ask  these  people  whether  the  soul  is  immortal  appears  the  height 
of  strangeness",  says  a  recent  reporter.  "And  how  could  it  die?  it  is  like 
the  air",  was  the  laconic  reply  of  an  old  Malakkan  native,  to  whom  the 
question  seemed  superfluous.  This  is  a  very  general  persuasion  through- 
out the  peninsula.^  As  to  the  origin  of  bodily  death,  we  have  the  following 
fragment  of  a  legend  preserved  by  the  negritos  of  the  province  of  Perak: — 

"When  Kari  had  created  man,  they  were  very  good.  Death  was  not  yet 
established,  and  the  Semang,  living  on  fruits,  prospered  and  soon  got 
numerous.  But  Kari  saw  that  they  were  getting  too  numerous,  and  came 
down  to  the  Jelmol  mountains  to  look  nearer,  and  consider  what  was  to 
be  done.  The  Semang,  crossing  the  mountains,  did  not  see  him,  for  none 
can  see  him  (sic),  and  they  ran  over  his  foot  like  ants.  He  blew  them 
away,  but  his  breath  was  fiery  and  burnt  them  all  up  throughout  the 
neighborhood.  Seeing  this,  he  ordered  his  breath  to  collect  and  conduct 
their  souls  to  heaven".  At  the  continued  disobedience  of  man,  Kari  be- 
came furious,  but  Pie  pitied  them  and  prevailed  upon  Kari  to  stop  slaugh- 
tering mankind  except  in  special  cases  when  his  wrath  was  provoked. 
"When  Kari  sends  his  lightnings  now,  they  kill  the  Semang  in  a  body, 
but  the  death-messengers  only  kill  certain  individuals  at  Kari's  command. 

THE  ISLAND  OP   FRUITS   AND   THE   SOUL-TREES 

That  life  and  death  are  connected  with  certain  trees  is  implied  by  the 
fact  that  Kari  sends  out  souls  from  the  Paradise-Tree,— evidently  a  Tree 
of  Life—,  which  tree  grows  on  the  Island  of  Fruits  and  is  guarded  by  the 
Giant  Baboon,  while  the  fruit  of  the  Soul-Tree  is  eaten  by  the  mother, 
as  well  as  the  Soul-Bird,  which  conducts  the  new  soul  from  Kan's 
Paradise.  This  means  that  every  new  birth  implies  a  fresh  eating  of  the 
paradise-fruit.' 

THE  PYTHON  AND  THE  RING-DOVE 

If  then  immortality  was  lost  because  mankind  multiplied  too  rapidly, 
it  will  stand  to  reason  that  the  divine  command  must  have  been  a  pro- 
hibition of  premature  marriage  and  thus  of  eating  the  fruit.  While  there 
is  no  serpent  other  than  the  World-Python,  the  first  human  couple,  in  spite 
of  the  warnings  of  the  Ring-Dove,  succumb  to  their  passions,  they  breed 
promiscuously  with  their  olTspring,  and  to  check  the  rise  of  a  race  of 
idiots,  Kari  decrees  their  dea.lh:— "Let  men  die  like  the  Banana!"  *  Such 
is  the  verdict  of  the  Thunder-God  upon  those  who  transgress  his  laws. 


iSkeat,  Pagan  Races,  II.  194-195.    ==  Idem,  II.  211-212.    'Idem    II.  207,  217,  225.    The 
"name-tree"  is  the  earthly  equivalent  of  the  paradise-tree.     ♦Id.  II.  184,  218. 


PARADISE  197 

EARLY  OCEANIC  TRADITION 
(A,  2)  Malakka, — The  Senoi-tribes  of  Perak  and  Selangor 

The  Senoi  peoples  of  Central  Malakka  have  a  parallel  tradition: — 
"Originally  man  and  beast  lived  on  fruits  alone,  and  every  tree  and  plant 
(even  rattan  and  bamboo)  bore  sweet  and  wholesome  fruit.  Demons  or 
"hantus"  however  dwelt  in  all  of  them,  and  hence  men,  whenever  they 
desired  to  fell  a  tree,  used  to  knock  upon  its  trunk  to  warn  the  demons 
to  leave  it.  The  land,  however,  was  full  of  apes,  who  used  to  break  off 
twigs  and  thus  incurred  the  wrath  of  the  demons,  so  that  many  of  the 
trees  took  to  bearing  seeds  only,  or  else  bore  sour  or  noxious  fruits". 
(Notice  the  souring  of  the  trees  through  the  influence  of  the  apes  and 
demons, — an  evil  power). 

"Then  famine  commenced,  and  Peng  (or  Tuhan)  ordered  the  people  to 
slay  wild  beasts  for  food,  and  taught  them  the  use  of  the  blow-pipe. 
Whereupon  certain  trees  and  plants  offered  to  make  their  sap  poisonous 
and  lend  it  to  man,  so  that  they  might  be  revenged  upon  the  apes.  The 
bamboo-demons,  however,  soon  became  wroth  with  man  as  well,  they 
applied  to  Peng  for  help,  but  he,  grasping  in  his  red-hot  hands  a  clump 
of  "Seven-Bamboos",  into  which  the  demons  had  crept,  forthwith  turned 
the  demons  themselves  into  stone".' 

the  paradise  op  fruits  and  the  healing-trees 

Here  it  is  the  Areca  or  Dampong-Palm  which  is  the  most  powerful  life- 
giving  tree,  while  the  Chinduai  or  Love-plant  is  a  dangerous  stimulant, 
which  causes  people  to  lose  their  reason  and  to  fall  into  violent  love.  Both 
are  remotely  connected  with  the  "Island  of  Fruits"  in  the  distant  ocean, 
and  are  very  probably  guarded  by  the  same  protectors.  They  are  "Soul- 
Trees"  having  the  power  of  life  and  death,  though  the  soul-"bird"  is  not 
mentioned." 

the  serpent  and  the  world-eagle 

Now  if  the  trees  of  the  island  were  turned  sour  through  the  machina- 
tions of  the  demons,  it  is  clear  that  the  original  trees  were  good  and 
wholesome,  and  thus  the  Areca  Palm-fruit  may  be  plausibly  connected 
with  the  days  of  man's  innocence,  while  the  Love-plant  is  singularly  sug- 
gestive of  a  tree  of  temptation,  of  forbidden  knowledge.  The  fact  that 
the  demons  are  opposed  to  Peyig  and  that  he  wishes  man  to  live,  this  seems 
to  reveal  some  connexion  between  "tree"  and  "life",  as  the  trees  are  so 
closely  interwoven  with  the  rest  of  the  story.  Again,  the  dragon  Rahu 
figures  as  the  power  of  evil,  and  in  Klang-Blok,  the  giant  Eagle,  we  have  a 
faint  echo  of  another  "protector".  It  is  through  the  killing  of  this  eagle 
with  a  magic  knife  that  Balut  wins  the  hand  of  Walut, — the  first  human 
pair.'  The  stories  are  somewhat  loose  and  incoherent,  but  the  idea  of  a 
forbidden  fruit  is  strongly  suggested. 


»  Skeat,  op.  cit.  II.  234.    «Idem.  II.  257.  262.    '  Idem.  II.  235-236.  (world-beliefs). 


198  PARADISE 

EARLY  OCEANIC  TRADITION 
(A,  3)  The  Mantra-Jakuns  of  Selangor 

"Unlike  the  Benua  of  Johor,  who  apparently  have  no  belief  in  the 
existence  of  the  soul  after  death,  the  Mantra  possess  a  peculiarly  positive 
faith  in  another  world".  The  father  and  mother  of  the  first  humans  were 
called  Ayer  and  Tanah, — "Drop  of  Water"  and  "Clod  of  Earth" — ,  and  it 
was  from  Mertang  and  Belo,  their  sons,  that  all  people  were  descended. 

"They  came  from  a  place  called  'Rising  Land'  in  the  Sky",  which  sky 
was  originally  "very  low  and  near  to  the  earth"  until  Belo  "raised  it  with 
his  hands"  in  order  to  make  room  for  his  farming  operations ( !).  "In  the 
course  of  time  the  descendents  of  Mertang  multiplied  to  such  an  extent 
that  he  was  forced  to  go  to  the  Lord  of  the  Underworld,  and  represent  the 
state  to  which  things  had  come,  and  Tuhan,  Lord  of  the  Underworld 
remedied  it  by  turning  one-half  mankind  into  trees.  In  those  days  men 
did  not  die,  but  grew  thin  at  the  waning  moon,  and  waxed  fat  again  as 
she  neared  the  full.  In  the  earliest  times  there  used  to  be  three  suns, — 
husband,  wife,  and  child — ,  and  hence  there  was  no  night,  since  there  was 
always  one  sun  left  in  the  sky  when  the  others  had  set.  In  those  days,  too, 
people  slept  as  they  felt  inclined,  and  there  were  no  divisions  of  time".' 

THE  RISING  LAND  AND  THE   UPAS-TREES 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  Upas-Trees  of  the  Besisi  were  regarded 
as  "poison-trees"  simply  to  emphasise  their  dreaded,  mysterious,  and  life 
or  death-imparting  character.  They  are  the  Coconut-  and  the  Betel-Palm, 
neither  of  which  are  poisonous,  as  on  one  occasion  a  Jakun  persisted  on 
eating  one  of  the  tempting  Cocoa-nuts,  with  the  result  that  he  immediately 
dropped  down  dead(!).  The  same  qualities  might  have  been  applied  to 
the  banana,  or  any  other  tonic.  Here  also  there  is  an  Island  of  Fruits, 
"where  old  people  become  young  again,  where  there  is  no  pain  or  sick- 
ness, and  where  there  is  such  an  abundance  of  well-water  that  it  brings 
forth  seven  lakes".' 

THE  TIGER  AND  THE  LORD-KNOWS-WHO 

Again,  we  have  the  same  idea  of  over-multiplication  as  the  cause  of 
the  death  and  divine  anger  that  we  have  already  certified  for  the  negritos. 
There  must  surely  be  some  connexion  between  the  loss  of  innocence  and 
immortality  and  the  eating  of  some  stim\ilating  or  "sexual"  fruit.  For 
if  the  Tiger  represents  the  devouring  enemy  of  man,  it  is  To  Entah,  the 
"Lord-knows-Who",  that  pleads  for  his  salvation,  albeit  in  vain.  "Let 
men  die  like  the  banana  and  leave  their  offspring  behind!"  is  Tuhan's 
verdict,  and  ever  since  men  have  ceased  to  renew  their  youth  like  the  moon, 
and  have  died  like  the  banana.'" 


»  Skeat,  II.  336fT.     » Idem,  II.  292,  315.     '»  Idem.  II.  337-338. 


PARADISE  199 

EARLY  OCEANIC  TRADITION 
(B,  1)  Andaman  Islands 

"The  Andamanese  do  not  regard  their  shadows,  but  their  reflections  in 
a  mirror  as  their  souls".  As  in  Malakka,  the  color  of  the  soul  is  said  to  be 
red,  but  that  of  a  spirit  is  black,  and  though  invisible  to  human  eyes,  they 
partake  of  the  form  of  the  person  to  whom  they  belong.  There  is  a  three- 
fold division  of  man  according  to  "body,  soul,  and  spirit",  the  "spirit" 
being  of  its  nature  immortal,  and  imparting  this  property  to  the  inferior 
members  at  the  consummation  of  time.' 

The  paradise-legends  are  in  all  respects  similar  to  those  of  Malakka, 
but  are  rather  more  explicit  in  describing  the  origin  and  equipment  of 
the  first  human  pair.    The  main  thoughts  are  as  follows : — 

THE   garden    of   PLEASURE,   OR   WOTAEMI-PARADISE 

This  is  situated  in  a  definite  locality,  on  the  island  of  South  Andaman, 
(long.  98°  52',  lat.  12°  18').  In  the  beginning,  after  the  world  had  been 
made,  Puluga  created  a  man  whose  name  was  Tomo.  He  was  black,  like 
the  present  inhabitants,  but  much  taller,  and  bearded  (sic).  His  wife  was 
Ghana  Elevadi,  formed  by  Puluga,  and  given  to  him  as  his  partner.  Tomo, 
and  Ghana  were  instructed  by  Puluga  in  the  art  of  making  fire,  of  manu- 
facturing bows  and  arrows,  baskets  and  canoes,  and  were  equipped  with 
the  power  of  speech.' 

THE  JUNGLE-FRUIT  AND  THE  DIVINE  COMMAND 

Puluga  then  showed  them  the  various  fruit-trees  in  the  jungle,  which 
then  existed  only  at  Wotaemi,  and  in  doing  so  he  told  them  not  to  partake 
of  certain  of  them  during  the  rains.    The  species  are  not  determined. 

A  TRANSGRESSION   IMPLIED   WITH  A  PUNISHMENT 

In  the  sequel,  the  first  pair  and  their  progeny  began  to  multiply  in 
alarming  proportions,  and  with  this  multiplication  there  came  a  degen- 
eration. They  grew  more  and  more  disobedient,  more  and  more  remiss 
in  the  observance  of  the  divine  command.  Finally  Puluga  sends  a  great 
flood  and  destroys  them  all.^ 

A  PERSONAL  SIN  OP  THE  FIRST  COUPLE 

Though  the  transgression  is  fastened  on  the  race,  not  on  the  individual, 
it  is  not  difTicult  to  read  between  the  lines,  and  by  comparing  the  Malakkan 
tradition,  to  trace  this  culpability  to  the  first  ancestors.  In  any  case,  the 
loss  of  indefinite  longevity  and  the  expulsion  or  dispersion  from  paradise 
is  accompanied  by  the  breach  of  the  divine  command  and  by  growing 
sexual  and  moral  laxity.  This  reveals  an  essential  connexion  between  the 
loss  of  paradise  and  the  transgression  of  the  natural  and  the  divine  posi- 
tive law, — the  command  to  abstain  from  certain  fruits. 

»  Man,  Andaman  Islands,  p.  94.     ^  Ibid.  pp.  96-97.    »  Ibid.  p.  98. 


200  PARADISE 

EARLY  OCEANIC  TRADITION 
(B,  2)  Ceylon 

It  will  hardly  be  necessary  to  prove  that  the  Veddas  have  a  lively  faith 
in  immortality,  seeing  that  their  entire  religion  consists  of  little  else  than 
an  invocation  and  propitiation  of  ancestors.  It  is  more  especially  the  yaka- 
part  of  a  man, — his  invisible  spirit — ,  that  claims  direct  kinship  with  the 
"gods",  and  though  intensely  real,  it  is  neither  ghost  nor  dream-spirit,  but 
an  indescribable  something,  which  is  perhaps  best  expressed  by  "per- 
sonality".' The  only  intimation  we  have  of  a  formerly  deathless  state  of 
mankind,  is,  however,  an  indirect  one,  it  is  derived  from  the  fact  that  the 
only  passport  to  a  life  of  blessedness  is  obtained  by  a  close  intercom- 
munion with  the  departed  yakas,  and  more  especially  with  the  Great 
Yaka,  who  is  himself  the  author  of  all  life,  of  all  virtue,  of  all  happiness. 

THE  LAND  OP  THE  MORA-TREES 

One  of  the  few  legends  on  the  origin  of  the  Vedda  clans  speaks  of  them 
as  coming  from  the  "hill  of  the  mora-trees"  in  the  "eastern  province", 
where  the  earliest  Veddas  lived  off  the  fruits  of  the  jungles,  and  were  evi- 
dently not  carnivorous.  But  apart  from  the  association  of  this  life  with 
a  definite  fruit,  and  the  possible  hint  at  a  better  state  of  humanity  in  former 
times,  there  is  little  significance  in  the  story.= 

KANDE   YAKA   AND   THE   SACRED   COCONUT 

A  more  definite  thought  is  revealed  by  the  intimate  connexion  that 
seems  to  exist  between  Kande  Yaka  and  the  offering  up  of  the  coconut  as 
a  special  sacrifice  to  him  alone.  The  giving  of  the  staple  commodity  of 
life  to  the  chief  divinity,  followed  by  its  partial  consumption  by  the  wor- 
shippers, seems  to  insinuate,  if  anything  can  do,  that  the  channels  of  life 
and  death  are  in  some  way  related  to  a  particular  food,  that  as  the  food  is 
health-  and  strength-producing  at  present,  it  was  probably  so  in  the  past. 
Further  than  this,  however,  the  materials  will  not  allow  us  to  go.' 

(C)  Philippines 

The  same  line  of  reasoning  applies  to  the  Philippine  region.  Among 
the  negrifos  of  Zambnles  the  practice  of  offering  up  the  banana  to  the 
Great  Anito,  and  the  firm  belief  that  "disease  is  the  punishment  for  wrong- 
doing", for  the  wilful  transgression  of  his  laws,  seems  to  reveal  the  same 
consciousness  of  a  primitive  stale  of  integrity,  which  was  lost  by  a  moral 
failure,  and  can  only  be  rectified  by  the  sacrifice  of  its  proximate  cause — 
evidently  the  consumption  of  a  prohibited  food — .  here  the  Banana.* 


>  Seligman,  The  Veddas,  p.  122flF.    '  Idem,  p.  73-74.    » Idem,  p.  218ff.    «  Reed,  Negrito.« 
of  Zambales,  p.  65. 


PARADISE  201 

EARLY  OCEANIC  TRADITION 

(D)   BOBNEO 

Among  the  Orang  Ukit,  commonly  known  as  Punans  or  Bakatans,  it  is 
again  tlie  Coconut  and  tlie  Betel-Palm  that  are  peculiarly  sacred,  the  latter 
being  offered  to  the  supreme  divinity  in  order  to  "call  back  the  wandering 
souls  of  the  erring", — evidently  implying  some  power  of  healing,  of 
rejuvenation. 

THE  SACRED-PALM  AND  THE  CROCODILE 

The  custom  of  placing  the  sacred  blossom  on  the  image  of  the  crocodile 
is  difficult  to  interpret,  unless  we  suppose  that  it  symbolises  the  triumph  of 
life  over  death,  of  the  saving  over  the  destroying  principle  in  nature.  For 
if  the  crocodile  in  these  regions  is  the  greatest  enemy  of  man, — being 
feared  rather  than  worshipped — ,  it  is  no  less  evident  that  the  betel-palm 
is  the  source  of  a  large  part  of  his  sustenance,  and  the  invocation  of  the 
"High  Father"  on  these  occasions  shows  pretty  clearly  that  the  betel  is 
the  symbol  of  life.  But  if  this  is  so,  the  above  combination  is  strangely 
redolent  of  tree,  serpent,  and  temptation,  more  especially  as  the  forest- 
men  have  a  strong  sense  of  immortality,  of  the  rigors  of  divine  justice.' 

AMAKA  AND  THE  ENCHANTED  FOREST 

The  terrestrial  paradise  of  the  Kayans  is  a  forest  of  enchanted  fruits. 
It  is  known  as  Apu  Kayan,  or  "fatherland  of  trees".  Here  it  is  Amei- 
Tingei  that  tests  the  endurance  of  the  first  couple,  Amei  and  Djaja,  by 
sending  a  rice-famine.  While  nothing  is  said  of  the  moral  cause  of  this 
famine,  it  is  clearly  of  the  nature  of  a  punishment,  as  the  rice,  though 
formerly  abundant,  is  suddenly  withdrawn,  and  Amei  is  forced  to  ascend 
to  the  highest  Heaven  of  Amei-Tingel  in  order  to  recover  it.  This  seems  to 
imply  the  loss  of  an  exceptional  treasure  by  an  exceptionally  grievous 
offence,  for  if  the  rice  never  had  failed,  men  would  never  have  died,  but 
would  have  gone  straight  to  Amei's  Place  of  Heavenly  Delights,  the 
Apu  Lagan  above  the  clouds.  As  it  is,  men  have  to  die,  because  "they  are 
made  of  flimsy  bark-fibre" ( !).' 

THE  STONE  AND  THE  BANANA 

The  Toradjas  of  Central  Celebes  have  preserved  the  words  of  the  sen- 
tence:— "Because  you  have  chosen  the  banana",  says  Samoa  to  the  first 
pair,  "your  life  shall  be  like  its  life.  When  the  banana-tree  has  offspring, 
the  parent-stem  dies:  so  shall  ye  die  and  your  children  shall  step  in  your 
place.  Had  ye  chosen  the  stone,  your  life  would  have  been  like  the  life  of 
the  stone,  changeless  and  immortal" ,—&  decidedly  powerful  statement," 


1  Hose  and  McDougall,  J.  A.  I.  XXXI.  196.  Idem,  Pagan  Tribes,  II.  84,  186.  =  Nieuwen- 
huis,  Centraal  Borneo,  I.  143.  Quer  durch  Borneo,  I.  99-103,  132.  ^  A.  C.  Kruyt,  De  legenden 
der  Poso-AIfoeren  aangaande  de  eerste  menschen,  Mededeelingen  van  wege  het  Koninldijke 
Nederlandsche  Zendelinggenootschap,  (1894),  Vol.  XXXVIII.  p.  340. 


202  PARADISE 

EARLY  OCEANIC  TRADITION 

BATARA  AND  THE  RAINBOW 

Other  fragments  of  the  same  tradition  are  found  among  the  Makassars. 
It  is  Baiara,  the  divine(?)  son  of  Adyi  and  Datu,  the  Kalangi  or  Heavenly 
One,  who  descends  from  the  sliies  on  a  bamboo  and  a  rainbow,  and  pre- 
pares a  happy  dwelling  for  man,  which,  however,  is  only  of  short  dura- 
tion. For  Baiara  and  his  rainbow  soon  disappeared,  and  with  it  the  only 
access  to  paradise.* 

AMAKA  AND  THE  KANARI-TREE 

In  the  Spice  Islands  it  is  Amaka  again  who  plants  the  Kanari-Tree, 
out  of  which  men  and  women  spring  forth,  while  others  say  that  they 
came  out  of  the  Nunu-Tree,  a  species  of  fig,  which  was  planted  on  the 
mountain  summit  of  an  island  in  the  West  (sic).  In  the  Aru  Islands 
similar  trees  are  sacred  to  the  Abuda,  possibly  in  recollection  of  a  similar 
origin." 

(E)  New  Guinea  and  Melanesia 

Among  the  Papuan  and  Melanesian  primitives,  the  legends  on  this 
subject  are  no  longer  as  numerous,  though  the  few  items  collected  should 
merit  our  attention. 

wonekau  and  the  casuar 

The  Karesau-Islanders  speak  of  Woiiekau  as  living  in  the  high  heavens 
and  as  the  ruler  of  human  destiny.  There  is  hint,  however,  that  Wonekau 
demands  the  sacrifice  of  a  food-stuff  as  a  condition  of  immortality, — as 
witness: — "Has  Wonekau  lived  in  Heaven  for  a  long  time?"  "They  haven't 
told  me",  was  the  answer,  "but  I  am  forbidden  to  eat  the  casuar  for  ever" ! — 
This  points  to  some  connexion  between  the  eating  of  the  food  and  the 
"heavenly"  or  benignant  character  of  the  divinity,  though  this  is  only  an 
inference.' 

CHIDIBEY  and  THE  DAYS  OF  PLENTY 

The  Mafulus  say,  that  in  the  days  of  old  there  was  a  wonderful  being 
called  Chklibey,  who  taught  them  all  they  know,  and  is  now  living  in  the 
land  of  the  white  man,  whose  superior  knowledge  is  acquired  from  him 
alone  (sic).  They  cannot  explain  his  disappearance,  but  they  regret  that 
he  ever  left  them,  and  point  to  certain  rocks  as  the  vestiges  of  his  foot- 
steps.' 

QUAT-MARAWA  AND  THE  SERPENT 

Tlip  Melanesian  story  of  the  serpent's  skin  is  amusing,  but  still  instruc- 
tive:—"At  first  men  never  died,  but  cast  their  skins  like  the  serpent.  But 
through  the  failure  of  an  infant  to  recognise  its  aged  mother,  the  mother 
went  to  the  river  and  redonned  her  cast-off  skin.  From  that  time  man- 
kind ceased  to  cast  their  skins  and  have  died"(!).'' 

<  Wilken,  Het  Animisme,  p.  232ff.  Kruyt,  Idem,  p.  467ff.  »  Riedel,  De  sluik  en  kroes- 
harigen  rassen,  p.  7,  51,  106,  252ff.  "Schmidt,  Austronesische  Mythologie,  p.  117.  'Wil- 
liamson, The  Mafuhi.  p.  264.     "  Codrington,  The  Melanesians,  p.  265. 


PARADISE  203 

EARLY  OCEANIC  TRADITION 
(F)  Australia-Tasmania 

In  the  Australian  region  of  tlie  far  South-East,  the  paradise-legends  are 
no  longer  as  vivid  or  well-rounded  as  in  the  Indian  Archipelago.  This  is 
only  to  be  expected  on  the  theory,  now  generally  accepted,  that  man  did 
not  originate  in  Australia,  but  was  a  very  early  immigrant  into  that  con- 
tinent, having  drifted  from  Indonesia  southwards  during  the  first  wave  of 
human  expansion.  The  following  fragments,  however,  will  be  found  to 
be  of  some  importance,  as  they  show  the  continuity  of  the  same  funda- 
mental ideas. 

(F,  1)    BAIAME  AND  THE  HONEY-TREE 

The  legend  says  that  at  first  the  tribes  were  meant  to  live  for  ever.  The 
women  were  told  never  to  go  near  a  certain  hollow  tree.  The  bees  made 
a  nest  in  this  tree,  and  the  women  coveted  the  honey,  but  the  men  forbade 
them  to  go  near  it.  But  at  last  one  woman  determined  to  get  the  honey, — 
chop  went  her  tomahawk  into  that  hollow  trunk,  and  out  flew  a  huge  bat. 
This  was  the  spirit  of  death,  which  was  now  let  free  to  roam  the  world, 
claiming  all  it  could  touch  with  its  wings.' 

(F,  3)    BUNDJIL  AND  THE  BAT-TREE 

The  native  origin  of  this  story  is  rendered  highly  probable  by  the  exist- 
ence of  a  very  similar  bat-story  among  the  aborigines  of  Victoria. 

It  relates  how  the  first  man  and  woman  were  forbidden  to  go  near  a 
tree  in  which  a  bat  lived,  lest  they  should  disturb  the  creature.  One  day, 
however,  the  woman  was  gathering  firewood  and  she  went  near  the  tree. 
Out  flew  the  bat,  and  men  have  died  ever  since.^ 

(F,  5)   MUNGAN-NGAUA  AND  THE  "GREAT  SECRET" 

The  same  notion  seems  to  be  implied  in  the  numerous  food-restrictions 
which  play  such  a  prominent  part  at  the  initiations.  It  is  Mungan-ngaua 
who  destroys  mankind  on  account  of  the  violation  of  a  "secret",  which 
secret  includes  the  abstention  from  certain  foods  as  sacrosanct,  for  its 
observance  is  held  to  bind  under  penalty  of  death,  surely  a  strong  sanc- 
tion.= 

From  the  combined  matter  the  following  points  may  at  least  be  in- 
ferred from  the  context: — 

(1)  Immortality  was  the  original  destiny  of  man. 

(2)  Man  underwent  a  Tree-probation  to  which  he  succumbed. 

(3)  Death  was  the  price  paid  for  yielding  to  this  temptation. 

Thus  the  skeleton  of  a  paradise-story  is  handed  down  in  undiminished 
form,  though  the  actors  seem  to  be  more  far  off,  less  individuated. 


^  Langloh-Parker,    The    Euahlayi    Tribe,    p.    98.     ^  Brough-Smith,    The    Aborigines    of 
Victoria,  Vol.  I.  p.  428.     '  Howitt,  Native  Tribes  of  South-East  Australia,  pp.  630.  633.  639. 


204  PARADISE 

EARLY  AFRICAN  TRADITION 

(G)  The  Negrillos  op  Central  Africa 

That  the  Negrillos  believe  the  soul  to  be  immortal  is  evident  from  their 
eschatology,  in  which  the  soul  is  judged,  rewarded,  or  punished,  accord- 
ing to  merit.'  As  to  the  origin  of  bodily  death,  no  explicit  account  of  a 
trial  or  fall  of  man  has  so  far  been  reported,  but  that  some  such  tradition 
may  exist  in  the  undercurrent  of  the  popular  mind  seems  highly  probable 
in  the  view  of  the  popular  legends  that  are  associated  with  certain  life- 
giving  herbs.  These  fruits  are  looked  upon  as  sacred,  they  must  never  be 
eaten  directly,  not  until  certain  portions  have  been  offered  up  to  the  deity. 

NZAMBI  AND   THE   MODUMA-TREE 

Among  these  the  so-called  Moduma-Tree  occupies  such  a  prominent 
position  in  the  religious  cult  that  some  explanation  of  its  religious  sym- 
bolism seems  to  be  called  for.  There  are  various  specifics  for  securing 
praelernatural  powers  that  are  perhaps  more  magical  than  religious  in 
character.  The  application  of  the  Iboga,  or  "Red-Fruit"  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  the  power  of  clairvoyance,  of  seeing  extraordinary  visions, 
is  probably  of  this  nature,  as  it  is  not  identified  with  any  distinctly  relig- 
ious notions.  But  it  is  different  with  the  Moduma-Tree.  The  sacred 
nut  of  this  tree  is  believed  to  be  the  direct  gift  of  the  Creator, — 
Nzambi — •,  and  is  invariably  consumed  in  the  fire  and  offered  to  Him  as  a 
holocaust.^ 

THE  POWER  OP  INVISIBILITY 

By  mixing  the  bark  or  sap  of  the  Moduma  with  certain  other  specifics, 
sometimes  with  their  own  blood,  these  people  obtain  the  power  of  indefi- 
nite agility  and  invisibility,  of  being  able  to  elude  all  their  enemies.  While 
the  primary  object  of  this  ceremony  is  evidently  a  utilitarian  one, — that 
of  protecting  themselves  against  the  wild  animals  of  the  chase,  as  well  as 
their  human  pursuers — ,  the  properties  believed  to  be  acquired  cannot  but 
suggest  the  preternatural  equipments  of  the  "risen"  body.  In  any  case 
these  beliefs  and  practices  tend  to  show  that  the  higher  powers  of  man 
are  concealed  in  certain  foods  which  are  in  the  exclusive  gift  of  the 
divinity.  "The  Moduma",  says  Bishop  LeRoy,  "is  a  word  which  comes 
from  the  root  meaning  'to  be  famous,  to  be  celebrated,  to  be  great',  and  is 
a  magnificent  and  very  rare  tree,  of  which  I  have  seen  only  three  speci- 
mens. Very  massive  and  very  tall,  it  rises  in  single  majesty  near  the 
rivers,  and  at  a  height  of  twenty  or  thirty  metres  carries  a  superb  crown. 
Its  bark  emits  an  agreeable  odor  and  when  one  strikes  it,  say  the  natives, 
it  resounds  as  if  lo  respond" ( !).'' 


'  LeRoy,  Les  Pygmies,  Negrilles  d'Afrique  et  Negritos  de  I'Asie,  p.  180.    *  Idem,  pp.  188- 
192.    ••'Idem,  p.  190  (note). 


PARADISE  205 

AFRICAN  TRADITION 

(H)  The  Bushmen  op  the  Kalahari 

"Death  is  but  a  sleep",  says  the  Bushmen  proverb,  though  its  origin  is 
left  in  obscurity;  it  is  difficult  to  say  why  we  have  to  die.  But  the  follow- 
ing story,  known  as  the  Quing-legend,  may  throw  some  light  on  the  sub- 
ject. 

KAANG  AND  THE  ENCHANTED  BUSH 

"Kaang,  (the  "Lord"  of  the  Bushmen),  had  a  son  called  Kogaz,  whom 
he  sent  to  cut  sticks  to  make  bows.  When  Kogaz  came  to  the  bush,  the 
baboons  caught  him.  They  called  all  the  other  baboons  to  hear  him,  and 
they  asked  him,  who  sent  him  there.  He  said  his  father  sent  him  to  cut 
sticks  to  make  bows.  So  they  said,  "Your  father  thinks  himself  more 
clever  than  we  are,  and  he  wants  those  bows  to  kill  us,  so  we'll  kill  you". 
And  they  killed  Kogaz  and  tied  him  in  the  top  of  a  tree,  and  they  danced 
around  the  tree,  singing  an  indescribable  baboon-song,  with  a  chorus, 
saying,  "Kaang  thinks  he  is  clever."  Kaang  was  asleep  when  Kogaz  was 
killed,  but  when  he  awoke,  he  told  Koti  to  give  him  his  charms,  and  he  put 
some  on  his  nose,  and  said,  the  baboons  have  hung  Kogaz.  So  he  went  to 
where  the  baboons  were,  and  when  they  saw  him  coming  close  by,  they 
changed  their  song  so  as  to  omit  the  words  about  Kaang,  but  a  little  baboon- 
girl  said:  'Don't  sing  that  way,  sing  the  way  you  were  singing  before'. 
And  Kaang  said,  'Sing  as  the  little  girl  wishes',  and  they  sang  and  danced 
as  before.  Then  he  said,  'That  is  the  song  I  heard,  that  is  what  I  wanted, 
go  on  dancing  until  I  return'.  And  he  went  and  fetched  a  bag  full  of  pegs, 
and  went  behind  each  one  of  them  as  they  were  dancing  and  making  a 
great  dust,  and  he  drove  a  peg  into  each  one's  back,  and  gave  it  a  crack, 
and  he  sent  them  off  to  the  mountains  to  live  on  roots,  beetles,  and  scor- 
pions as  a  punishment.  Before  that  baboons  were  men,  but  since  that 
they  have  tails  and  their  tails  hang  crooked.  Then  Kaang  took  Kogaz 
down,  and  gave  him  a  canna,  and  made  him  alive  again".* 

THE  POWER  OF  IMMORTALITY 

The  only  significance  of  this  very  nonsensical  story  is  the  power  of 
immortality  and  resurrection  that  is  apparently  vested  in  the  "lord" 
of  life.  The  enmity  between  Kaang  and  the  demons  who  kill  his  first- 
born son,  is  a  clear  proof  that  death  is  of  demoniacal  origin,  that  it  has  no 
place  in  the  counsels  of  divinity,  that  it  is  the  result  of  a  rebellion.  For  he 
immediately  undoes  their  work  by  raising  Kogaz  to  life,  by  turning  them 
into  baboons  with  crooked  tails,  and  by  banishing  them  to  the  mountains 
to  live  off  scorpions. — surely  an  unpleasant  fate. 


*G.  Stow,  The  Native  Races  of  South  Africa,  p.  117  (giving  the  sources). 


206  PARADISE 

AMAZONIAN  TRADITION 

(K)   Central  Brazil 

The  folk-lore  of  the  Brazilian  races  is  immense,  there  being  hardly  a 
tribe  or  people  that  is  without  its  native  account  of  the  origin  of  things 
or  of  some  story  of  the  "good  old  times".  But  if  we  confine  ourselves 
to  the  Bakairi  of  the  upper  Shingo,  it  is  partly  because  they  are  among  the 
more  primitive,  partly  because  they  are  better  known  to  us  than  most  of 
the  forest-tribes  of  the  interior. 

THE  ETHICS  OF   IMMORTALITY 

The  most  interesting  fact,  however,  is  the  general  persuasion  of  these 
peoples  that  there  would  be  no  death  if  all  men  were  good,  implying, 
therefore,  that  sin  is  the  origin  of  death,  and  indeed  of  all  evil.'  This  is 
brought  out  with  considerable  force  in  the  paradise-legend,  which  I  have 
already  given  in  the  preceding  chapters,  but  which  is  worth  studying  with 
greater  attention,  in  view  of  the  points  now  under  discussion. - 

KAMUSHINI  .AND  HIS  HEAVENS 

The  Bakairi  trace  everything  to  heavenly  origins,  and  so  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  world,  heaven  and  earth  were  united,  all  was  Heaven,  and  in 
or  above  the  heaven  was  Kamushini,  the  "Shining  Light",  or  the  King  of 
Heaven,  by  whom  all  things  were  made,  and  all  things  were  governed. 
Into  this  world  he  places  the  first  human  twins, — Kari  and  Kame — ,  made 
out  of  arrows  and  maize-stampers,  and  equipped  with  the  power  of  recog- 
nising him  as  their  father,  for  they  call  him  Papa,  a  name  which  sounds 
familiar  and  ought  to  speak  for  itself.  In  those  days  men  lived  for  ever, 
there  was  no  death,  and  paradise  was  on  earth,  a  heavenly  world,  blazing 
with  light  and  glory. 

DEATH  THE  RESULT  OF  WITCHCRAFT 

In  the  sequel,  the  origin  of  death  is  shrouded  in  mystery,  there  is  noth- 
ing to  tell  us  how  the  reign  of  immortality  came  to  an  end,  how  heaven 
and  earth  were  separated.  But  the  firm  conviction  that  there  would  be  no 
death  if  all  were  good,  that  death  is  the  result  of  sorcery,  of  bad  magic, 
this  implies  that  death  is  in  some  way  the  result  of  sin,  of  a  moral  failure. 
Now  this  is  a  point  of  no  small  importance.  For  if  the  black  arts  among 
many  of  the  nature-peoples  go  unreproved,  if,  on  the  contrary,  they  rep- 
resent very  often  the  highest  pinnacle  to  which  mankind  can  aspire,  it  is 
all  the  more  encouraging  to  find  a  primitive  people,  for  whom  misery,  dis- 
ease and  death  are  attributed  to  the  baneful  infiuence  of  witchcraft.  This 
motive  is  only  a  negative  one,  but  it  means  direct  repudiation. 


'  Von  den  Steinen,  op.  cit.  p.  344.     -  Idem,  p.  348ff.  Ehrenreich,  op.  cit.  p.  4Sff. 


PARADISE  207 

AMAZONIAN  TRADITION 

THE    KERI   AND    KAMES   TREES 

There  are  two  trees  mentioned  in  connexion  with  the  national  ances- 
tors, which  seem  to  have  something  to  do  with  this  story.  They  are  linown 
as  the  Keri  and  Karnes  Trees,  which  are  sacred,  and  upon  the  stumps  of 
which  food-stuffs  are  occasionally  placed  in  the  hope  of  averting  the 
thunderbolts  of  the  Almighty.  While  there  is  no  direct  statement  to  this 
effect,  it  seems  quite  possible,  that  they  have  more  than  local  significance, 
that  they  are  meant  to  imply  that  the  primitive  pair  lost  the  gift  of  immor- 
tality through  the  consumption  of  a  forbidden  food,  and  that  the  same 
food  must  be  sacrificed  to  the  deity  in  order  to  reconquer  the  heavens.  This 
thought  is  easily  suggested,  but  is  wanting  in  positive  proof. 

THE    TRANSFORMATION-SCENE 

But  whatever  may  have  been  the  proximate  cause  of  the  fall  of  man,  of 
the  loss  of  heavenly  innocence,  heaven  and  earth  were  destined  to  be 
parted,  there  is  a  mysterious  transformation-scene,  during  which  Keri 
addresses  the  god  of  heaven  in  language  that  is  more  imperative  than 
comprehensible : — "You  shall  not  stay  here",  he  says,  "my  people  are 
dying.  And  yet  you  remain  here.  You  are  good,  but  I  do  not  wish  my 
people  to  die!"  But  Heaven  answers  in  still  more  emphatic  tones,  "I  will 
stay!",  to  which  Keri  replies  in  disgust, — "Then  /  will  change!"  At  this 
point  he  and  all  his  people  slide  oiT  to  the  earth,  while  Heaven  goes  up- 
ward,— the  millennium  had  come  to  an  end. 

THE  IDEA  OP  JUSTICE 

From  these  fragments  it  is  clearly  impossible  to  read  a  definite  ethical 
content  into  the  scene.  But  the  repeated  request  of  Keri  that  Heaven  may 
leave  them,  because,  though  Heaven  is  "good",  he  is  the  cause  of  his  peo- 
ple's death,  this  seems  to  insinuate  that  immortality  was  lost  through  a 
rebellion  against  the  decrees  of  heaven,  that  heaven  is  in  fact  "too  good" 
to  hold  them,  that  they  would  rather  live  on  earth  than  continue  to  face 
the  rigors  of  divine  justice.  Even  the  escape  of  the  people  and  the  change 
of  the  heavenly  for  the  earthly  climate  is,  however,  impotent  to  ward  off 
the  fatal  decree, — men  have  continued  to  die  ever  since,  and  Keri's  arrow- 
made  men  are  in  no  better  plight, — all  must  face  their  inevitable  doom. 
It  may  therefore  be  concluded  with  some  probability,  that  though  many 
important  links  in  this  story  are  missing,  the  idea  of  a  divine  vengeance 
upon  the  past  sins  of  men  and  the  consequent  loss  of  eternal  life  through  a 
moral  delinquence,  is  forced  upon  us,  the  nature  of  the  delinquence  being 
variously  hinted  at  as  black  magic,  immorality,  or  the  consumption  of 
forbidden  fruits. 


208  PARADISE 

AM.\ZONIAN  TILADITION 

This  sense  of  justice,  ttiis  consciousness  that  man  has  brought  this  fate 
upon  himself  through  his  own  fault,  is  in  fact  a  very  wide  persuasion 
among  the  Amazonian  peoples,  as  may  be  proved  by  the  numerous  flre  and 
flood-legends,  in  which  the  heroes  are  always  the  righteous  few.  while  the 
great  majority  are  consumed  in  some  terrible  catastrophe,  which  was  sent 
as  a  punishment  for  their  sins. — adultery,  blasphemy,  neglect  of  the 
couvade.  This  does  not  prove  of  course  that  men  were  originally  immortal, 
but  it  helps  to  show,  in  conjunction  with  the  above  data,  that  such  was  the 
primarj-  intention  of  the  divinity,  that  if  things  are  no  longer  what  they 
should  be,  they  have  chiefly  themselves  to  blame,  that  physical  evil  must 
be  traced  to  moral  sources,  to  the  neglect  of  moral  prescriptions. 

(L)  Fctegu-Patagonu 

We  have  no  detailed  information  on  the  mytholog\'  of  the  Chonos  and 
Alacalufs.  For  the  Yahgans.  and  especially  the  Onas.  a  fair  amount  of 
material  is  available,  though  it  is  still  meagre  enough. 

The  Yahgan  Traditions 

A  few  legends  among  the  Yahgans  speak  of  a  time  when  human  beings 
were  married  to  rocks,  and  nature  seems  to  have  been  more  friendly  to 
man.  Women  held  a  higher  position  in  those  days,  and  were  in  fact  the 
ruling  class.  (Compare  the  classic  tradition  of  the  dancing  Amazons). 
A  few  stories  are  also  told  of  the  hero.  L'omoara,  but  he  is  not  associated, 
as  far  as  we  know,  with  euiy  culture-teaching,  nor  is  he  brought  into  any 
relation  with  the  problem  of  immortality,  which  here,  as  elsewhere  in  the 
archipelago,  is  a  vague  belief,  having  little  power  over  the  life  and  con- 
duct of  man. 

The  Oka  Legends 

More  interesting  is  the  Ona  story  of  the  first  man.  Pimaukel,  and  the 
curious  tradition  that  formerly  there  lived  on  earth  a  race  of  "bearded 
white  men",  and  that  sun  and  moon  were  husband  and  wife(!).  ^^'hen 
men  began  to  make  war  on  each  other,  the  sun  and  moon  returned  to 
heaven,  and  sent  a  red  star,  which  turned  into  a  giant  on  the  way  down. 
The  giant  killed  all  men.  and  then  made  two  mountains  or  clods  of  clay, 
from  which  the  first  Ona  couple  were  formed.'  .\part  from  an  implicit 
recognition  of  an  era  of  peace  and  social  prosperity,  this  legend  has  little 
significance,  and  the  storj-  of  the  "bearded  white  men"  is  possibly  due  to 
Patagonian  influence,  though  this  is  not  certain.  In  any  case,  if  reveals 
the  belief  in  a  better  age  which  was  brought  to  a  close  by  the  growing 
violence  of  the  human  race. 


'  Rev  J   M.  Cooper.  Bulletin  63.  ^B.  .^   E-  Washington.  1917).  p.  162-163. 


DEVELOPED  PARADISE  PICTURE 

BHOWINO  THE  SEVEN  GBEAT  WAKANDAB  AND  THB 
BIAGIC    CEDAR 

(SOLAR   ORIENTATION) 
i 


(1)  DARKNESS— rNDERWOBLD— PLACE  OF  EJIEBGENCE— (SIPAPD. 

(2)  WISEST  MAN— ISSVING  FROM  SNAKE  OR  Bl  FFALO— CCLTrRE  HERO. 
(S)   GROIND-WAKANDA— HORNED    SNAKE— BlFIALO—SnSTIC    EYE. 

(4)  SKY-WAKANDA- INCH  DING   SIN,  MOON.  AND  MORNING-STAR. 

(5)  IPPER   WORLD— RISING   LAND— MAGIC   ISLAND— (EARTH-INITL\TE). 

(9)  THl  NDER-BEING— WIND   AND  WATER  W.\K.AN8— MLLVNGUS— R-UNBOW. 
(7)   TREE-WAKANDA— MOTHER  CORN— WORLD-EAGLE— «tN   SERPENT. 


PARADISE  209 

LATER  ASIATIC  TRADITION 
(M,  1)  Central  India 

Among  the  Mundari  peoples  of  Ghota  Nagpur  we  find  the  paradise- 
legends  in  a  comparatively  pure  state,  they  have  not  as  yet  been  afYected 
by  the  growing  naturalism  of  the  period  to  which  they  belong,  an  age  in 
which  nature  is  gradually  substituted  for  the  "living"  god,  and  things  are 
left  very  much  to  themselves  with  regard  to  their  origins.  In  the  creation- 
legend  already  related,  the  first  human  pair  have  been  seen  to  spring  from 
the  swan's  egg,  which,  however  harmless  a  notion,  is  hardly  as  dignified 
as  the  earlier  stories,  in  which  this  subject  is  either  not  handled  at  all  or 
else  it  is  plainly  intimated  that  man  is  direct,  a  unique  creation. 

THE  ADJAM-GARH,  OR  THE  GARDEN  OP  ADAM 

As  to  the  scene  of  the  story,  it  is  laid  in  a  place  called  the  Adjam- 
Garh,  the  native  equivalent  of  "the  Garden  of  Adam",  and  is  evidently  far 
distant  and  very  difTerent  from  any  existing  or  cultivated  garden,  as  the 
sons  of  the  first  humans  are  depicted  as  "wandering  about  over  the  face 
of  the  earth,  over  hills  and  dales,  through  forests  untrodden  by  the  feet  of 
man  and  over  fields  unworn  by  the  plough".  This  has  the  ring  of  remote 
antiquity,  as  has  also  the  name  of  the  garden,  for  the  above  words  rep- 
resent the  earliest  Indonesian  expressions  for  "man",  "master",  and  "gar- 
den", "fort",  or  "enclosure". 

SIN-BONGA  AND   THE   ILI-ROOT 

"The  first  human  pair",  says  the  legend,  "were  innocent  of  the  relation 
of  the  sexes.  So  Sin  Bonga  pointed  out  to  them  certain  vegetable  roots, 
and  taught  them  the  secret  of  making  Hi  or  rice-beer  therewith.  And  the 
first  pair  is  since  remembered  as  Tota  Haram  and  Tota  Bun,  (the  naked 
male  and  female  ancestor) .  They  brewed  Hi,  as  directed,  and  drank  their 
fill.    Then 

"their   EYES   WERE   OPENED" 

For  "the  Hi  tasted  very  sweet  and  it  inflamed  their  passions.  And  in 
due  course  of  time  they  were  blessed  with  ofTspring".* 

Whatever  be  the  moral  import  of  this  statement,  it  certainly  difYers 
widely  both  from  the  earliest  legends  and  from  the  revealed  tradition.  For 
the  Hi  is  not  a  prohibited  food  containing  the  seeds  of  death,  but  rather  a 
stimulating  beverage  for  the  multiplication  of  the  human  race,  approved 
and  freely  offered  by  the  divinity.  The  importance  of  the  story,  however, 
is  that  it  associates  the  sex-passion  with  the  eating  of  a  root,  which,  though 
ultimately  a  blessing,  may  originally  have  been  taboo. — something  freely 
given  to  the  Creator  in  return  for  the  gift  of  immortality.  On  this  subject 
the  story  is  silent,  but  a  state  of  primitive  innocence  seems  to  be  implied. 


1  Roy,  The  Mundas,  p.  VI.  (Appendix). 


210  PARADISE 

LATER  AFRICAN  TRADITION 

(M,  2)  Bantu  Africa 

In  the  Bantu  region  of  East  Africa,  the  inroads  of  totemism  are  more 
strongly  marked.  We  have  already  seen  that  the  idea  of  creation  has  some- 
what faded  among  these  peoples,  that  with  most  of  them  the  human  race 
has  sprung  from  lower  animal,  in  some  cases  even  from  mineral  forms, 
that  only  in  few  instances  is  there  any  consciousness  of  the  direct  action 
of  a  personal  divinity.  This  has  naturally  robbed  them  of  any  clear  notions 
of  a  paradise,  lost  or  forfeited  by  any  hypothetical  ancestors.  Although 
the  belief  in  immortality  is  well-nigh  universal,  I  have  not  been  able  to 
find  a  definite  account  of  the  origin  of  death  or  of  an  ideal  state  from 
which  the  race  has  fallen.  Here  as  elsewhere,  however,  such  a  belief  may 
be  inferred  from  numerous  purification-rites  and  atonement-sacrifices, 
which  seem  to  imply  some  consciousness  of  sin,  if  not  a  past  moral  proba- 
tion. 

MULUNGU   AND  THE  POWER  OF   PARDON 

When  a  child  is  born,  the  Wanyikas  say,  "May  God  forget  iti  May  he 
live!"  Forget  what?  It  is  difTicult  to  see  what  this  can  refer  to  if  not  to 
some  inexplicable  fear  that  the  child  has  already  incurred  the  divine  dis- 
pleasure, and  evidently  not  for  any  personal  action  of  its  own,  it  is  help- 
less. The  only  explanation  of  this  very  common  formula  is  that  mankind 
has  erred  in  the  past,  that  the  divine  anger  is  not  against  personal  but 
against  some  "original"  sin,  by  which  the  divine  friendship  was  lost, 
immortality  forfeited.  The  nature  of  this  sin  is  not  further  specified,  but 
the  common  practice  of  offering  up  the  first  fruits  of  the  season  in  this 
connexion  suggests  once  more,  that,  as  the  breach  can  only  be  healed  by  an 
abstention,  the  guilt  was  incurred  by  an  unlawful  consumption,  that  the 
delinquent  must  give  back  to  God  that  of  which  he  has  unjustly  robbed 
Him.' 

THE  SACRED  FLOWER 

The  very  general  custom  of  reserving  the  finest  products  of  the  jungle 
for  this  purpose,  and  more  especially  the  powdered  meal  of  the  coconut 
palm,  shows  that  these  things  are  held  to  be  in  some  sense  sacred,  they 
have  a  god-given  virtue  enabling  the  consumer  to  live  the  divine  life. 

THE  SERPENT 

On  the  other  hand  the  animal  world  plays  a  far  more  prominent  part 
than  in  former  times.  Not  only  is  the  serpent  and  the  hyaena  feared,  but 
in  many  cases  actually  worshipped,  he  is  no  longer  the  enemy  but  the 
ancestor  of  man. — a  common  inversion,  for  which  the  totemic  peoples  are 
famous. 


^LeRoy,  La  Religion  des  Primitifs,  p.  298flf.  (Cult  and  Sacrifice). 


PARADISE  211 

LATER  AUSTRALIAN  TRADITION 

(M,  3)  The  Aruntas  of  Lake  Eyre 

The  same  remarks  apply  with  equal  force  to  the  Australian  region. 
Here  we  have  an  elaborate  system,  worked  out  with  all  the  niceties  of  a 
modern  text-book  on  biology.  Man  is  now  the  result  of  atomic  forces,  a 
mere  cogwheel  in  the  machinery  of  creation.  Evolved  from  the  sun,  the 
earth,  or  the  lizard,  he  takes  his  place  as  a  half-fledged  indescribable  in 
the  paradise  of  the  ancestors,  or  what  is  left  of  such  a  place.    This  is 

THE  FAMOUS  ALCHERINGA  OR  DREAM-TIME 

Now,  this  is  in  so  far  a  noble  tradition  in  that  it  recognises  an  ideal 
"somewhere"  in  which  man  lived  in  apparent  friendship  with  nature,  and 
where  rocks,  trees,  and  animals  spoke  to  him  as  his  nearest  kin.  It  was 
apparently  a  place  of  happiness  and  immortality,  as  these  inapertwas  or 
half-made  men  are  spoken  of  as  inkara, — unborn,  undying.  Here  the 
water,  the  frog,  the  lizard  and  the  emu  were  all  intermarried,  and  through 
their  combined  union  or  interaction  there  arose  the  present  race  of  man- 
kind, but  in  half-animal  or  embryonic  state.  Great  things  were  done  in 
those  days,  there  was  no  lack  of  the  power  of  self-transformation,  but 
there  is  no  explanation  other  than  the  possible  influence  of  bad  magic  for 
the  fact  that  men  have  to  die,  that  these  wonderful  powers  have  been  lost. 

ALTJIRA   AND  THE   HAKEA-PLANT 

Possibly  some  clue  to  the  mystery  may  be  obtained  from  the  grass-seed 
totems  and  the  Hakea-plant,  which  are  believed  to  be  specially  powerful 
medicines,  and  to  increase  or  decrease  the  fertility  of  man  and  of  nature 
in  proportion  as  they  are  associated  with  the  emu-sun,  or  the  Ancient 
One,— Altjii-a.  All  this,  however,  is  hypothetical,  it  is  man  himself  that 
seems  to  have  his  own  fate  in  his  own  hands,  he  is  his  own  "doctor". 

DEATH  THE  RESULT  OP  A   "PASSION" 

The  Kaitish  say  that  long  ago  their  dead  used  to  be  buried  either  in 
trees  or  underground,  and  that  after  three  days  they  regularly  rose  from 
the  dead.  This  happy  condition  was  brought  to  an  end  by  a  delinquent, 
who  instead  of  burying  the  dead,  fell  into  a  passion  and  kicked  the  body 
into  the  sea.  After  this  the  body  could  not  come  to  life  again,  and  that  is 
why  nowadays  nobody  rises  from  the  dead  after  three  days,  as  they  used 
to  do ! 

THE  GREAT  WOLLUNQUA 

Another  fragment  is  the  story  about  the  giant  serpent,  Wollunqua, 
to  which  the  Warramungas  attribute  wonderful  feats  in  the  days  of 
dream-time." 


3  Spencer  and  Gillen,  Northern  Tribes,  pp.  182,  226,  283,  513  (combined  data). 


212  PARADISE 

NORTH-AMERICAN  TRADITION 
(M,  4)  The  Prairie  Indians 

Stories  of  the  origin  of  deatli  through  curiosity  are  particularly  abun- 
dant in  North  America.  Here  the  main  idea  seems  to  be  that  mortality 
and  immortality  are  both  natural  to  man,  but  that  the  prevalence  of  one 
over  the  other  is  more  a  matter  of  chance  than  of  direct  moral  purpose. 

THE    MYSTIC   TREE-WAKANDAS 

The  Omahas  have  two  sacred  trees,  the  Ash  and  the  Cedar,  and  one 
sacred  fruit,  the  Corn.  "The  Corn  is  regarded  as  the  mother,  and  the 
buffalo  as  the  grandfather  among  the  Omaha  and  other  tribes."  *  This 
may  have  something  to  do  with  the  secret  of  life  as  suggested  by  the  fol- 
lowing legend  : 

THE  SPIRIT-BOX 

"In  the  beginning  the  sun  was  made  first",  runs  the  Cherokee  legend. 
"Now  the  Creator  intended  that  man  should  live  for  ever.  But  when  the 
sun  passed  over  them  in  the  sky,  he  told  the  people  that  there  was  not  room 
enough  for  them  all,  and  they  had  better  die.  At  last  the  sun's  own 
daughter  who  was  with  the  people  on  earth  was  bitten  by  a  snake  and 
died.  Then  the  sun  gave  way  to  remorse  and  said  the  people  might  live 
for  ever.  But  this  was  not  to  be  obtained  without  a  trial.  He  bade  them 
take  a  box  and  fetch  his  daughter's  spirit  in  the  box  and  bring  it  to  her 
body,  that  she  might  live,  but  on  no  account  to  open  the  box  until  they 
arrived  at  the  dead  body.  However,  moved  by  curiosity,  they  unhappily 
opened  the  box  too  soon.  .'\way  flew  the  spirit,  and  all  men  have  died 
ever  since." '' 

THE  SOUL-PACKET 

Another  version  speaks  of  a  soul-packet,  which  man  was  commanded 
never  to  open  under  pain  of  losing  his  immortality.  The  man  obeyed,  and 
as  long  as  the  packet  was  unopened,  he  remained  immortal.  But  his  wife 
was  both  curious  and  incredulous.  She  opened  the  packet  to  see  what  was 
in  it,  the  precious  contents  flew  away,  and  mankind  has  been  subject  to 
death  ever  since." 

DEATH  THE  RESULT  OK   CURIOSITY 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  both  these  examples  death  is  the  result  of  a  proba- 
tion in  this  sense,  that  it  was  brought  upon  man  by  a  premature  desire  to 
penetrate  into  divine  mysteries,  to  discover  the  secret  of  existence.  More- 
over the  connexion  of  the  "Mother-Corn"  with  the  spirit  of  Life  would 
suggest  that  the  Corn-spirit  was  contained  in  the  box,  and  thus  life  and 
death  are  once  more  connected,  though  remotely,  with  a  forbidden  food. 


♦  Dorsey,  A  Study  of  Siouan  Cults,  (B.  A.  E.  11th  Rep.),  p.  403.  »  Mooncy,  Myths  of  the 
Cherokee,  (B.A.  E.  19th.  Rep.),  p.  436.  « Frazer,  BeHef  in  Immortaiitj-,  (London,  1913), 
p.  77-78. 


THE  ADAPA-LEGEND 


SELECTED   FBAGMENT8   ACCORDING   TO   THE   READINGS    OF    SHEIL,   HABPEB   KNTDTZON. 
AND  OTHERS,  ILLCSTBATING  THE  MAIN  POINTS  OF  THE  BABTIONIAN  LEGEND. 


TNE  ALL-KNOWlNa    SACE  OF  ERIDU 


(tA aiM  —  TUM         11=*.— I«>m  U 

.   —  HH     •POSSBSSE35     I  NTEUDtSENCE —  — 


U3t— kA  -RAiP-AS-XUM        U SaK Lll_-feu      U  —  ^U-RAT  VUCH   MJ-LU-MU 

A  VA^r  (KmuuaeKCE:  he-  qave^  him  to  R.EVEAU-rHe  BEsnNiesoFTHEHANo 

ANA  SU-A— TU     Nl-Me-kA   II>1>IN-SU    NAPtS^AM     3>A — ER-TAM  UU    (tH>lN-$U 

TOH\M  He<t*ve  WistDOM  ,  UF&  ETHKjiAU    He  «^ave:  hjm  not 

tlvJA  U-  ME-SU-MA  irOA  ^A-NA)  Si  -  KA-A-TI       AB-KA^UJM    MAR  ^UJ)EP.\»U 
IN       -THOSE    asAVS  -THE        SAQC      OF        BT^ISU 

CiLU)     B—  A         Kl  — MA    ■P.ID-DI     IMA    A-Me-LU— Tl        IB— Nl  — Su 
AS  -THE    HE-A»    OF-THE     HUMAN  K^ACE   -  rA  C-REATeX)    HIM 


F-RAGMEN-r  3r  ,  L.31  RBV. 

THE    KejECnON  OrTHE":BKeAI)  AND  WATER  OF  LIFE" 

(A-l<A-ALBA~lA--rl       ME-e  BA-IA-Tl) 

AL— KA    A— »A— FA     AM Ml—    N\         LA    -TA-KU—  UU       LA     XA-AC-Tl-MA 

"O    A35AT>A  I      WKV  a>  li>ST -TKO  U    NOT   EA-r?VvMYI)II>SrTHOU  KOTXRIKK" 

LA        SA-AL-Sa-^      Al  Nl-§l       XU\-A-C-LA-Ti]„CILU)    E-A    BE-U 

THOU    SHAtX    NOT     L|ve,T5AlSENcrrup(THV  HANKS?)  EA^MVMASTEn, 

IIS  — 3A— A  LA    TA-D<A]-AU  la     ta— ^ AT T» 

HATH  *Aia>;     THOU    SHAUr    t^ar   EAT-THOU    SHACT   NOTI>T=t«NK',     ' 


FPAGMENT  IV",L.lfe-18 

THE.     GO  n4se:o.uence: 


t-  _,ML1R-SU       ^A      INA       ZUMRl         NiSe        iS  — TAk—  NU 

[TH  EY    IMPOSEJSICKNESS  WHICH  THEY  PLACE  INTWE  BODIES  OF  MEN 

. A-TUM    ,  (  ILU)NIN —  KAR—   T^A AK  U  HA A^ —  yu 

pHIS  SICKNESS?]   (THE  l_ASY)    NlNKAF«.FiAK  APPEASES 

Q.|-r]-Bl  —  MA  SI  IM—  MU  MUT=e,—  SU       Ul^—   y'-''=»> 

MAY     SHE     come',    may    IMnRV.rrY  and  sickness  be  KKWEN  AWAY'. 


TEXTS   AND   TBANSCBIFTIONS 

FBAGM.  I:  ASSYBI.4N  TABLET  BY  SHEIL,  RECUEIL  DES  TB-AVAIX,  (PARIS,  1897),  VOL.  XX. 
P.  IZT.  IN  LINE  6,  DHOBME  BEADS  SA-NA-A-Tl,  CHOIX  DE  TESTES,  (P.ARIS,  1907),  P.  14g. 
FBAGM  n:  THONTAFELFUND  VON  AM.4BNA,  (BERLIN,  1890),  P.  166b.  HABPEB,  IN  BEITBAGE 
ZIB  ASSTEIOLOGIE  IND  SEMITISCHEN  8PB.4CH\nSSENSCH.\FT,  VOL.  U.  P.  418.  KNUDTZON, 
IBIDEM,   VOL.  IV.   P.   128ff.     KNIDTZON,    (.4SLVRNA-TABLETS,   LEIPZIG,    1910),   P.   968. 

FBAGM.  IV:  K.  8314   (BRITISH  MISECM)    PUBLISHED  BY  8.  A.  STBONO,  IN  PROCEEDINGS   OF 
THE    SOCIETY    OF   BIBLICAL    ARCH.\EOLOOY.    (1894),   P.    S74. 


THE  TREE  OF  ERIDU 


POBTIOM    OF    A    BIUNOUiX    INCANTATION-TEXT,    SHOWING    AN    ABSTBIAN    TRANS- 
LATION OF  A  SCHERIAN  ORIOINAI.    (C.  T.   XVI.   PL.   4«.  L.   188-1»«) 


(iS3)    KM    HUM  —  Ki    44ik-KiN  — 4ia-c  K»  -  e» TA     sm  — A 

•UO-MK-»        ei-JKA4IM-A  zu  — A8— -TA  LAI.  —  E 

xi-Mu-4u      uK-NU— u       m-Bi    JU  a-m^  AP-«i-t     -tar-^u 

XINaiR-.KI-lJe      4IN-«1H-A— TA      MON-KI        (JS- QAU  Sl4^<JA-A->M 
A<kOUI)     e — A       TAU-IAK-TA-Au  IM*    K-1^I-JM1     yB4*llJ  MA-VA-A-Tl 

;!^  ^  Tf  ^  4^4-4^      If  >*^ 

ia--rui_A— MA  KI  —   i«  — KUR—  A—  AN 

(k<}l)     KI    -MA— A  ?       C»IN*W-ia    —  A-AN 

Ki — 1« &U-&U     M*  — A  — ui  iA      o*-")     (ud-a-an") 

B-XAl^-qA-A-MI-TA    ai)i— -rm    aiS-M)    IAI--B  iA-»»>*JU»  ku-koi-un-uu-tu-tu— ttc 

[ima]  »i— n    eL.-ui!U  ki-ma  loi-Ti  ^»L-iA-io-wiv«uCAjus-«i^MM*4VMAm.-iui-BU 

Sa  a)iN<ii»|)»*HaAR  CnVi'^a'J —  <A^- »!"»>  ^~  ***'  —  '** 

\HA      KI  — -w-mi-SuOi^IUmSu  Otu")  auMu- x» 

,y    _»^   _    AH   -MA-A  l»  »^  C«>_A_TA 

IMA        »l  —  HIT       Tl    I        HA HA-(A-TI)      K> lAt^LA— AM 


COMPARE    8AYCE,    GIFFORD    LECTl'RES    (IMM),    P.    8M.      PINCHES,    THE    OLD    TE8T.\- 

MENT    (ie<M)     P.    71.      DHORME.    CHOIX    DE    TEXTE8     (1M7),    P.    98.      THOMPSON,    THE 

DEVILS  AND  EVIL  SPIRITS  OF  BABYLONIA    (l»OS),  P.  UV.  MOff. 


PARADISE  213 

RECENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

(N,  1)  Early  Babylonian  Form 

In  the  later  stone  age  the  ancient  picture  of  a  tree,  serpent,  and  tempta- 
tion rises  once  more  vividly  before  our  eyes.  It  is  difficult  to  date  these 
fragments,  but  the  early  Babylonian  version  is  among  the  clearest. 

THE  PARADISE  OF  ERIDU 

is  located  at  the  mouths  of  certain  rivers,  in  the  midst  of  which  stands 

THE  SUPPOSED  '"TREE  OP  LIFE" 

"At  Eridu  a  palm-tree  grew,  in  holy  place  it  blossomed, 
Its  roots  were  bright,  as  crystal  white,  they  spread  forth  to  the  waters. 
The  shrine  of  Ea  was  its  home,  at  Eridu  the  fertile, 
Its  seat  the  center  of  the  earth,  its  leaves  the  couch  of  Bahu. 
Into  its  holy  house,  which  like  a  forest  spread  its  shade, 
Hath  no  man  ever  entered.    Alone  the  God  of  Light,  He  dwells  within, 
On  lowland  coast,  between  the  parting  rivers".^ 

THE  SERPENT 

That  the  serpent  is  in  some  way  connected  with  this  tree  is  not  impos- 
sible.   The  following  ideograms  for  a  Babylonian  river  should  be  noted : — * 

An Mush Tin Tir Duv      signifying : — 

God — Serpent Life — Garden — Destruction. 

This  may  of  course  refer  to  any  river  or  any  power  of  danger,  but  the 
whole  subject  should  be  interpreted  in  the  light  of  the  following  evi- 
dence : — 

(1)    THE  ADAPA  LEGEND 

Adapa,  (Sum.  Adda,  "father"),  was  created  by  Ea  (Sum.  En-ki),  "Lord 
of  the  Deep",  at  a  place  called  E-ri-du  (Sum.  Nun-ki),  "City  of  Happi- 
ness", and  endowed  with  wisdom,  (Zu).  His  duty  is  to  furnish  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Eridu  with  food  and  water.  (This  supposes  that  men  are  already 
on  the  earth).  One  day  Adapa  goes  out  to  fish  in  a  canoe,  and  is  over- 
whelmed by  the  South-Wind  (Zw),  which  swamps  the  boat  and  causes 
shipwreck.  For  this  act  Adapa  breaks  the  wings  of  the  South-Wind,  but 
is  called  to  account  by  Anu,  the  Heaven-God.  He  has  been  told  by  Ea  to 
refuse  the  bread  and  water  of  "death"  that  Anu  will  offer  him,  but  to 
choose  instead  the  clothing  and  oil.    He  follows  the  advice  and  has  rejected 

THE  "bread  AND  WATER  OF  LIFE" 

that  conveys  immortality.  In  this  manner  he  has  forfeited  the  gift  of 
eternal  life  through  a  deception  practiced,  not  by  the  serpent,  but  by  the 
third  member  of  the  Chaldaean  "trinity" (!).^ 


1  This  is  a  free  translation  of  C.  T.  XVI,  46,  based  on  Sayce.  Pinches,  Dhorme,  and 
Thompson,  places  cited  on  the  opposite  page.  =  Rawlinson,  II.  51,  44a.  ^  jg^sen,  Keilinschr. 
Biblioth.  IV.  1,  92ff. 


214  PARADISE 

RECENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 
(2)  The  Gilgamesh-Epic 

111  this  story  it  is  the  Ocean-God  again,  who  creates  his  hero  in  the 
image  of  Ayiu  through  Arum  (the  earth?),  as  is  evident  from  his  designa- 
tion, 

Ea-bani, — god-created — ,  =Adapa, — father  of  the  rage 

In  the  sequel  it  is  Gilgamesh,  the  post-diluvian  hero,  who  undertakes  a 
long  journey  to  the  far  East, — tiie  netiier-world(?) — in  order  to  obtain  the 
secret  of  immortality  from  liis  remote  ancestor,  Utnajnshlim,  the  "trans- 
lated" Noah!  He  passes  Ihrougii  the  waters  of  death,  is  healed  of  his 
leprosy  in  the  waters  of  life,  and  after  endless  adventures  he  arrives  at 

"the  isles  op  the  blessed" 

in  the  Erythraean  Sea,  which  is  meant  to  describe  the  furthest  limits  of 
the  then-known  world.    Here  he  obtains  a  wonderful  plant, 

THE  herb  of  life, 

which  as  the  shammu-balati  of  the  Semitic  inscriptions  is  capable  of 
imparting  indefinite  vitality.  On  his  return,  however,  a  serpent  darts  up 
from  tlie  thicket  just  as  he  is  about  to  quench  his  thirst  at  a  spring,  and 
through  sheer  fright  lie  drops  the  precious  boon  and  has  lost  immortality.* 

age  and  value  of  the  legends 

The  prominence  of  Suniorian  names,  und  the  absence  of  any  allusions 
to  Bel-Marduk,  both  in  the  Eridu-fragmcnt  and  the  Adapa-legend,  makes 
it  quile  probable  that  thoy  antedate  the  dynastic  age  of  Babylon  by  several 
centuries,  though  this  is  only  negative  evidence.  Also  their  appearance 
in  bilingual  form  points  to  a  comparatively  early  redaction,  when  Sumor- 
ian  was  still  tiie  hieratic  tongue  and  required  a  popular  or  vernacular 
transliteration.  Tliese  featiu'cs  are  not  decisive,  but  they  tend  to  show  that 
tree,  serpent,  and  temptation  were  fastened  on  the  first  couple,  not  on 
a  later  hero  of  diluvian  fame.  The  deluge-tablets  contain  elements  of 
undoubtedly  Siimerian  antiquity,  but  their  strongly  Semitic  coloring 
should  make  us  hesitate  in  accepting  this  version  as  an  unadultcrateii 
original.    The  prominence  of  the  national  Bel  would  seem  to  exclude  it. 

the  "bread  and  water"  op  life  important 

On  the  other  hand  Ann's  bread  and  water  of  life  are  surely  suggestive, 
oven  if  the  moral  of  the  story  leaves  nuicli  to  be  d{>sired.  In  combination 
with  the  deluge-tablets  (q.  v.)  these  legends  offer  much  food  for  reflectinu, 
as  tliey  bring  on!  Ilie  three  main  |)oints  in  the  fall  of  man  with  consider- 
able force,  to  wit, — life  offered,  trial  or  probation,  life  refused." 

« Jensen,  1.  c.  VI.  120ff.  Paul  Haupt,  Das  babyionische  Nimrodepos  (Leipzig.  1884). 
"  Compare  Nikel,  Die  Genesis,  p.  124flF.  For  the  supposed  "Sumerian  Version  of  Paradise, 
the  /■'IciihI,  and  llu-  l-all  of  ^fan",  by  S.  Langdon,  (Philadelphia,  1915),  consult  Jastrow, 
"Sumerian  and  Akkadian  Views  of  Beginnings",  in  J  A.  O.  S.  Vol.  XXX.  (1916),  p.  290. 
Prince,  ibid.  p.  267.  from  which  it  appears  that  the  readings  are  still  too  problematical  to 
merit  acceptance 


EGYPTIAN  FRAGMENTS 
ON  THE  TREE  OF  LIFE  AND  THE  SERPENT 

PYBASnD  TEXT:   PEPl   I. 
SETHE,  VOL.  n,  SEC.  1216.     P.  4Sld.     P.   4S1». 

KEBI-SEM    EN  PEH  MET  (HEr\      PU       EX  AMAH(JtH)ANAy(NH)   U    SEM      IM-Ef 
AHAy(NK)    THN         IM   -  EF         EM       SEP  WSHA  -   SEN 

"THEY  GIVE  TO  THIS  KING  PEPI  THE  TREE  OF  LIFE  WHEREOF  THEY  LTVE, 
THAT   YE   AT  THE   SAME  TIME  ALAY  LIVE   THEREOF  «1TH  THEM". 

PYRAMID  TEXT:  TETI 
SETHE,  VOL.  n.  SEC.  610,  T.  305a.  T.  305b,  T.  SOSff 

Q 


9S>-MEDU    V-kl*T<U       (IKART)      IKEfCT  HATUT  ER.  TE-TI     l-«MI    JAMU  (oefiUS} 

■PEHEP.     MESA  IKLEF  NENM       NEH-I     IR    HEBU      ?   ?   U-HEBU-TA 

"O  IKARU,  THOU  SERPENT!  THOU  ART  FAR  FROM  TETI,  WHO  COMES  FROM  JAMl     (OSIRIS)  : 
HORl'S  SCANS  ALL  WITH   HIS  EYE,  THOl'   SERPENT  CRAWLEST   IPON  THE   EARTH!" 

HIEROGLYPHIC     ORIGIN.AL     IN      K.     SETHE,     DIE     ALTAGY'PTISCHEN       PYR.\»nDEN-TEXTE, 

(LEIPZIG,     1910),     1.    c.    SUPRA.       TRANSLITER.\TION     AND    TRANSLATION     BY     PROF.     O.     8. 

DUNCAN,   OF  JOHNS  HOPKINS  I  ^^VERSITY,  BALTIMORE,    (PRIVATE   SOURCES,    1911). 


PARADISE  215 

RECENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

(N,  2)  Egyptian  Form 

On  the  Nile  we  find  the  same  fundamental  notions  but  with  less  atten- 
tion to  details,  they  are  more  vague.  There  has  also  been  a  confusion  of 
divine  beings  with  human  ancestors,  of  eternal  creators  with  pharaonic 
mummies.  Osiris-Isis  is  no  longer  an  abstract  designation  for  divine 
attributes,  they  are  rather  themselves  the  first  human  couple,  male  and 
female  Pharaos,  ruling  over  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey.    This  is 

THE  PARADISE  OP  ALU, 

or  Field  of  Alu,  situated  on  one  of  the  numerous  islands  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  the  delta.'  During  this  golden  age  of  humanity,  death 
was  apparently  unknown,  and  all  who  approached  this  land  of  light  and 
happiness  were  assured  of  eternal  life,  of  unending  prosperity.  How 
then  did  the  "happy  times  of  Ra"  come  to  an  end?  No  direct  answer  to 
this  question  is  forthcoming.  Osiris  is  immortal,  but  only  as  a  mummy, 
in  fact  he  is  the  Lord  of  the  dead,  and  ever  since  the  Pharaos  have  been 
embalmed  with  that  flesh-preserving  ointment  which  the  Egyptians  know 
to  use  so  well.  This  is  a  posthumous  immortality  and  gives  no  solution 
to  the  mystery  of  death.  Ka,  the  soul-double,  quits  the  body  to  ascend  to 
higher  realms,  but  no  reason  is  given,  why  this  is  so,  why  this  separation 
is  fated  to  take  place.  Perhaps  the  following  items  may  suggest  an 
answer.    There  is 

THE  TREE  OF  LIFE. 

which  grows  in  Alu,  and  was  given  by  the  stars  of  heaven  to  the  dead, 
"that  they  might  live  for  ever".^  This  has  a  distinctly  Mesopotamian  ring, 
the  more  so,  as  the  tree  is  enshrined  in  the  "Great  House"  (Sum.  E-gal. 
E-sarra),  which  connects  it  with  the  sacred  palm  of  Eridu  above.  Then 
again 

THE   SERPENT   APOPHIS 

figures  very  early  as  the  arch-enemy  of  Ra,  the  sun-god,  who  finally  con- 
quers the  beast  very  much  as  Bel-Marduk  subdues  the  great  Tiamat,  the 
seven-headed  dragon  of  the  deep.^    Can  there  be  any  intimation  of 

A  TEMPTATION   AND  FALL? 

At  least  this  much  may  be  gathered:— (1)  Immortality  was  the  original 
destiny  of  man.  (2)  The  tree  of  life  imparted  this  immortality,  even  if  to 
the  "dead"(?).  (3)  The  role  of  the  serpent  as  the  enemy  of  Ra  suggests 
that  the  divine  plan  was  frustrated,  though  in  what  manner,  we  are  left 
uninformed.  These  are  important  points,  as  a  punishment  and  pardon 
seem  to  be  implied.'' 


'  Maspero,  The  Dawn  of  Civilisation,  p.  180ff.  -  Pyramid  Texts,  Pepi,  431.  ^  Pyramid 
Texts,  Unas,  630.  Teta,  305.  ■•  Comp.  Virev,  La  Religion  de.  I'ancienne  Egypte,  (Paris, 
1910),  p.  7-10. 


216  PARADISE 

RECENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 
(N,  3)  Assyrian  Form 

The  lands  of  the  Tigris  have  inherited  the  common  Babylonian  tradi- 
tion of  the  origin  and  destiny  of  man.  The  story  of  Eridu  and  Adapa  be- 
longs as  much  to  the  one  as  to  the  other,  though  there  is  evidence  to  show 
that  these  and  the  great  national  epics  antedate  the  earliest  Assyrian 
dynasty  by  some  centuries.  In  any  case,  the  literary  output  of  the  northern 
kingdom  is  worth  a  separate  treatment,  partly  because  the  national 
pantheon  gives  it  a  distinctive  coloring,  partly  because  the  famous  library 
of  Ashurbanipal  has  supplied  us  with  artistic  monuments  for  which  we 
look  in  vain  in  the  land  of  Sumer. 

THE  "tree  op  life" 

Foremost  among  these  are  the  phantastic  representations  of  the  Tree  of 
Life  and  its  semi-divine  guardians  which  figure  so  largely  in  the  art- 
treasures  of  this  people.  It  is  easy  to  see  how  the  older  ideas  on  this  sub- 
ject have  been  to  some  extent  modified,  in  fact  nationalised.  The  tree  is 
no  longer  the  "sacred  palm"  but  the  fir-tree,  which  connects  it  at  once  with 
the  mountainous  region  to  the  north  of  the  Tigris.  Also,  it  has  lost  much  of 
its  simple  and  natural  character.  It  frequently  appears  in  such  conven- 
tionalised, almost  stereotyped  form,  that  the  original  tree  is  hardly  recog- 
nisable, it  takes  the  form  of  a  mysterious  fruit  or  flower-symbol,  in  which 
all  attempts  to  portray  a  tree  of  nature  has  been  abandoned.' 

THE  SUPPOSED  TEMPTATION 

More  realistic  in  some  respects  is  the  supposed  picture  of  the  tempta- 
tion and  fall  as  depicted  on  the  well-known  seal-cylinder.  Here  we  have 
two  figures, — a  male  and  a  female(?) — ,  sitting  under  a  fir-cone  tree  and 
apparently  stretching  out  their  hands  to  pick  the  fruit.  On  the  left  is  a 
coiled  figure  which  has  the  suspicious  contour  of  a  serpent,  but  which 
may  be  accidental,  the  dividing  line  between  two  cylinders.  On  this  point 
experts  are  still  divided,  but  it  must  be  admitted  that  to  the  unsophisticated 
observer  the  whole  situation  will  speak  for  itself,  the  symbolism  is  almost 
irresistible.  Admitting,  then,  that  we  have  here  another  echo  of  the  early 
undivided  tradition,  some  adulteration  for  the  above  reasons  is  only  to  be 
expected.' 

the  "cherubim" 

Finally  the  winged  figures  on  either  side  of  the  tree  of  life  occur  so 
frequently  in  Assyrian  art,  that  the  idea  of  Cherubim  is  forced  upon  us. 
Taking  it  all  together,  however,  this  symbolism  is  inferential  rather  than 
self-evident,  the  "drama"  of  the  fall  is  still  largely  hypothetical. 


'  For  the  monuments,  A.  Jeremias,  The  Old  Testament  in  the  Light  of  the  ancient  East 
f London,  1911),  p.  207ff.     'Ibid.  p.  220. 


THE  "TREE  OF  LIFE" 
IN  ASSYRIO-BABYLONIAN  ART 

FACSIMILES  OF  A  BAS-BELIEF  AND  A  SEAL-CTIINDER,  POKTBATINO  WHAT  IS  COMMONIT 
TAKEN  TO  BE  THE  LEADING  MOTIF  OF  THE  PABADISE-LEGEND,  BUT  WHICH  HAS  BEEN 
CONVENTIONALISED  AND  ALLEGORISED  ACCORDING  TO  THE  PREVAILING  CONCEPTS  OF 
THE  TIME.  THE  "CHERUBIM"  CARRY  VESSELS  OF  "HOLY  WATER,"  WHILE  THE  HORNED 
FIGURE  IS  THE  SIGN  EITHER  OF  DIVINITY  OB  OF  THE  MASCULINE  SEX. 


'CHERUBIM         AdSVRiAN   TREEOFUFE     CHERUB 


<M^?) 


\BASVLONtAN      T-EMI^TAnOH- S<£ME   C?) 


•THE  SACRED  TREE  AS  POETBATED  ON  BABYLONIAN  SEAL-CYLrNDBR*  AND  OK  THE 
RELIEFS  OF  ASSYRIAN  PALACES  IS  A  SORT  OF  BIEXTURE  OF  A  DATE-TREE  AND  A  CONIFER. 
IT  BEARS  FRUIT,  WHICH  IS  FBEQCENTI.Y  BEING  GRASPED  AT  BY  EAGLES  OB  BY  GENII 
WITH  MEN'S  HEADS.  ALSO  THE  CYLINDER  CALLED  'THE  FALL'  SHOWS  THE  FBUIT  UPON 
THE  TREE."  A.  JEBEMIAS,  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  IN  TBOI  LIGHT  OF  THE  AMCIEirT 
EAST.   rNEW  YORK.  1911^.  VOL.  I.  P.  Sll, 


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heads' 


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SEKPQ4T 
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BEAST  OF 
THEE^iKTH 

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THE  HEBREW  TOLEDOTH 

WITH  A  FEW  ASSYRIAN  PARALLELS 

EDEN  AMJ>  THE  TREE  OF  HFE(<3EN.2  S.iO) 

*  IN  ERIDU    a.  PALM-TREE  a-REW" 

D^iTDFi  DTi>ti  m:i  P  tin'?^^  nin'  yt^ns 

INA  E-TU-3JU  WS-KA-NU  SAL-MU  IR-Bl  INA/^fe.Ri  el-LU  IBBANl  (ERIBU  ,i) 
(ILU^EA  KI-MA  T^ID-EI    IMA  A-ME-UJ-Tl  IB-NI-^U  (ONLYIN  AnAPA,T.6^ 

dAN  E-Di-iM  As'b^RDE^l-PlAlN'mqENSv^L(I)fi-4^scH,s?^.C(>l.l^.?.q.HW^ol?.■() 

■.y^]  y\c^  WIT]  m  ]^\j  -pm.  o^^nrr 

iAM-«U  BA.IATI§^T1N)ASHER80FUFC  mHEI>OT7WOCB\N(<Sll^AM^ySI,5i)5) 

THE   roUK,  RIVERS  (a  iO> 

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INA  Sl-nrr  P1-1  NA-WK-A-TI    K»-  L^L-L^-AN  fMULTlPLEWVERSIN  ERl»U,8) 

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Ili-KU-IM-NI-MA  INA  Va-VX  IKiATt-l  NARATI  U5-TE-Sl-BU-IM-Nl(<SILfiAM3aiOS) 

imm  ^}m  JTni?  T'^nrr  i^in  i5;>nn  ^w^^wn 

■•rHEMOlftHS(0RS0URCES)OFTHERlveKSARE|NTHEISLE50FTHE3l£Sr(lBID) 

:J^"i&  .Sin  *^'3*)n 

( NAMES  AND  MU  MBERS  A1?E  WAKTII*?) 

THEX>IVIKIE  COMMAND  fa. ,16) 

"  INTO  ITS    HOLY  HOUSE   HATH  NO  MAN  EVETl.  eVlTEnED  " 
I  NA  BI-TI    EL-LU  MAM-VIA  LA  IR-RU-BUffeRlDU.e^CTHE  FRUIT  IS  IHA«E£51BIE) 

:ri]Dri  i^^ts  i^db  7^>5^  dv:i^:3  uDD>>sn  ^> 

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-THE  SERPENT  C34) 

MUi-TlAMAT  AS  ENEMY  OF  BEL-MARDUK.  IN  CB£AT10N-T*BUTSWSSIM 
SIRU  l-TCSI-l)^m-PI5  iAM-MU"ASEWEKTSMECnHEQDOROF~nCTUNT' 

'  u;3)3"  tt>^^  tiv:^^>  D^nSs  rr*  ^:5  5  tjinun 

Meb  I-LAM-MA  iAM-MA  ll-srrTRCSEANDTDOKTWE'FnANT  2uM-a\  ^1-l-BU 

:Vi)  :n2D  ^yi*  D^n>!!0  on^m  b:^*^^  inp&3] 

IS-SA-yiR  AMEUj"nS  NAME  IS  •."HEOIVQ^-nON"  (:<5lu;AME^,Xr  ,1'?8-S05) . 

THE  CHERUBIM  (3 .2.-1-) 

Dti')>rmxiTn^S  tnpQ  pm  Di^rr  h^  ^'^y}  24 

KA-RU-BU=W»-BU-U  (AN  .  KaL)  ASPKTrecnN(;DEmB503EUT5CHAHB.352P 
«A-4?U-EU  AS'THUNDQ^-BWDi 


"^  "     r  kA-4?U  -HI  ASTHUNDe^-BWD  =  WJ-'BU-UK.-KU  v^LR  37, 17  d  ^.f .) 


FOR  TKXTS   AM>  CITATIONS  SKE   ABOVE  P.   *13(r. 


PARADISE  217 

REGENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 
(N,  4)  Palestinian  Form 

In  the  Hebrew  account  of  the  "Garden  of  Eden"  as  described  in  Gen. 
2,  8-3,  24,  the  following  points  should  be  noted  in  so  far  as  they  concern 
its  interpretation  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  inspired  writer.^ 

THE  LOCATION  OF  PAOADISB 

The  Gan-be-Eden-miqedem  is  evidently  not  a  mere  allegory ;  nor  is  it  an 
astronomical  symbol,  nor  a  highland  plateau,  nor  any  portion  of  the  Baby- 
lonian plain  as  known  to  us.  It  is  rather  an  indefinite  locality  in  the  far 
East,  which  must  be  determined  not  by  existing  but  by  prehistoric  geo- 
graphy. For  Gan-be-Eden  is  most  probably  an  appellative,  a  "Garden  of 
Pleasure"  (LXX.  Truphe,  Vulg.  Voluptas),  and  no  Hebrew  writer  would 
ever  identify  the  Garden  of  God  with  the  Assyrian  Gannat  Ediiinu  or  any 
portion  of  the  detested  Babylonian  plain,  into  which  as  the  land  of  Shinar, 
Sennar,  or  Sumer,  the  human  race  is  supposed  to  have  emigrated  in  a 
far  later,  post-diluvian  age.    (Compare  Gen.  11,  2). 

THE  POUR  RIVERS  OP  PARADISE 

Again,  the  four  rivers  of  Eden  are  not  the  four  divisions  of  the  Milky 
Way,  (Gunkel),  nor  the  four  points  of  the  compass,  (Jeremias),  nor  a 
fourfold  river-system  with  a  common  source,  (Hoberg,  Kaulen),  nor  a 
fourfold  system  of  canals  with  a  double  source,  (Delitzsch) ,— but  are  rather 
the  modern  (Hebrew)  designations  for  the  four  great  branches  of  a  pre- 
historic oceanic  river  running  between  Southern  Asia  and  the  miocene 
continent  of  Lemuria,  and  which  in  bisecting  the  great  land-masses  of 
India,  North  Africa,  Western  Eurasia  and  Arabia,  became  identified 
with  the  four  great  water-courses  of  antiquity, — The  Indus,  the  Nile,  the 
Volga,  and  the  Euphrates.  The  writer  means  to  imply  that  the  river  of 
paradise  was  so  gigantic  that  even  after  "watering"  the  garden,  it  could 
still  give  birth  to  the  greatest  rivers  that  he  had  ever  heard  of,  thus  insin- 
uating a  cosmic  or  prehistoric  origin.  Notice  the  strong  expressions:  kol 
eretz  Hawilah,  kol  eretz  Rush,  qidmath  Ashur. 

THE  TREE  OP  LIFE  AND  THE  TREE  OP  KNOWLEDGE 

That  two  trees  of  opposite  qualities  are  implied  is  evident  from  the 
context  and  the  subsequent  narrative.  The  'Etz  Hachaiim  imparts  thq 
divine  life,  while  the  'Etz  Hada'ath  is  the  cause  of  death,  (Gen.  2, 17.  3,  22). 

THE  SERPENT 

The  tempter  in  the  form  of  the  Serpent,  Hanachash,  is  the  ultimate 
cause  of  evil.    This  is  evidently  a  fallen  being,  destined  to  be  vanquished. 


lOn  this  subject  compare  Hoberg,  Die  Genesis,  pp.  30-43.  Nikel,  Genesis,  124ff.  Dill- 
mann,  Genesis,  55-84.  Strak,  Genesis,  I.  20.  Gunkel,  Urgeschichte  und  Patriarchen,  52-68. 
Delitzsch,  Wo  lag  das  Paradies?  Engelkemper,  Die  vier  Paradiesflusse  (Munster,  1905). 
Driver,  Genesis,  38ff.  Jeremias,  op.  cit.  204ff. 


218  PARADISE 

RECENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

ADAM  AND  EVE 

In  the  contrast  to  the  artificial  notions  of  a  "culture"-paradis6,  it  is 
refreshing  to  turn  to  the  simple  picture  of  Adam  and  Chaivah,  leading  the 
pure  life  of  nature,  unadorned  with  paint  or  plumage,  unhampered  by  the 
trappings  and  conventionalities  of  civilisation.  They  are  simply  "Earth" 
and  "Life",  the  "father"  and  the  "mother"  of  mankind.  "They  are  both 
naked,  the  man  and  the  woman,  and  are  not  ashamed".    This  implies  a 

PRIMITIVE  INNOCENCE 

in  which  human  passions  are  still  under  the  control  of  reason.    Nay  more, 
it  can  easily  be  inferred  from  the  narrative  that  this  must  include  the 

GIFTS  OF  INTEGRITY  AND  0RIGIN.4L  JUSTICE 

that  is  (a)  plenitude  of  physical,  and  (b)  plenitude  of  moral  perfection. 
through  the  former  of  which  man  is  immortal,  through  the  latter  sinless. 

THE  INSTITUTION  OF  MARRIAGE 

is  placed  in  the  Garden  of  God,  it  is  looked  upon  as  sacrosanct  from  the 
outset,  a  divine  institution.    Side  by  side  we  find 

THE  SACRIFICE  OF  ABSTENTION 

by  which  man  is  commanded  to  ofTer  up  the  best  fruits  of  the  garden, — 
the  tree  of  life,  the  tree  of  knowledge — ,  and  this  under  penalty  of  death. 

THE  PROBATION  AND  FALL 

In  the  sequel,  it  is  the  serpent  that  tempts  the  woman,  and  the  woman 
that  tempts  the  man,  they  are  incited  by  curiosity,  they  eat  the  forbidden 
fruit. 

"And  immediately  their  eyes  were  opened,  and  they  knew  that  they 
were  naked,  and  they  sewed  figleaves  together  and  made  them  aprons". 

This  is  a  plain  intimation  that  the  eating  of  the  fruit  has  a  sexual  elTect. 

THE  THREEFOLD  CURSE: — 

(1)  Over  the  serpent: — "She  shall  bruise  thy  head,  thou  shalt  bruise 
his  heel". 

(2)  Over  the  woman: — "In  sorrow  shalt  thou  bring  forth  children". 

(3)  Over  the  man: — "In  the  sweat  of  thy  brow  shalt  thou  eat  thy 
bread,  fill  thou  return  to  the  earth.  For  dust  thou  art,  and  info  dust 
shalt  thou  return". 

This  shows  that  (1)  Pain,  (2)  Travail,  (3)  Death,  are  the  result  of  a 
sin  of  pride  and  curiosity,  of  inordinate  thirst  for  a  knowledge  temporarily 
witheld  from  man. 

THE   CHERUBIM 

Finally  we  have  the  Cherubim  with  the  flaming  sword  at  the  "efist" 
of  the  garden,  "to  guard  the  way  to  the  tree  of  life".  Paradise  can  now 
only  be  regained  by  the  shedding  of  blood,  by  some  form  of  "life" — 
sacrifice. 


THE  PERSIAN  HOM-YASHT 

BEING 

ZOROASTER'S  VISION  OF  THE  SACRED  SOMA 

(YASNA,  IX.  2) 

"I  A»I,   O  ZOROASTER,  IIAOMA,  THE  HOLY,   THE  DRIVING-DEATH-AFAR. 
PRAY  INTO  ME,  8PITAMA,  AND  PREPARE  ME  FOR  THY  TASTE". 

THE  PARADISE  OF  AIRYANA-VEJAH 

(YASNA.  IX,  5) 

"IN  THE   REIGN    OF  TISIA,   SnXFT   OF   MOTION,   WAS   THERE    NEITHER   COLD    NOB   HEAT, 

NOR    AGE    NOR    DEATH,    NOR    ENVY    DEMON-MADE.       LIKE     13-YEARLINGS     WALKED    THE 

TWO  FORTH,  SON  AND  FATHER,  INTHEIR  ST.4TIRE   AND  THEIR   FORM.   SO  LONG   AS  YIMA 

SON   OF   VIVASVANT,   DID   RILE,   HE   OF   THE   JLANY   HERDS". 

ATHWAYA'S  CONQUEST  OF  THE  SERPENT 

(YASNA,  IX.  8) 

"WHO  SMOTE  THE  DRAGON.  DAHAKA.  THREE-JAWTID.  TRIPLE-HEADED.  SIX-EYED.  WITH 
A  THOrSAND  JOINTS.  AND  OF  MIGHTY  STRENGTH.  A  LIE-DEMON  OF  THE  DEVILS.  EVIL 
FOR  Ol'R  SETTLEMENTS,  AND  WICKED,  WHOM  THE  EVIL  SPIRIT.— ANGRA-MAINYI—.  MADE 
AS  THE  MOST  MIGHTY  FALSEHOOD.  AND  FOR  THE  SURDER  OF  Ol'R  SETTLEMENTS,  AXD 
TO    SLAY    THE    HOMES    OF    ASH.A". 

TEXT:    GELDNER,    .AVESTA,     (STCTTGART,    I«»5).     TRANSLATIONS,    ETC.    !>'    8.    B.    E.       VOL. 

XXXI.      P.    231-238.     TRANSCRIPTION.     PRIVATE     SOURCES      (OXFORD,      1917).     COMPARE      A. 

CARNOY,    "IR.\NIAN   VIEWS   OF   ORIGINS".   J.   A.   O.   8.    (DEC.    1916).   P.   SOOff 


PARADISE  219 

RECENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 
(N,  5)  Iranian  Form. — Avestic  Version 
In  the  Avesta  the  Garden  of  God  is  described  with  considerable  detail.^ 

THE  PARADISE  OF   AIRYANA-VEJAH 

or  "Seed''  of  lran(?),  is  situated  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Hukairja, — 
Hara-berezaiti — .  from  which  a  great  river  takes  its  rise.    This  is 

THE  .ARDVI-CURA-ANAHITA.   OR   "WATER  OF  LIFE''. 

which  is  the  fructifying  cause  of  all  nature,  the  perennial  stream.    At  its 
outflow,  in  the  middle  of  the  lake  Vouru-Kasha.  stand  two  trees,  the  first 

THE    HAOMA-TREE, 

dispelling  all  diseases  and  containing  the  gift  of  life  and  immortality. 
This  reminds  us  of  the  life-tree  of  Genesis.    The  second  is  known  as 

THE   VICPA-TAOKHMA   TREE. 

the  "Seed  of  All",  which  may  correspond  to  the  tree  of  forbidden  knowl- 
edge, though  the  exact  significance  of  these  trees  is  very  obscure. 

THE   ST.ATE   OF    INNOCENCE 

This  is  the  place  which  Ahura-Mazda  has  prepared  for  Mithra, — Friend- 
ship— ,  and  where  Haoma — ,  Health,  Immortality — ,  have  their  reign. 
Here  is  the  garden  of  Yima,  the  ruler  of  the  golden  age,  when  there  was 
neither  heat  nor  cold,  hunger  nor  thirst,  sickness  nor  death,  hatred  nor 
'dissension, — nothing  impure  or  contaminated.  How  was  this  state  of 
blessedness  brought  to  an  end? 

THE   SERPENT   AZHI-DAHAKA 

It  is  the  six-eyed,  triple-headed  serpent,  Azhi-Dahaka,  the  incarnation 
of  Angra-Mainyu,  the  evil  spirit,  that  figures  as  the  enemy  of  man. 

DEATH   THROUGH   PREVARICATION 

Neither  tree  nor  serpent,  however,  are  brought  into  any  direct  con- 
nexion with  the  fall.  This  is  the  result  of  a  prevarication  on  the  part  of 
Yima,  of  speaking  the  untruth,  for  which  he  dies  and  falls  into  the  powers 
of  Satan.    The  approach  to  the  tree  of  life  is  guarded  by  the  sacred  Fish. 

BUNDAHISH  VERSION 

In  the  later  tradition  of  the  Bundahish  the  paradise-river  has  many 
subdivisions,  including  the  four  rivers  of  Genesis,  and  it  is  Angra-Mainyu 
himself  that  brings  death  to  Gajomart  and  to  his  children,  Mashia  and 
Mashyoi.  He  incites  them  to  rebellion  against  their  Maker,  they  yield 
to  the  spirit  of  evil,  and  finally  repudiate  the  Creator.  In  this  way  purity, 
happiness,  and  immortality  have  been  irretrievably  lost  to  the  human  race. 

2  Oldest  sources  in  the  Hom-Yasht,  (Yasna  IX),  for  Yima,  Haoma,  Airyana  Vejah,  Azhi- 
Dahaka,  etc.  Later  versions  in  Bundahish,  c.  XVIIIff.  and  compare  A.  Carnoy.  Iranian 
Views  of  Origins,  in  J.  A.  O.  S.  XXX.  (1916),  p.  311flf. 


220  PARADISE 

RECENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 
Indo-Aryan  Form, — Vedic  Version 

In  so  far  as  the  early  Vedic  tradition  is  identical  with  the  Avestic,  we 
find  the  same  picture  of  the  elevation  and  fall  of  man  in  all  its  essentials. 

THE  PAIUDISE  OF  MOUNT  MERU 

is  situated  on  the  lofty  Himalayan  divide,  far  above  the  turmoil  and  misery 
of  the  lower  world.  Here  is  the  sacred  lake,  Manasarowar,  from  which  the 
rivers  or  waters  of  life  flow  out  in  every  direction.    In  its  center  stands 

THE  SOMA-TREB 

with  properties  in  all  respects  similar  to  those  of  its  Persian  counterpart. 
It  is  the  source  of  immortality,  health,  and  happiness,  and  its  leaves  possess 
the  power  of  curing  diseases.    The  subsequent  account  of 

THE  TEMPTATION   AND  PALL 

is  almost  a  duplicate  of  the  Iranian  version,  the  Vedic  equivalents  being 
Asura,  Mitra,  Soma,  with  Yama  as  the  chief  actor,  and  Ahi-Dasa  as  the 
serpent.  Here  also  it  is  pride  and  mendacity  that  leads  to  the  fall,  that 
robs  Yuma  of  eternal  life,  though  neither  tree  nor  serpent  are  its  direct 
occasion. 

BRAHMINISTIC  FORM 

In  the  later  Vedantas  and  Upanishads  the  simple  story  of  a  first  human 
couple,  losing  the  gift  of  immortality  through  personal  sin,  has  been 
largely  obscured  by  pantheistic  speculations.  Yet  even  here  the  legend  of 
Brahma  as  the  productive  ancestor  of  Siwa  and  Bhawani,  both  of  whom 
fall  under  the  dominion  of  evil  through  eating  the  forbidden  fruit,  is 
certainly  interesting. 

CHINESE  PARALLELS 

Fragments  of  the  same  notion  may  possibly  be  found  in  the  golden-age 
legends  of  the  Mongolian  races,  in  wliich  the  first  Celestials  are  described 
as  immortal  and  semi-divine,  while  their  posterity  is  subject  to  death. 

WESTERN-ARYAN  DEVELOPMENT 

Similar  echoes  of  the  common  Asiatic  tradition  are  audible  in  the  West. 
The  Four  Ages  of  man,  beginning  with  a  Golden  Age  of  innocence  and 
happiness,  are  the  typical  theme  of  Graeco-Roman  literature.  In  the 
figures  of  Prometheus  and  Pandarus,  of  Deucalion  and  Pyrrha,  with  the 
Olympus  of  the  gods  and  the  Hespendes  of  the  blessed,  the  vague  outlines 
of  a  paradise,— lost  through  an  act  of  theft — ,  are  all  the  more  striking, 
because  the  Germanic  Asgard  of  the  gods  was  also  forfeited  by  stealing  the 
sacred  apples  of  Iduma.  In  every  case  a  moral  delinquence  is  brought  well 
to  the  front. 


PARADISE  221 

REGENT  OCEANIC  TRADITION 
(N,  6)  (a)  Indonesian  Form 

Among  the  more  advanced  peoples  of  Indonesia  the  old  banana  story 
has  been  worked  up  with  a  variety  of  phantastic  details.  In  the  Sumatran 
version  of  the  island  of  Nias  the  crab  takes  the  place  of  the  serpent,  to 
wit: — 

IMMORTALITY  IN  THE  CRAB,  DEATH  IN  THE  BANANA 

"When  the  earth  was  created  a  certain  being  was  sent  down  by  God 
from  heaven  to  put  the  last  touches  to  the  work  of  creation.  He  should 
have  fasted  for  a  month,  but  unable  to  withstand  the  pangs  of  hunger,  he 
ate  some  bananas.  The  choice  of  food  was  most  unlucky,  for  had  he  only 
eaten  river-crabs  instead  of  bananas,  men  would  have  cast  their  skins  like 
crabs  and  would  never  have  died".'  (This  is  important  only  for  the  fruit- 
connexion)  . 

IMMORTALITY  IN  THE  SERPENT,  DEATH  THROUGH  DISOBEDIENCE 

In  Annam  and  New  Britain  it  is  the  serpent  that  contains  this  secret. 
There  was  a  divine  command :  "When  man  is  old,  he  shall  cast  his  skin : 
when  the  serpents  are  old,  they  shall  die,  and  be  laid  in  coffins".  But 
through  an  intimidation  on  the  part  of  the  serpent,  the  command  was 
changed :  "When  the  serpent  is  old,  he  shall  cast  his  skin :  but  when  man 
is  old,  he  shall  die  and  be  laid  in  the  coffin".  That  is  why  all  creatures 
are  now  subject  to  death  except  the  serpent,  who,  when  he  is  old,  casts  his 
skin  and  lives  for  ever.'' 

Again :— The  good  Spirit  loved  men,  and  wished  them  to  live  for  ever, 
but  he  hated  the  serpents  and  wished  to  kill  them.  So  he  sent  his  brother 
to  tell  men  to  cast  their  skins  every  year,  and  the  serpents,  that  they  must 
henceforth  die.  But  the  divine  messenger  gave  the  contrary  command, 
and  since  then  all  men  have  been  mortal,  but  the  serpents  cast  their  skins 
every  year  and  are  immortal.'     (Important  for  the  serpent-connexion). 

(b)    POLYNESIAN    FORM 

The  same  idea  is  found  among  the  Samoans  in  the  distant  South-Sea 
Islands.  The  good  Spirit  decides  that  men  shall  live  for  ever  by  shedding 
their  skins.  The  evil  spirit  suggests  the  opposite:  "Let  the  shell-fish 
change  their  skins,  and  let  men  die".  The  latter  counsel  prevails,  and  men 
have  had  to  die  ever  since.* 

By  combining  these  stories  it  will  be  seen  that  the  elements  of  a  para- 
dise-legend are  still  preserved,  though  in  faded  and  somewhat  ridiculous 
form.  Moreover  there  is  always  some  moral  idea  in  the  background.  It 
is  through  disobedience  that  immortality  passes  from  man  to  the  lower 
creation. 


»Frazer,  Belief   in   Immortality,  p.   70.    » Idem,   p.   69.    'Ibidem.    » Idem,   p.    72.    The 
sources  are  given  in  each  case,  see  footnotes. 


222  PARADISE 

RECENT  AMERICAN  TRADITIONS 
(N,  7)  (a)  North  America 

In  the  highland  belt  of  North  America  we  find  a  large  body  of  folk-lore, 
but  rarely  an  intelligent  version  of  the  beginnings  or  the  destiny  of  man. 
As  a  fact,  the  growing  isolation  of  the  New  World  and  its  distance  from 
Asiatic  centers  has  given  a  native  coloring  to  the  mythology-  which  is  in 
many  cases  quite  pronounced.  But  apart  from  the  stories  of  the  "Jack- 
and-the-Beanstalk"  variety,  there  is  little  that  is  striking  in  these  legends. 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  DEATH  BY   "DYING" 

The  Zuni  Indians  have  a  persuasion  that  in  the  beginning  there  was 
an  ideal  age  of  blessedness  and  immortality.  The  very  description  of  the 
first  ancestor,  Poshaiyankya,  as  the  "first  great  man",  "the  wisest  of  the 
wise",  brings  this  figure  in  touch  with  the  common  tradition  of  the  East. 
But  although  the  first  man  is  endowed  with  superhuman  wisdom,  there 
is  no  satisfactory  explanation  of  its  loss,  nor  of  the  fact  that  men  have  to 
die.' 

DEATH   THROUGH  AN   ACT   OF   CARELESSNESS 

The  following  is  the  account  of  a  "river-trial".  A  mother  lets  her 
children  drop  into  the  waters  and  they  drown.  "And  so",  says  the  legend, 
"being  received  into  the  midst  of  the  undying  ancients,  these  little  ones 
thus  made  the  way  of  dying  and  the  path  of  the  dead.  For  whither  they 
led  in  that  olden  time,  others,  fain  to  seek  them,  have  followed,  and  yet 
others  have  followed  these,  and  so  it  has  continued  even  unto  this  day".- 

From  this  it  appars  that  the  "ancients"  were  undying,  and  that  death 
entered  the  world  through  the  criminal  act  of  a  mother, — again  a  moral 
cause. 

THE  SACRED  CORN   PLANTED  BY  THE  SEVEN   STARS 

The  sacred  Corn  plays  a  prominent  part  in  the  mythology  of  these 
peoples,  but  apart  from  its  character  as  the  source  of  life,  it  is  brought 
into  no  direct  connexion  with  the  loss  of  immortality  in  the  beginning.' 

(b)   SOUTH  AMERICA 

The  same  notion  of  the  "Mother  Corn"  as  containing  the  secret  of 
eternal  life  may  be  traced  far  down  into  the  Cordilleran  region.  The 
Aztec  and  Inca  tradition  that  death  is  the  penalty  for  tampering  with  the 
sacred  Corn  seems  to  reveal  some  consciousness  that  immortality  was  lost 
by  precisely  such  an  act,  for  with  nearly  all  man  was  deathless  at  the 
beginning.  This  is  only  indirect  reasoning,  but  the  existing  legends  seem 
to  bear  it  out,  and  the  destruction  of  a  wicked  race  by  the  lightning  is  a 
prominent  feature.* 

'F.  H.  Gushing,  Zuni  Creation-Myths,  11th.   Rep.  B.  A.  E.    (Washington,   1891),  p.  381. 

-  Idem,  p.  404-405.  '  Idem,  p.  393ff.  ♦  See  the  sources  above  p.  181.  Want  of  space  forbids 
a  discussion  of  further  details,  but  consult  Casanowicz.  Cosmogonic  Parallels,  (Washing- 
ington,  1917),  for  a  general  survey. 


ADVANCED  PARADISE  PICTURE 

SHOWXNG  THE  "JITSIC  OF  THE  SPHERES" 
AND  THE  MAGIC   PALM 

(BABlTLONLiN  SUBJECT) 


L-IONJ 


^^^r^ 


KlA,tA 


(1)  UNDERWORLD— ABALr—BELNERGAL — EA— LAND    OF    SHADES— TJMDEB-OCEAM 

(2)  UPPERWORLD — ADAPA-ABUBU-EABANI — CULTURE    HEBO 

(3)  SEBFENTWORLD— BEL-MARDUK-TIAJIAT— ZODLiCAL  TWELVE— GREAT  DRAGON 

(4)  8TAB-WOBLD — SAMAS-SIN-ISTAB — PLANETABY    SEVEN— STAB    OF   DESTINY 

(5)  BISING   LAND — BEL-MAEDUK-NEBO— ISLES   OF  THE  BLESSED 

(6)  CLOUD   HEAVEN— APSU-LAK5IU-LAKAMU—HYDBOSPHEBE 

(7)  LIGHT-HEAVEN— ANC-BEL-ENLIL-EA—EBIDU—TBEE-OF-LIFE-CHEBUBIM 


< 


CONVERTED  PARADISE  PICTURE 

SHOWING  THE  SEVEN  HEAVENS  AND  THE  TBEE  OF  UFB 
AS  BEVEALED  IN  THE  JEWISH-CHBISTIAN  APOCAI.TPTIC  UTERATUIIB 


^caha,^ 


Scapegoatt 

1 

(1)    LOWEST    HEAVEN— 81IEOL-GEHENNA— OUTER    WOBI-D— DARKNESS     (APOC.    »,    IS.    t,    1) 

(«>   SON    OF     SIAN     HEAVEN— CHRIST     TRUMPHINO      OVER    THE     FALLING     STAR      (APOC. 

8,  10.  9,   1.  IB,  11) 


(4)   STAR-HEAVEN— THE      SEVEN      SPIRITS      AND      THE      STAR    OF      BETHLEHEM      (APOO. 

1,    20.    M.\T.    2,    i) 

(6)   RISING    LAND    1IE.4VEN— CELESTL\L    PAT.M08— HEAVENLY    JERl  SALEM     (APOC.    tl,     I) 


CI)    HIGHEST  HE.i\VEN— TREE  OF   LIFE — FOIR  FACES — CHERVBIM    (.4POC.    4,  8.   ti,   t) 


SEE    THE    JEWISH    ILACIOGRAPHA    AND    THE    APOC.tLYTSE    PASSISI.    AND    COMP.\RE    THB 

EXPOSITION   ON  P.   183,  186,  211,  218,  AND  CONSULT  A.  JEREML\8,  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  IN 

THE  LIGHT   OF  THE   ANCIENT  EAST,    (1911).   VOL.   I.  PP.    1-287. 


PARADISE  223 

COMBINED  DATA 

Let  us  make  a  brief  review  of  the  facts  that  have  so  far  been  brought  to 
light.  And  first,  what  is  the  evidence  for  immortality  in  general?  Can  it 
be  said  that  this  persuasion  is  in  any  sense  universal?  Does  it  concern  the 
body  or  the  soul  of  man?    In  what  sense  is  it  to  be  understood? 

As  to  the  question  of  "psychic"  immortality, — the  survival  of  personal 
consciousness  after  death — ,  it  may  be  said  with  some  degree  of  certainty 
that  this  persuasion  is  morally  universal,  that  there  is  hardly  a  people  to 
whom  the  immortality  of  the  soul  is  not  a  necessary  demand  of  reason, 
in  some  cases  a  self-evident  proposition.  "And  how  could  it  die?  It  is 
like  the  air!" — is  the  remark  of  the  untutored  native.  This  is  well  sum- 
marised by  Frazer  in  the  following  paragraph : — 

Belief  in  Immortality  General 

"The  question  whether  our  conscious  personality  survives  after  death 
has  been  answered  by  almost  all  races  of  men  in  the  affirmative.  On  this 
point  sceptical  or  agnostic  peoples  are  nearly,  if  not  wholly  unknown. 
Accordingly,  if  abstract  truth  could  be  determined,  like  the  gravest  issues 
of  national  policy,  by  a  show  of  hands  or  a  counting  of  heads,  the  doctrine 
of  human  immortality,  or  at  least  a  life  after  death,  would  deserve  to  rank 
among  the  most  firmly  established  of  truths;  for,  were  the  question  put 
to  the  whole  vote  of  mankind,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  'ayes'  would 
have  it  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  The  few  dissenters  would  be  over- 
borne, their  voices  would  be  drowned  in  the  general  roar.  For  dissenters 
there  have  been  among  all  savages.  The  Tongans  for  example  thought 
that  only  the  souls  of  noblemen  are  saved,  the  rest  perish  with  their  bodies. 
However,  this  aristocratic  view  has  never  been  popular,  and  it  is  not  likely 
to  find  favor  in  our  democratic  age".' 

This  conclusion  will,  I  think,  stand  the  test  of  rigid  investigation.  It 
implies,  however,  that  there  are  some  exceptions  to  the  universal  chorus 
of  assent,  that  "dissenters"  have  been  found  among  all  peoples,  secret  or 
public  disbelievers.  This  also  is  capable  of  verification.  Like  all  other 
beliefs,  it  may  be  lost  through  a  defective  mentality  or  a  moral  perversity, 
probably  from  both  combined.  But  upon  one  point  the  prehistoric  data 
are  morally  unanimous: — Man  was  immortal  in  the  beginning.  Nearly 
all  the  reports  show  that  man  was  created  to  live  for  ever,  and  this  in  both 
natures — body  and  soul — ,  a  complete,  an  integral  state  of  earthly  blessed- 
ness.^ 


'  Frazer,  Belief  in  Immortality,  p.  ii.  *  Compare  the  above  data  passim.  The  Buddhist 
"Nirwana"  is  very  late  and  largely  theoretical.  Practical  Buddhism  knows  a  very  real  Here- 
after. 


224  PARADISE 

COMBINED  DATA 

But  the  mere  fact  of  immorlality  is  of  little  significance  unless  some 
explanation  is  given  of  the  mystery  of  death,  of  the  manner  in  which  this 
ideal  state  was  brought  to  a  close.  Let  us  collate  these  accounts  for  the 
three  principal  periods  of  prehistoric  man. 

I.     PRIMITIVE  VERSION 

The  Site  of  Paradise 

(A)  The  '"Island  of  Fruits"  is  the  'Rising  Land"  emerging  from  the 
eastern  ocean. 

(B)  The  Garden  of  Pleasure  is  at  Wotaemi,  a  locality  in  South- 
Andaman  Island. 

(B)  The  Land  of  the  Mora-Trees  is  in  East-Ceylon,  or  the  "eastern 
province". 

(C)  Paradise  is  possibly  a  large  rock  in  the  Zambales  region  of  South 
Luzon. 

(D)  The  Enchanted  Forest  is  laid  in  Central  Borneo,  the  fatal  Banana 
was  eaten  in  Celebes,  immortality  was  lost  on  a  Papuan  or  Melanesian 
river  (E). 

(F)  The  Australian  Paradise  is  non-local,  but  the  Victorian  tradition 
says  that  the  first  ancestors  "breathed  in  a  land  of  the  North-West"  (sic). 

(G)  The  African  Paradise  is  apparently  on  the  Congo,  or  on  any  beau- 
tiful river. 

(H)  The  Enchanted  Bush  belongs  to  South  Africa,  but  is  geographi- 
cally vague. 

(K)  The  Brazilian  Paradise  seems  to  be  on  the  Amazon,  but  the  cosmic 
setting  of  the  story  points  to  a  universal  or  non-national  tradition  as  its 
source. 

The  evidence  tends  to  show  that  the  earliest  scene  of  human  activity 
was  located  in  the  far  eastern  ocean,  in  what  is  now  the  East  Indies,  or  on 
any  "rising  land."    In  many  cases,  however,  the  locality  is  underfermined. 

The  Trees  op  Immortality 

(A)  The  Tree  of  Life  is  the  Coco-  (D)  The  Tree  of  Life  is  the  Coco- 
nut-Palm, the  Tree  of  Death  the  nut,  or  Betel-Palm.  Tree  of  Death. 
Banana.  tlie  Banana. 

(B)  The  Tree  of  Life  is  the  Coco-  (F)  The  Tree  of  Life,  is  the 
nut(  ?),  the  Tree  of  Death  the  Plan-  •■Honey"-Tree,  the  Tree  of  Death,  the 
tain(?).  'Bat"-Tree(?). 

(B)  The  Tree  of  Life  is  the  Coco-  (G)  The  Tree  of  Life  is  the 
nut-Palm,  the  Tree  of  Death  not  Moduma-Tn^e,  the  Tree  of  Death 
specified.  l)erhaps  the  same. 

(C)  The  Tree  of  Life  is  the  Palm  (H)  The    Tree    of    Life    is    the 

or  Rice-bush,  the  Tree  of  Death,  the      ■Bush"-Tree,    but    no    details    are 
Banana(?).  mentioned. 

In  nearly  every  case  life  and  death  have  been  connected  with  certain 
trees,  sometimes  with  two  distinct  trees.  In  the  Oceanic  regions  the  Tree 
of  Life  is  commonly  thp  Palm,  while  the  Banana  is  fho  Tree  of  Doath  or  the 
occasion  of  death. 


PARADISE  22S 

The  Serpent 

(A)  The  World-Python  and  the  Rahu-Dragon  are  cosmic  powers, 
apparently  evil. 

(B)  The  striped  Snakes  and  the  Cobras  require  special  exorcism. 

(G)  Bamboos  and  wild  berries  are  used  as  charms  against  the  ser- 
pent's bite. 

(D)  The  Crocodile  is  "placated"  by  the  mystic  flower  of  the  betel-palm. 

(E)  The  Serpent  contains  the  secret  of  life  by  "casting  his  skin". 

(F)  The  Carpet-snake  is  no  longer  feared  but  eaten  for  his  supposed 
"powers". 

(G,  H)  The  Cobras  of  Central  and  South-Africa  are  again  cosmic 
monsters. 

(K)  The  Amazonian  Alligators  and  Boa-Constrictors  exert  an  "hyp- 
notic" influence. 

Most  of  these  ideas  can  be  explained  by  the  natural  antipathy  to  the 
deadly  serpent.  Only  in  Borneo  and  Melanesia  is  a  possible  moral  role 
insinuated. 

Temptation  and  Fall 

(A)  Ayer  and  Tanah  lose  their  immortality  by  eating  the  "Soul-Fruit". 

(B)  Tomo  and  Chana  incur  the  same  loss  for  similar  reasons.  For  in 
both  cases  death  is  the  result  of  over-multiplication,  the  penalty  for  eating 
the  "source"  of  life  in  remote  times.  Life  and  death  are  mystically  in  the 
fruit. 

(C)  The  sacrifice  of  the  Banana  shows  that  this  fruit  is  sacred. 

(D)  Ainei  and  Djaja  lose  their  immortality  by  some  form  of  rebellion. 
For  Amei  is  forced  to  ascend  to  heaven  to  recover  the  rice  which  has  been 
suddenly  withdrawn.  Here  also  the  Palm  and  the  Banana  are  enchanted 
fruits.  In  Celebes  Ilai  and  Indara's  choice  of  the  Banana  is  looked  upon  as 
having  a  direct  moral  significance.    Death  is  the  immediate  consequence. 

(E)  Immortality  passes  from  man  to  the  serpent  because  a  mother 
fails  to  cast  her  skin.  This  shows  at  least  that  a  serpent  is  the  occasion  of 
sin. 

(F)  A  woman  breaks  into  the  Honey-Tree,  and  out  flies  the  "Bat"  of 
death. 

(G)  If  the  Moduma  Tree  no  longer  works,  something  is  the  matter 
with  man. 

(H)     If  the  Bushmen  have  to  die,  it  is  because  they  insulted  the  "Lord". 

(K)  If  Keri  and  Kames  are  no  longer  immortal,  magic  trees  are  to  be 
blamed  (?). 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  idea  of  a  moral  failure  of  some  kind  is  practically 
universal,  and  the  consumption  of  a  forbidden  food  a  very  general  cause. 

Guardian  Spirits 

Guardian-spirits  of  the  Tree  of  Life  are  occasionally  mentioned.  These 
are  among  others  the  Dove,  the  Argus-Pheasant,  and  the  World-Eagle.  The 
East-Indian  Bird  of  Paradise  still  hovers  in  its  branches.  A  more  violent 
guardian  is  the  Semnopithecus.  or  sacred  Ape,  and  the  Australian  Bat.  the 
mysterious  death-dealing  bird. 


226  PARADISE 

COMBINED  DATA 

Objection, — A  Borrowed  Tradition? 

The  first  thought  that  will  naturally  suggest  itself  to  the  critic  is  that 
these  legends  are  altogether  too  Hebrew-Christian  in  their  general  contour 
to  be  looked  upon  as  unadulterated,  as  a  primitive  prehistoric  tradition. 
Can  it  be  possible  that  these  "savages"  should  be  in  possession  of  such 
strikingly  biblical  notions  without  postulating  some  contact  with 
Christian,  Islamic,  or  even  Hindooistic  peoples?    To  this  I  answer: — 

(i)  The  indigenous  origin  of  the  Indonesian  folk-lore  among  our 
lowest  aborigines  has  already  been  vindicated  in  the  preceding  chapters. 

(2)  Any  further  doubt  on  this  subject  will  be  removed  when  the  data 
are  examined  in  their  totality  and  in  their  context.  Most  of  these  areas, — 
Central  Malakkan,  Andamanese,  Central  Bornean,  Papuan  or  Melanesian — , 
are  beyond  the  reach  of  missionaries,  admittedly  isolated  and  strongly  anti- 
Islamic.  The  absence  of  any  Chrisiology  among  the  natives  shows  that 
no  Christians  ever  came  near  them,  and  the  Mohammedan  dervishes  would 
have  had  them  circumcised  long  ago,  they  would  be  chanting  the  praises 
of  Allah's  heaven  of  female  delights (!),  of  unending  banquets.  The 
Hindoos  would  surely  initiate  them  in  the  doctrines  of  metempsychosis, 
the  Buddhists  would  give  them  a  foretaste  of  Nirwana,  the  science  and 
art  of  self-extinction.  Now  not  only  are  these  features  very  generally 
absent,  but  they  are  directly  repudiated  by  the  natives  themselves,  they  are 
strangely  dumb  when  questioned  in  the  dialect  of  a  "higher"  faith,  they 
have  no  knowledge  of  these  "deep"  philosophies.  For  them  the  Father  on 
High  was  once  their  friend,  He  gave  them  the  power  of  immortality,  but 
through  some  moral  rebellion  on  tiieir  part,  tlipy  lost  the  gift  and  have  had 
to  perish, — that  is  the  whole  story,  there  are  no  cosmic  secrets,  no  phan- 
tastic  embellishments. 

(3)  Admitting,  however,  that  a  filtering-through  of  later  beliefs  is 
not  per  se  impossible,  it  will  have  to  be  sliown,  where  and  in  what 
instances  this  occurred.  Now  although  some  echoes  of  a  paradise-story 
may  have  reached  the  ears  of  the  natives  wherever  they  have  mixed  with 
the  Mussulmans,  such  a  channel  is  clearly  ruled  out  where  they  are  entirely 
isolated,  as  for  instance  in  the  Andaman  Islands.  But  it  is  here  precisely 
that  we  find  the  tradition  of  a  paradise,  lost  through  eating  the  first  fruits 
of  the  season,  in  its  most  vivid  form.  Can  there  be  any  plainer  proof  that 
the  legend  is  prehistoric,  that,  in  view  of  the  numerous  and  undoubted 
parallels  in  other  primitive  regions  and  the  strongly  native  setting  of  the 
mythology,  it  embodies  one  of  the  earliest  traditions  of  the  race? 

(4)  Monumental  evidence  in  the  form  of  tablets,  etc.,  reveals  the  fact 
that  fragmi'uts  of  his  story  were  known  at  least  as  early  as  the  third  mil- 
lennium before  Christ.  If  tiien  these  fragments  certainly  antedate  the  com- 
ing of  the  modern  civilised  nations,  we  may  safely  infer  that  the  similar 
traditions  of  far  earlier  peoples  are  undoubtedly  independent  of  civilised 
sources. 


PARADISE  227 

•  COMBINED  DATA 

II.    TOTEMIG  VERSION 

Among  the  totem  peoples  the  general  outlines  of  the  primitive  legend 
may  still  be  traced,  though  with  the  advancing  nature-worship  its  his- 
torical setting  has  became  more  and  more  obscured.  The  main  points  are 
as  follows: 

Location  op  Paradise 

It  is  to  be  noted  in  the  first  place  that  the  cradle  of  humanity  is  no 
longer  as  definite,  no  longer  as  real,  as  in  the  earlier  ages  of  man.  The 
Mundas  of  Central  India  speak  of  a  distant  Garden,  "untrodden  by  the 
foot  of  man",  but  the  Australian  "Dream-Time"  is  purely  ideal,  and  the 
North-American  "Sun-Wakanda"  is  the  only  intimation  we  have  of  a 
former  heaven  upon  earth.  There  seems  to  be  a  studied  desire  to  evade  the 
question,  to  treat  the  whole  subject  as  an  allegory,  as  a  possible  rather 
than  an  actual  affair. 

Trees  op  Immortality 

Sacred  trees  are  still  conspicuous  but  they  are  more  rarely  connected 
with  the  loss  of  innocence,  they  are  mere  curiosities.  We  have  the  Ili- 
Root  or  the  Rice-Tree  in  India,  the  magic  Flower  in  Africa,  the  Hakea- 
Plant  in  Australia,  the  Ash,  the  Cedar,  and  the  sacred  Corn  in  North 
America.  These  are  strength-imparting  elixirs,  "medicines"  which  are 
believed  to  contain  the  secret  of  life.  But  with  the  exception  of  the  Hi, 
no  further  account  is  given  of  them,  they  have  no  history. 

The  Serpent 

The  Serpent,  formerly  dreaded,  is  now  worshipped.  He  is  the  source 
of  creation,  whether  as  the  Sun-serpent  in  Indo-Africa  and  America,  or 
as  the  great  Wollunqua-beast  of  Australia:  he  is  the  symbol  of  the  whorl 
of  evolution. 

Probation  and  Fall 

Only  in  one  case  has  the  idea  of  a  fruit-consumption  been  preserved. 
In  the  Munda-Kol  legend  the  first  pair  yield  to  their  passions  after  taking 
the  Hi-root;  but  the  probation-idea  has  been  lost,  it  is  simply  a  stimulant, 
offered  to  man  for  the  multiplication  of  the  race.  In  Africa  the  idea  of  a 
fall  is  equally  vague.  In  Australia  death  is  the  result  of  a  passion,  of  a 
neglect  to  bury  the  dead,  a  sin  of  impatience  or  anger.  In  North  America 
it  is  the  punishment  for  curiosity,  of  opening  the  spirit-box  or  the  soul- 
packet,  which  contains  the  spirit  of  the  "mother  corn".  Culpability  is 
fastened  on  a  female,  it  is  a  woman  who  opens  the  packet. 

Inferences 

While  a  definite  historical  picture  is  generally  wanting,  there  is  still 
the  persuasion  that  immortality  was  lost  by  a  moral  fault,  by  a  human 
failure. 


228  PARADISE 

COMBINED  DATA 

III.     RECENT  VERSION 

In  the  more  recent  period,  known  as  tlie  second  stone  age.  the  old 
immortaUty-legend  is  brushed  up  with  more  attention  to  detail.  There  is 
a  desire  to  bring  out  the  primitive  couple  as  they  are  supposed  to  have 
actually  lived,  to  give  a  "drama"  of  the  fall.  This  is  more  especially  the 
case  in  the  earlier  legends,  but  begins  to  fade  away  the  more  we  advance 
into  the  metal  ages,  where  it  is  preserved  in  its  purity  only  by  one  repre- 
sentative, the  Western-Semitic.    The  following  will  make  this  clear. 

The  Site  of  Paradise 

(N,  1)  The  Adapa-legend  places  the  garden  of  Eridu  in  southern  Meso- 
potamia, the  Gilgamesh-Epic  vaguely  in  the  far  East, — the  Isles  of  the 
Blessed. 

(N,  2)  The  Field  of  Alu  is  on  one  of  the  islands  forming  the  Nile-Delta. 

(N,  4)  The  Garden  of  Eden  is  in  the  far  East,  and  the  four  Rivers  are 
cosmic  streams  which  bisect  the  great  continents.  In  historical  times  they 
vs-ere  known  as  the  Indus,  the  Nile,  the  Volga,  and  the  Euphrates.  (Uni- 
versal idea). 

(N,  5)  The  Airyana-Veyah  is  at  the  summit  of  Mt.  Albordj  (Western 
Himalayas).  In  the  Vedas  and  Brahmanas  it  is  at  the  summit  of  Mt.  Meru 
(Himalayas),  from  which  the  four  (or  five?)  great  rivers  of  India  take 
their  rise.  In  the  Graeco-Germanic  tradition  the  Olympus  or  Asgard  of 
the  gods  is  situated  on  a  high  mountain,  but  the  Hesperides  are  in  the  far 
West,  pointing  to  America(?).  These  geographical  items  are  perhaps 
purposely  vague. 

(N,  6,  7)  In  Polynesia  and  neolithic  America  the  location  is  not  deter- 
mined. From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  earliest  tradition  points  to  an 
island  in  the  far  East.    Only  the  Aryan  places  it  on  a  lofty  mountain. 

Trees  of  Immortality 

(N,  1)  The  Tree  of  Life  is  the  Date-Palm.  the  Tree  of  Death  the 
Gascia(?). 

(N,  2)  The  Tree  of  Life  is  the  Sacred  Corn,  the  Tree  of  Death  not  speci- 
fied. 

(N,  3)  The  Tree  of  Life  is  the  Date-Palm.  the  Tree  of  Death  the  Fir- 
Tree(?). 

(N,  4)  The  Tree  of  Life  has  no  species,  the  Tree  of  Death  has  no 

species. 

(N,  5)   The  Tree  of  Life  is  the  Soma-Tree,  the  Tree  of  Death,  the 

Taokh'ma(?). 

(N,  6)  The  Tree  of  Life  is  the  Crab( !),  the  Tree  of  Death,  the  Banana. 

(N,  7)  The  Tree  of  Life  is  the  "Mother  Corn".  Tree  of  Death  unspecified. 

It  is  impossible  not  to  recognise  the  influence  of  the  national  climate 
in  the  selection  of  these  trees.  In  every  case  they  form  the  staple  com- 
modity of  life,  or  grow  only  in  their  respective  territories.  This  is  espe- 
cially the  case  with  the  Hesperidoan  "apples",  a  fruit  of  little  or  no  import- 
ance" in  the  tropics.    Only  the  Hebrew  tradition  is  free  from  this. 


PARADISE  229 

COMBINED  DATA 
The  Serpent 

(N,  1)  Mush-Tiamat  is  a  cosmic  power  and  the  enemy  of  Bel-Marduk. 
The  seal-cyUnder  suggests  a  tempter.    Herb  Life  is  lost  through  a  serpent. 

(N,  2)  Apophis  is  the  Nile-Dragon,  the  enemy  of  Ra. 

(N,  4)  Hanachash  of  Genesis  is  a  personal  tempter,  the  mouthpiece  of 
Satan. 

(N,  5)  Azfii-Dafiaka  is  the  incarnation  of  Angra-Mainyu,  the  enemy  of 
man. 

(N,  6)  The  Melanesian  Serpent  frustrates  the  divine  command  by  cast- 
ing his  skin.    He  is  the  enemy  of  To-Kambiana,  the  good  Spirit. 

(N,  7)  Serpent-myths  are  extant,  but  liave  lost  their  religious  signifi- 
cance. The  serpent  figures,  therefore,  as  the  power  of  evil  in  nearly  every 
section.    He  is  the  immediate  occasion  of  the  fall  in  at  least  three  instances. 

Temptation  and  Fall 

(N,  1)  Man  fell  through  eating  the  fruit,  through  rejecting  the  Bread 
and  Water  of  Life,  or  through  dropping  the  Herb  of  Life,  frightened  by 
the  serpent. 

(N,  2)  Man  fell  through  eating  the  sacred  corn,  or  rebelling  against  Ra. 

(N,  4)  Man  fell  through  eating  of  the  Tree  of  Knowledge.  This  is  done 
at  the  suggestion  of  the  woman  and  at  the  instigation  of  the  serpent. 

(N,  5)  Man  fell  through  an  act  of  prevarication,  through  telling  a  false- 
hood. In  India  and  later  Persia  he  eats  the  forbidden  fruit,  incited  by  the 
serpent.    In  Greece  and  Western  Europe  he  steals  the  apples  of  the  gods. 

(N,  6)  Man  fell  through  rejecting  the  Crab  of  Life  and  eating  the 
Banana.    Or,  he  neglects  the  voice  of  the  serpent  to  "cast  his  skin". 

(N,  7)  Man  fell  through  the  criminal  act  of  a  mother,  or  possibly 
through  eating  or  tampering  with  the  Sacred  Corn.  It  is  very  probable 
that  the  latter  tradition  is  the  more  ancient.  (Compare  the  Spirit-Box  of 
the  prairies). 

It  is  clear  that  the  loss  of  immortality  is  here  once  more  connected  with 
a  definite  moral  rebellion  against  a  personal  deity.  This  takes  the  form 
of  a  food-trial  in  nearly  every  instance,  and  is  accompanied  by  some  form 
of  serpent-myth.  But  only  among  the  Hebrews  is  there  anything  like  a 
homogeneous  account  of  a  first  couple,  dealing  directly  with  the  "Lord- 
God"  and  acting  the  entire  drama  without  a  break  and  without  any  trivial 
episodes. 

The  Cherubim 

(N,  1,  3)  The  Tree  of  Life  is  guarded  by  the  Karubu,  adoring  or  pro- 
tecting ones. 

(N,  2)  The  Tree  of  Life  is  guarded  by  the  rising  and  the  setting  Sun. 

(N,  4)  The  Tree  of  Life  is  guarded  by  the  Cherubim  with  flaming 
swords. 

(N,  5)  The  Tree  of  Life  is  guarded  by  Kar-Mahi,  the  sacred  Fish,  etc. 

In  Polynesia  and  N.  and  S.  America  the  guardian-spirits  have  appar- 
ently faded. 


230  PARADISE 

COMBINED  DATA 

General  Results 

The  main  points  of  the  paradise-legend  as  preserved  in  the  more 
recent  age  are  therefore  as  follows: — 

(1)  Paradise  is  a  Garden  of  Fruits  in  the  far  East.  The  Aryan  tradi- 
tion, however,  points  to  the  Himalayas,  the  Graeco-Germanic  to  the  far 
West. 

(2)  The  Tree  of  Life  is  the  Palm  of  the  tropics,  the  Tree  of  Death  the 
Banana.  Side  by  side  we  have  the  Egyptian  Corn  and  the  Assyrian  Pine- 
apple, life  or  death-dealing  fruits,  and  the  East-  and  West-Aryan  Soma  or 
Apple-trees  reveal  the  national  mountain-climate  or  the  European  fruit- 
garden. 

(3)  The  Serpent  is  universally  the  power  of  evil,  wherever  mentioned. 
In  many  cases,  however,  his  direct  connexion  with  the  fall  has  been  lost. 

(4)  Man  has  forfeited  the  gift  of  eternal  life  by  eating  the  fruit  of  the 
Tree  of  Death,  known  in  Genesis  as  the  Tree  of  Knowledge.  This  is  not 
always  distinguished  from  the  Tree  of  Life.  A  serpent  tempts  by  frustra- 
ting the  divine  command,  by  persuading  man  that  the  real  intentions  of 
the  divinity  are  different,  that  he  need  have  no  fear,  etc.  (earliest  form). 

(5)  The  Cherubim  are  distinctly  Asiatic,  they  are  at  least  half-human, 
and  they  guard  the  mystic  Tree  with  almost  a  cult,  they  defend  and  adore 
it. 

A  Comparison 
Now  in  comparing  this  more  recent  tradition  with  the  primitive  ver- 
sions, we  shall  fmd  that  all  the  elements  in  the  latter  appear  in  a  more 
modern  Western-Asiatic  dress,  they  have  survived  the  extravagances  of 
the  totem-age,  and  are  simply  interpreted  in  the  current  language  of  the 
day, — Babylonian,  Egyptian,  Iranian,  and  so  on, — as  the  case  may  be.  The 
question  arises:  Which  of  these  versions  embodies  more  clearly  the  cor- 
rect tradition.  Which  is  more  closely  in  harmony  with  the  march  of 
events  as  interpreted  by  an  impartial  examination  of  the  earliest  data? 
Have  we  any  reason  to  believe  that  such  a  tradition  has  any  value  as  a 
record  of  real  events  apart  from  its  theological  sanction  as  a  divinely 
revealed  truth,  as  in  some  sense  descriptive  of  the  elevation  and  fall  of 
man,  however  mystical,  however  incomprehensible? 

The  Question  of  Historical  Realism 

To  answer  this  question  with  any  hope  of  success,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  remove  from  our  minds  certain  inherited  prejudices,  which  in  this 
material  and  utilitarian  age  are  continually  dictating  a  one-sided  issue.  In 
spite  of  the  modern  vindication  of  the  supernormal,  not  to  speak  of  the 
supernatural,  the  man  in  the  street  will  always  defer  his  assent  to  any 
"improbable  story",  however  well-evidenced. 


PARADISE  231 

CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

Let  us  examine  this  whole  subject  in  the  light  of  the  scientific  and 
mythological  data  that  are  now  at  our  disposal. 

The  Supposed  Cradle  op  Mankind 

There  is  considerable  evidence  to  show  that  the  earliest  legends  of  the 
race  point  vaguely  to  an  "eastern  island"  as  the  first  home  of  mankind. 
Only  the  Aryan  tradition  speaks  of  a  highland  plateau  which  is  generally 
located  on  native  soil,  but  this  is  a  far  later  belief  connected  with  the  so- 
called  "mountain-myth"  of  the  later  neolithic  and  bronze  age.  Hence 
the  Himalayan  and  Hesperidean  versions  can  hardly  be  balanced  against 
the  combined  East-Indian,  Australian,  Babylonian,  and  Egyptian  versions, 
in  which  this  locality  is  described  as  a  mysterious  fruit-island,  or  the 
revealed  Palestinian  version,  in  which  it  is  vaguely  assigned  to  the  distant 
east.    This  idea  of 

"The  Isles  op  the  Blessed" 

as  rising  out  of  the  eastern  ocean  is  in  striking  harmony  with  the  teaching 
of  biology,  ethnology,  palaeontology,  and  so  on,  that  the  primitive  center 
of  radiation  must  be  sought  somewhere  in  the  Indo-Australian  or  Indo- 
African  regions,  preferably  on  the  Asiatic  side  of  the  Wallace-line,  in  the 
East-Indian  section  of  that  long  chain  of  land-masses  that  extend  from 
Ceylon,  through  the  Andaman  Islands,  to  Borneo,  and,  through  Malakka,  to 
Tasmania.  This  is  the  home  of  the  most  primitive  peoples  that  we  know 
of,^Negritos,  Veddas,  Dayaks,  Tasmanians,  etc. — and  this  alone,  together 
with  the  African  data,  should  incline  the  evidence  heavily  in  this  direc- 
tion. It  is  more  especially  on  those  rich  spice-laden  islands  of  the  Indian 
Archipelago  that  nature  shows  itself  in  all  her  tropical  majesty  and 
exuberance.  Here  alone  has  there  been  continuity  of  life  from  the  remote 
past,  here  alone  do  we  find  the  Palm,  the  Banana,  the  Plantain,  and  the 
Pineapple  clustered  together  in  enormous  areas,  here  alone  is  the  air 
scented  with  the  delicious  perfumes  of  the  aromatic  gums,  the  sky  illumi- 
nated by  the  gorgeous  plumes  of  the  Bird  of  Paradise.  Surely,  if  any 
region  was  ever  destined  by  nature  for  such  a  purpose,  this  would  be  the 
one. 

"The  Rivers  and  Waters  op  Life" 

In  those  early  days  of  the  world  a  Gulf-Stream  issued  from  the  far 
East,  and  by  dividing  the  great  continents  became  in  time  the  excavator 
of  the  four  great  river-basins  of  antiquity, — the  Indus,  the  Nile,  the  Volga, 
and  the  Euphrates.  In  a  cosmic  sense  these  are  the  four  Oceans,  Arctic, 
Antarctic,  Atlantic,  and  Pacific.  What  more  natural  then  than  to  asso- 
ciate this  world-stream  with  the  waters  of  life,  with  the  four  "rivers"  of 
paradise? 


232  PARADISE 

CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

The  objection  thai  irrigating  rivers  can  liardly  be  identified  with 
oceanic  currents  is  one  that  is  prompted  by  the  accepted  definition  of  a 
river-system  in  modern  times.  Few  of  our  so-called  "rivers"  have  been 
running  more  than  ten-thousand  years,  and  in  the  ages  to  which  we  may 
have  to  fall  back  there  were  no  rivers  in  our  modern  sense,  nothing  but 
broad  estuaries  or  enormously  long  drainage-systems,  which  in  the  above 
cases  can  be  proved  to  have  flown  through  the  regions  indicated.  The 
discovery  of  marine  shells  in  the  Ganges  valley,  in  Mesopotamia,  in  lower 
Egypt,  and  in  the  Ural-Caspian  basin,  shows  that  the  respective  "rivers" 
were  largely  "under  water"  during  the  periods  of  glacial  or  diluvial  depres- 
sion. It  is  only  in  comparatively  late  geologic  times  that  the  Himalayan 
shelf  was  elevated,  and  this  as  much  as  20000  feet,  which,  in  combination 
with  similar,  though  less  striking  elevations  in  nearly  every  portion  of  the 
globe,  postulates  the  inundation  of  most  of  our  river-beds  during  the  long 
periods  of  subsidence.  If,  however,  the  human  species  sprang  into  existence 
during  the  last  interglacial  or  Riss-Wiirm  period, — an  era  of  mild  climate 
and  continental  elevation — ,  it  will  stand  to  reason  that  the  waterways  of 
those  days  must  have  been  gigantic,  no  mere  creeks  or  rivulets,  except  in 
the  mountains.  But  if  the  first  appearance  of  man  be  dated  back  to  the 
pliocene,  the  geography  of  the  world  would  be  in  still  less  settled  con- 
dition, and  the  above  description  would  have  to  be  indefinitely  modified. 
There  would  be  more  and  more  of  the  ocean,  and  less  and  less  land  by 
consequence,  and  to  speak  of  existing  historical  rivers  as  flowing  through 
well-known  historical  landmarlcs  would  be  clearly  an  anachronism. 

Prehistoric  Geography 

If,  then,  we  have  to  revise  our  geography  to  suit  the  changed  climatic 
and  geological  conditions  of  the  period  of  even  the  latest  possible  appear- 
ance of  man, — third  interglacial — ,  we  obtain  a  picture  of  the  earth  in 
which  land  and  ocean  alternately  play  the  leading  role.  Without  invent- 
ing any  theoretical  "continents",  it  will  be  possible  to  obtain  a  broad 
glimpse  of  our  surroundings.  Leaving  all  the  land-masses  and  islands 
approximately  as  they  are,  we  shall  find  ourselves  in  the  midst  of  an 
enormous  archipelago,  of  which  the  continents  themselves  are  in  part  the 
members,  and  through  which  the  pulse  of  Father  Neptune  may  every- 
where be  felt.  The  "river  of  life",  issuing  from  the  Banda  Sea,  gives  birth 
to  the  four  oceans,  and  by  forcing  its  way  through  the  Straits  of  Malakka 
sweeps  the  Andaman  Islands,  bores  through  Northern  India,  completely 
encircles  Arabia,  and  by  forcing  the  Hellespont  cuts  Eurasia  and  empties 
into  the  Arctic  Sea. 


THE  FOUR  RIVERS  OF  PARADISE 

WITH  THEIR  PREHISTORIC  AND  COSMIC  MEANINGS 

A      TERTIABY      »L\P      OF      THE      EASTERN      HEMISPHERE.      SHOWING      THE      AXTERNATK 
ELEVATIONS   AND  DEPRESSIONS   OF   LAND    AS   FORMING   THE   FITURE   RIVER-BASINS. 

(1)   GLACIAL  JUNIMIM— PERIOD  OF  SUBSIDENCE,  OR  TERTLARY  FORMATION  

(?)   ENTERGLACIAL  MAXIMUM— PEIUOD  OF  ELEVATION  AND  RIVER-EROSION 

IT  WAS  DURING  THIS  TIME  THAT  THE   ENORMOUSLY  LONG   PLEISTOCENE  RIVERS   WERE 

FORMED.    THE   SEINE    DEBOUCHING   IN   THE   DISTANT    ATLANTIC.    AND   THE    RHINE    INTO 

THE  ARCTIC   OCEAN. 


» /ATLANTIC      -,,^^^  ^       , 
~/TO  S- AMERICA       ""THERN   (SM^^ 

"IN  THOSE  EARLY  DAYS  OF  THE  WORLD  A  GULF-STREAM  ISSUED   FROM   THE  FAB  EAST, 

AND  BY  DIVIDING  THE  GREAT  CONTINENTS  BECAME  IN  TIME  THE   EXCAVATOR   OF  THE 

FOUR    GREAT    RIVER-BASINS    OF    ANTIQl  ITY.— THE    INDUS.    THE    NILE,    THE    VOLGA,    AND 

THE  EUPHRATES."    <P.   231). 

SEE  A.  GUYOT.  THE  EARTH  AND  MAN.  (NEW  YORK,  1898),  P.  »«.  R.  D.  OLDHAM,  THE 
EVOLUTION  OF  INDIAN  GEOGRAPHY,  J.  R.  G.  8.  (MARCH,  1894).  DANA,  MANUAL  OF 
GEOLOGY,  (1895),  PP  9S6ff.  KEANE,  ETHNOLOGY,  (1909),  P.  229Sf.  W.  J.  SOLLAS,  THE  EARTH, 
(1914),  PASS.  IDEM,  ANCIENT  HUNTERS,    (1915)    P.   112.     OSBORN.   JIEN  OF  THE   OLD   STONE 

AGE,    (1916),    P.   49ff. 

"THE  UNKNOWN  ANCESTORS  OF  MAN  PROBABLY  ORIGINATED  AMONG  THE  FORESTS  AND 

FLOOD-PLAINS    OF    SOUTHERN   ASIA   AND    EARLY    BEGAN    TO   MIGRATE   WESTWARD    INTO 

NORTHERN  AFRICA  AND  WESTERN  ElIROPE."   (OSBOBN) 


THE  ISLAND  OF  BORNEO 

BEING   PART   OF  THE   ASIATIC    "SHELF"    FORMED    DIRING   THE   TERTIARY   AGE   AND    BE- 
ELEVATED  DIRING  THE  GLACIAL  EPOCH,  8HOU1XG  THE  PRINCIPAL  RIVERS  AND  WATER- 
SHEDS, AND  THE  AREA  OCCIPIED  BY  THE  MOST  PRIMITIVE  PEOPLES   (THIS  -  -  -  ) 


7 


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DIAGRAM  BASED  ON  THE  COMBINED  DATA  OF  LING-ROTH,   NIKUWKNHCI8,  OVn.I.EMAKD, 

HOSE  AND  MrDOlOALL   (OP.  CIT.  INFRA),  GIIING  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  Pl'NANS,  PENGS, 

I  KITS,  OR  BAKATANS,   WITH   KENYA8,  KAYAN8.     KALAM.ANTAN8,     AND     KANOWITS.     ETC. 

THE  IBAN8,   OR   8EA-DAYAKS   NAVIGATE   THE   PRINCIPAL    RIVERS. 


PARADISE  233 

CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

Primitive  Streams  known  to  man 

Such  a  world-stream  is  no  mere  phantom,  but  a  definite  geological  fact, 
and  must  have  attracted  the  attention  of  primitive  man,  or  his  immediate 
successors,  when  the  science  of  navigation  had  acquainted  him  with  the 
general  contour  of  the  earth's  surface.  It  is  clearly  implied  in  all  the 
stories  of  floating  islands,  phantom  rivers,  and  submerged  continents,— the 
lost  "Lemuria"  and  the  sunken  "Atlantis".  Together  with  the  Congo- 
basin  and  the  distant  Amazon,  these  tidal  rivers  were  the  chief  haunts  of 
man  for  many  ages,  and  though  doubtless  unconscious  of  the  fact  during 
his  infancy,  the  "wise"  man  of  post-diluvial  fame  had  acquired  a  sufficient 
knowledge  of  the  lay  of  the  land  to  speak  with  some  confidence  of  divid- 
ing rivers,  of  bisected  continents.  Hence  the  almost  universal  tradition  of 
a  "floating  paradise"  during  the  early  neolithic  age. 

Fractions  of  the  Lost  Continent 

If,  however,  we  would  place  our  finger  upon  that  portion  of  the  map  in 
which  the  first  scene  of  human  activity  may  be  presumed  to  have  taken 
place,  we  find  ourselves  at  a  loss  to  come  to  any  certain  decision.  The 
whole  subject  is  too  problematical  from  the  point  of  view  of  biology  to 
elicit  an  unchallenged  assent.  But  if  we  would  obtain  an  approximate 
picture  of  the  appearance  of  nature  and  the  conditions  of  life  during  those 
early  days  of  humanity,  if  we  would  know  where  or  in  what  portion  of 
the  world  the  primitive  conditions  of  life  and  existence  have  been  pre- 
served in  their  greatest  purity  and  with  the  least  external  change,  there 
can  be  little  doubt  that  the  East-Indian  region  ofTers  on  the  whole  the  near- 
est approach,  whether  from  the  biological,  anthropological,  or  cultural 
point  of  view.  Let  us  take  a  typical  island  of  this  region,— the  gigantic 
territory  of  Borneo—,  and  witness  the  panorama  that  opens  before  our 
eyes.' 

The  Heart  op  the  Primitive  Ocean 

The  island  of  Borneo  occupies  the  center  of  the  Indonesian  group  and 
is  one  of  the  most  primitive  and  mysterious  lands  in  existence.  Unlike 
the  rest  of  Malaysia  or  even  Australia,  it  is  comparatively  free  from  the 
white  or  the  yellow  invasion,  the  English,  the  Dutch,  and  the  Malays  rarely 
penetrating  into  the  interior.  The  approach  to  this  land  from  the  West  is 
one  that  makes  a  powerful  impression.  The  lofty  range  of  the  Kapuas 
shoots  out  into  the  China  Sea,  and  frowning  peaks  6000  feet  in  height  fall 
in  terraces  into  the  waves  and  give  an  air  of  rugged  magnificence  to  the 
scene. 


2  Sources  in  F.  H.  Guillemard,  Australasia,  (London,  1908)  Vol  IL  p.  213-274  F.  W. 
Burbidge  The  Gardens  of  the  Sun,  (London,  1880),  p.  46ff.  Hose-McDougall,  The  Pagan 
Tribes  of  Borneo,  (London,  1912).    Beccari,  Wanderings  in  the  Great  Forests  of  Borneo, 


(London,  1904). 


234  PARADISE 

CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

The  Spires  of  Nature's  Cathedral 

At  the  northern  extremity  of  this  range  the  sentinel  of  Mt.  Kinabalu 
rises  in  single  majesty  to  a  height  of  12000  feet,  a  beacon-light  to  the 
mariners  for  many  miles  out  to  sea.  The  view  from  this  "tower"  of 
Borneo  is  said  to  be  unapproachable,  as  the  absence  of  any  lofty  eleva- 
tions at  its  feet  affords  an  unobstructed  vision  of  the  entire  land  and  ocean 
beneath.  Pinnacle  rises  after  pinnacle,  as  we  sweep  our  eyes  over  the 
mountain  masses  to  the  south,  and  were  we  to  follow  in  the  trail  of  the 
island  divide,  we  should  reach  the  point  of  intersection  of  the  moun- 
tain-system of  Borneo,  the  axis  around  which  the  island  ranges  may  be 
said  to  turn.    In  the  language  of  the  natives  we  have  arrived  at 

■'The  Central  Point  of  the  Earth" 

This  is  a  volcanic  region  dominated  by  a  single  conical  peak,  the  slop- 
ing Mt.  Tebang,  and  it  is  from  these  highlands  that  the  river-systems  of 
the  island  take  their  rise.  Though  of  far  less  altitude  than  its  northern 
rival,  Dr.  Nieuwenhuis,  who  first  sighted  the  peak  in  1901,  estimated  it  at 
between  6  and  7000  feel,  and  it  is  now  marked  at  "10000."  It  is  from 
this  point  that  the  mountain  ranges  of  Borneo  spread  out  like  the  spokes 
of  a  wheel,  and  which  gives  the  island  its  well-known  star-shaped  appear- 
ance. Little  wonder  that  for  the  natives  this  is  the  apex  of  the  world,  the 
meeting-point  of  the  heavens.    But  what  is  still  more  curious,  they  speak  of 

"The  Four  Rivers" 

These  are  known  as  the  Kayan,  the  Koti,  the  Barito,  and  the  Kapuas, 
they  are  believed  to  have  a  common  subterranean  source  in  the  bowels  of 
Mount  Tebang,  and  they  are  without  a  question  the  four  principal  rivers 
of  Dutch  Borneo.  This  of  course  is  a  mere  local  or  accidental  circum- 
stance. Here,  as  elsewhere,  rivers  are  looked  upon  as  the  natural  source  of 
life  and  fertility,  and  the  association  of  their  waters  with  a  mysterious 
healing  power  or  some  other  praeternatural  quality  is  too  common  a  trail 
to  call  for  any  exceptional  explanation.  (Compare,  for  instance,  the 
miraculous  rivers  that  issue  from  Mount  Meru,  India).  But  with  all  this, 
we  are  here  presented  with  a  very  early  example  of  the  possible  genesis 
of  the  idea  of  a  fourfold  stream,  which  cannot  be  easily  paralleled  in  other 
very  primitive  regions.  Might  it  not  be  possible  that  some  such  combina- 
tion of  waters  should  have  suggested  to  the  mind  of  primitive  man  the 
idea  of  four  health-giving  rivers  as  springing  out  of  the  mountain  of 
God,  and  later  expanded  into  the  notion  of  four  ocean  streams  encircling 
the  whole  of  the  habitable  world?  The  rivers  of  Genesis  cannot  of  course 
be  identified  with  any  existing  mountain-torrents;  but  something  similar 
to  this  may  have  been  the  original  irrigation-scheme  of  the  "garden,"— 
the  river  of  God  must  have  had  some  definite,  however  inaccessible  source. 


PARADISE  235 

CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 
A  Land  op  Gold  and  Diamonds 

But  whatever  be  the  course  of  these  rivers  in  modern  times, — and  their 
sources  are  still  largely  unexplored — ,  they  are  celebrated  for  their  output 
of  precious  metals.  Gold  and  diamonds  are  washed  down  from  the  moun- 
tain heights,  and  rich  veins  of  silver,  platinum,  mercury,  lead,  tin,  zinc, 
arsenic,  copper,  and  iron,  are  found  on  nearly  all  their  banks,  the  supply 
of  coal  and  petroleum  being  well-nigh  inexhaustible.  Precious  stones  are 
concealed  in  many  of  their  rocks  and  gravels,  and  ruby  and  amethyst  here 
sparkle  in  the  tropical  sunhght.  All  this  makes  the  island  a  rich  field  for 
mining  operations,  though  its  mineral  wealth  has  hardly  begun  to  be 
touched. 

The  Boundless  Exuberance  op  Nature 

The  vegetation  of  Borneo  is  exceedingly  luxuriant,  the  whole  of  the 
island  being,  with  few  exceptions  one  vast  forest.  It  is  said  that  the  Orang 
could  easily  cross  the  island  from  shore  to  shore  without  leaving  the  trees, 
so  thick  is  the  foliage.  "It  is  especially  rich  in  palms  and  forest-trees, 
many  of  which  have  not  yet  been  botantically  described.  The  vegetation 
is  of  course  thoroughly  Malayan,  but  the  lofty  mountain  of  Kinabalu  con- 
tains a  curious  mixture  of  Indian,  Malayan,  and  Australian  plants.  Here 
are  the  numerous  rhododendrons,  forming  trees  20  feet  high,  as  in  the 
Himalayas.  Here  the  characteristic  Malayan  pitcher-plants  reach  their 
maximum  of  size,  variety,  and  beauty,  and  here  are  found  many  typical 
Australian  genera,  among  which  is  the  Antarctic  Drimys.  In  the  low- 
lands too  there  are  rhododendrons  growing  parasitically  on  trees,  ferns 
and  orchids  are  in  endless  variety,  and  the  strange  Vanda  Lowii  hangs 
down  its  elegant  flowers,  like  crimson  stars,  strung  upon  slender  cords 
sometimes  ten  feet  in  length".  The  island  can  claim  to  possess  the  largest 
flower  in  the  world, — the  so-called  Rafflesia. 

A  Paradise  op  Fruits 

"Of  palms  the  Coconut  is  most  plentiful,  and  of  course  the  most  gen- 
erally useful.  Its  top  or  heart  may  be  used  as  a  most  delicious  vegetable 
equal  to  asparagus,  and  the  scraped  albumin  yields  the  milk  so  essential 
to  blend  or  soften  a  well-made  curry.  The  colorless  water  in  the  fresh 
young  nuts  is  peculiarly  luscious  and  grateful  as  a  beverage,  and  the  coco- 
nut oil  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  eastern  palm-products".  In  addi- 
tion to  the  green,  the  yellow,  and  the  golden  Banana,  we  have  the  Pine- 
apple of  South  America,  the  Mango  of  India,  and  the  Chinese  mandarin 
Orange,  and  among  the  more  distinctively  native  fruits,  the  Mangosteen, 
the  Durian,  the  Trap-,  the  Bread-,  and  the  Onion-fruit  form  a  class  of 
their  own,  and  are  said  to  possess  a  flavor,  to  appreciate  which  "a  journey 
to  the  East  is  unfortunately  necessary". 


236  PARADISE 

CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

The  Animal  World 

The  zoology  of  the  island  presents  the  closest  afTinities  to  that  of  Su- 
matra, and  forms  as  it  were  the  transition  from  the  Indo-African  to  the 
Indo-Australian  region.  Of  reptiles  there  are  many  native  varieties,  in- 
cluding two  kinds  of  crocodiles  not  found  elsewhere.  The  elephant,  the 
"clouded"  tiger,  and  the  rhinoceros,  are  among  the  principal  mammals,  and 
their  very  names  carry  us  back  to  the  earliest  fauna  associated  with  man. 
Wild  cattle  are  also  in  great  abundance,  among  which  the  wild  boar  and 
the  buffalo,  the  mountain  stag  and  the  forest  deer,  furnish  the  chief  targets 
of  the  native  hunter.  The  island  is  very  rich  in  monkeys,  and  of  these  the 
Orang-Utang  as  one  of  the  earliest  offshoots  of  the  common  anthropoidal 
stock  cannot  fail  to  evoke  our  interest,  if  only  to  show  how  wide  is  the 
gulf  that  separates  the  "highest"  simian  from  the  "lowest"  human. 

Wonderful  Birds  asd  Butterflies 

But  it  is  in  the  bird  and  insect  department  that  this  region  is  especially 
famous.  If  the  whole  area  from  Malakka  to  the  Aru  Islands  be  included, 
it  can  easily  be  shown  to  be  the  most  splendidly  equipped  region  on  the 
face  of  the  earth.  Hornbills,  pheasants,  humming-birds,  and  cockatoos 
here  abound  in  endless  profusion,  the  Australian  division  containing  no 
less  than  200  species  of  parrots!  Perhaps  the  most  lovely  and  interesting 
of  all  are  the  so-called  "Sun-birds",  which  are  found  as  far  west  as  Ceylon. 
They  are  of  emerald-green,  of  vivid  violet,  or  of  yellow  with  a  crimson 
wing,  and  "as  the  sunbeams  glitter  on  their  bodies,  they  sparkle  like  so 
many  precious  stones,  and  exhibit  at  every  turn  a  variety  of  bright  and 
evanescent  hues".  Hardly  less  extraordinary  are  the  spiders,  beetles,  and 
butterflies,  some  of  which  are  of  alarming  size,  but  of  exquisite  colors. — 
of  pure  gold,  of  amber,  or  of  blue-green,  shading  into  purple.  Among 
rarer  volatiles  are  the  red  and  the  blue  Bird  of  Paradise,  the  Argus  Pheasant 
of  Malakka  and  the  racquet-tailed  Kingfisher  of  the  east,  which  arrest 
attention  by  reason  of  their  wonderfully  developed  side-plumage.  These 
and  the  six-plumed  Bird  of  Paradise,  known  also  as  the  King  Bird 
of  Paradise,  are  now  entirely  confined  to  these  eastern  lands,  the  latter 
being  a  huge  bird  of  the  size  of  an  eagle,  with  a  throat  of  green,  a  crown 
of  orange-yellow,  breast,  wings  and  tail  of  chestnut-brown,  shadings  of 
blue  and  indigo,  and  long  (lank  feathers  of  richest  golden-yellow.  It  is 
impossible  even  to  read  of  this  glorious  creature  without  feeling  a  sense 
of  the  divine  fitness,  that  the  Creator  should  have  left  this  bird  as  a  sentinel 
and  ri'niinflfM-  nf  thn  better  days  of  yore. 


PARADISE  237 

CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

Man  Primaeval 

But  if  the  plant  and  animal  world  are  here  to  be  seen  in  all  their 
natural  and  unstinted  development,  the  human  species  is  also  by  com- 
parison unadulterated,  the  least  influenced  by  social,  cultural,  and  climatic 
changes.  This  is  one  of  the  few  places  in  the  world  where  man  can  still 
be  seen  as  he  emerged  from  the  bosom  of  nature,  surrounded  by  nearly  all 
the  flora  and  fauna  of  the  days  of  his  innocence,  unaffected  as  yet  by  the 
great  upheavals,  physical  and  social,  which  were  destined  to  change  the 
face  of  the  earth. 

The  population  of  Borneo  is  by  no  means  homogeneous  or  uniform. 
There  are  at  least  four  or  five  different  rings  or  layers  of  civilisation.  The 
coasts  are  comparatively  civilised,  they  are  colonised  by  the  lethargic 
Malays  and  the  astute  Chinese,  but  are  hardly  more  than  "administered" 
by  the  Dutch  and  English.  Beneath  this  however  there  is  a  large  group  of 
aboriginal  Dayaks  or  Indonesians,  estimated  at  about  2  million,  who  are 
marked  off  from  the  conquering  races  by  their  stone-age  culture  and  their 
primitive  life.  Here  also  there  are  enormous  differences  in  the  level  of 
existence.  The  Sea-Dayaks  of  the  north-western  coast  have  borrowed 
much  from  the  incoming  races,  their  industries  and  their  habits  of  life, 
including  their  morals,  being  partly  modelled  on  the  Chinese  and  Malay 
standard,  among  which  opium  smoking  and  polygamy  are  a  well-known 
curse.  Apart  from  this,  however,  their  simple  life  and  their  pile-dwell- 
ings connect  them  with  the  lacustrian  age  of  the  neolithic,  they  are  the 
"lake-dwellers"  of  the  far  east.  If,  however,  we  should  ply  one  of  the 
large  rivers  and  penetrate  into  the  jungle,  we  would  encounter  a  far  more 
primitive  race.  We  would  pass  into  the  age  of  head-hunting  and  masked 
dances,  of  the  boar  and  the  buffalo-hunt,  and  the  more  simple  food, 
shelter,  and  clothing,  with  the  growing  importance  of  totem-poles,  would 
tell  us  that  we  are  in  the  mid-glacial  age,  we  have  gone  back  perhaps 
10000  years.  This  was  formerly  the  level  of  the  Kayans,  Kenyas,  Muruts, 
and  Kanowits,  rough  and  warlike  tribes,  who  are  more  nearly  related  to 
nature,  but  whose  scalping-propensities  make  them  an  object  of  fear 
rather  than  admiration. 

Far  below  all  these  peoples,  ancient  or  modern,  we  find  a  race  of  primi- 
tives that  are  not  sufficiently  civilised  to  handle  a  dagger,  not  sufficiently 
elevated  to  have  learnt  the  art  of  cheating,  or  the  delicate  science  of 
stealing  a  wife.  They  are  known  as  the  Orang-Ott  or  the  Orang-Ukit, — 
wild  men  of  the  woods — ,  whose  only  habitation  is  in  the  depths  of  the 
tropical  forest,  whither  they  have  been  hunted  like  wild  beasts  by  their 
"civilised"  neighbors.* 


•^  Main  sources  in  H.  Ling-Roth,  The  Natives  of   Sarawac  and   British   North   Borneo, 
(London,  1896),  now  a  classic.     Hose-McDougall,  Pagan  Tribes,   (supra). 


238  PARADISE 

CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

These  peoples,  variously  known  as  "Ukits",  "Punans",  or  "Bakatans", 
are  among  the  finest  of  aboriginals,  of  whom  we  possess  the  following 
information : — * 

"The  Punans",  writes  Dr.  Hose,  "are  nomadic  tribes  found  at  the  head- 
waters of  all  the  principal  rivers  of  Central  Borneo.  I  have  no  doubt  in 
my  mind  that  this  wandering  race  of  people  are  the  aboriginals  of  the 
country.  In  physique  they  are  a  fine  healthy  race,  large-boned  and  very 
strong,  with  fair  skins  and  a  complete  immunity  from  skin-diseases.  They 
build  no  houses,  and  live  upon  what  they  can  shoot  with  the  blowpipe 
and  on  jungle-fruits,  and  owing  to  their  custom  of  always  living  in  the 
shade  of  the  forest,  are  afraid  of  the  sun.  They  are  an  honest  and  un- 
selfish people,  and  they  alone  of  all  the  races  of  Borneo  do  not  regard  the 
human  head  as  a  trophy  of  war,  and  when  once  well  known  they  un- 
doubtedly prove  to  be  the  best  mannered  of  any  savage  tribes  inhabiting 
the  island.  They  have  large  fam.ilies  of  from  seven  to  ten  children,  which 
is  also  unusual  in  Borneo,  and  though  no  doubt  the  weaker  members  die 
young  owing  to  the  rough  life  they  lead,  this  fact  tends  to  preserve  and 
improve  the  physical  excellence  of  the  race". 

"The  wild  Punans",  says  Dr.  Haddon,  "are  very  mild  savages,  they  are 
7iot  head-hunters,  do  not  keep  slaves,  are  generous  to  one  another,  are 
moderately  truthful,  and  probably  never  do  any  injury  by  making  a  false 
statement.  They  are  a  cheerful  and  bright  people,  who  are  very  fond  of 
their  children  and  kind  to  the  women". 

"The  wandering  tribes  of  Bakatans  and  Punans",  writes  St.  John,  "are 
popularly  said  to  be  fairer  than  the  other  inhabitants  of  Borneo,  as  they 
are  never  exposed  to  the  sun.  Those  we  have  seen  vi'ere  certainly  darker, 
but  they  themselves  assert  that  their  women  are  fairer".  "The  Bakatans 
are  not  cannibals",  writes  Mr.  Brooke.  "They  were  by  far  the  wildest  men 
we  ever  saw,  clothed  with  Orang-Utang  skins  on  their  backs  and  shoulders, 
with  well-shaped  heads  and  fairly  good  features". 

"The  Orang-Ott  tribes",  says  Schwaner,  "live  on  the  inaccessible  moun- 
tains of  the  eastern  and  southern  watershed.  They  are  a  tall  and  handsome 
race,  and  of  very  light  color(?).  The  paterfamilias  is  the  family  chief, 
and  like  the  animals  in  the  woods  they  lead  a  nomadic  life,  only  caring  for 
the  necessities  of  life.  Their  whole  dress  consists  of  a  chawat  made  of 
bark.  The  females  wear  a  rotang  band  around  the  loins.  Neither  men  nor 
women  are  tattooed.  A  blowpipe  with  poisoned  arrows  are  their  only 
weapons  or  means  of  defence". 

However  incomplete  our  knowledge  of  tliese  peoples  must  be  admitted 
to  bo,  the  combined  reports  bring  beforo  us  a  picture  which  cannot  but 
remind  us  of  tlie  Senoi  of  Malakka,  the  Veddas  of  Ceylon,  and  the  Toalas 
of  southern  Celebes.  .\vo  thny  not  possibly  the  forerunners  nf  thp  entire 
Indonesian  race? 


'  Hose.  Brooke.  Schwaner.  etc.  in  Ling-Roth,  op.  cit.  Vol.  I.  p.  16-18.  II.  p.  CXCVI. 


THE  ENCHANTED  FOREST  AT  NIGHT 


PARADISE  339 

:  CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

The  Father  in  Heaven 

These  are  among  the  peoples  that  have  preserved  the  tradition  of  the 
All-Father  cult, — Aba,  Ama,  Amei,  Amaka, — one  who  was  the  Author  of 
the  moral  law,  Adat,  and  the  Father  of  Adja  and  Djaja,  the  first  human 
pair.  For  them  He  has  prepared  a  paradise,  known  as  the  Apu  Kayan,  or 
"fatherland  of  the  race".  This  is  a  wonderful  garden,  full  of  the  most 
delicious  and  life-giving  fruits,  and  here  there  was  evidently  no  death 
nor  anything  that  was  evil.  It  was  through  a  moral  failure  of  these  first 
ancestors  that  the  famine  commenced,  that  the  days  of  abundance  were 
brought  to  a  close.  Nay  more,  we  know  from  the  combined  sources  that 
a  forbidden  fruit  was  eaten,  that  this  was  the  proximate  cause  of  the  fall. 
Let  us  picture  to  ourselves  the  first  human  couple  as  they  lived  the  life  in 
the  garden  of  pleasure. 

The  Enchanted  Forest 

"The  earth's  surface  is  like  the  sea,  inasmuch  as  it  is  pretty  nearly  the 
same  all  the  world  over,  but  in  countries  where  the  temperature  is  thirty 
or  forty  degrees  higher  than  in  western  Europe,  the  clothing  of  the  earth, 
so  far  as  represented  by  vegetation,  is  of  a  luxuriance  we  can  scarcely 
imagine,  and  the  variety  caused  by  the  addition  of  such  distinct  types  as 
tall  palms,  bananas,  grasses,  or  bamboos  and  tree-ferns  to  the  more 
ordinary  kinds  of  tree-beauty,  and  the  further  clothing  of  these  with 
epiphytes  and  parasites  of  the  most  singular  and  beautiful  description, 
makes  up  a  scene  of  immense  interest.  In  the  lowland  forests  near  the 
equator  a  peculiar  phase  of  vegetation  is  not  infrequently  seen.  Trees  one 
hundred  feet  to  two  hundred  feet  in  height  tower  upwards  on  all  sides, 
and  one  walks  in  the  shade, — diffused  light  is  perhaps  the  more  correct 
expression — ,  the  tree-trunks  being  the  pillars  of  nature's  cathedral,  and 
the  leafy  branches  high  up  represent  the  roof.  All  the  vegetation  you  see 
around  you,  on  earth,  rocks  or  fallen  trunks,  is  represented  by  a  few  ferns, 
with  bright  steel-blue  fronds  a  yard  high,  broad-leaved  aroids  or  ginger- 
worts,  with  their  delicious  perfumes.  Above  you  is  a  world  of  life  and 
sunshine  which  birds,  insects,  and  flowers  alike  enjoy.  You  feel  very 
small  and  helpless  as  you  try  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  plants  and  flowers 
so  high  above  you,  and  almost  envy  the  long-armed  red  monkeys  thai 
swing  themselves  so  easily  from  bough  to  bough".* 

We  know  from  the  earliest  traditions  that  man  and  woman  in  those 
primitive  days  divided  the  labor,  the  man  pursuing  the  animal,  the  woman 
the  vegetable  creation.  And  so,  we  can  well  see  them  in  their  first  home, 
the  man  "calling"  the  animals,  the  woman  "christening"  the  beautiful 
flowers. 


»F.  W.  Borbidge,  The  Gardens  of  the  Sun,  (London.  1880),  p.  S2fF. 


240  PARADISE 

CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 
The  Naming  of  Plants  and  Animals 

Such  an  occupation  can  hardly  be  called  "labor",  though  it  was  opposed 
to  what  we  call  indolence.  Man  had  been  placed  in  the  garden  "to  dress  it 
and  to  keep  it",  which  surely  implies  some  action,  even  if  nothing  more 
than  that  of  naming  and  classifying  the  numerous  plants  and  animals  with 
a  view  to  their  collection  or  eventual  consumption.  This  is  the  earliest 
industrial  stage  that  we  know  of,  and  took  place  without  arrow  or  shot- 
gun, simply  by  the  overmastering  power  and  instinctive  reverence  inspired 
by  the  "lord  of  creation",  as  he  brought  the  lion  and  tiger  prostrate  to  his 
feet.  We  can  see  him  taming  the  wild  elephant,  pacifying  the  murderous 
jaguar,  and  as  he  beheld  their  physical  outlines  or  heard  their  distinctive 
shrieks,  he  associated  each  with  a  definite  sound,  descriptive  either  of  the 
size  or  the  cry  of  the  animal.  Thus  can  we  account  for  the  "onomatopaeic" 
character  of  primitive  language,  in  which  Ka,  La,  or  Ta,  are  vaguely 
expressive  of  immensity,  height,  power,  while  the  sibilants  or  explosives, 
Sa,  Sha,  or  Cha,  are  imitations  of  the  serpent's  hiss  or  the  bird's  chirp,  the 
roar  of  the  lion  being  suggested  by  Cha,  Ra,  or  Wn,  and  the  breath  of  life 
perhaps  by  Ha  or  a  similar  aspirate.  Together  with  Pa  and  Ma  for  father 
and  mother,  these  are  the  earliest  syllables  uttered  by  man,  and  are  gen- 
erally sounded  with  the  initial  vowel, — Aba,  Apa,  Ama,  Ada,  Ata,  Aka,  Ala, 
Ara,  Asa,  Acha,  Awa,  etc.  In  fact  we  can  almost  hear  the  language  of  the 
first  pair.  In  the  common  Oceanic  or  Austro-Melanesian  tongue,  it  would 
sound  as  follows: — "llu  Darat  Amaka!" — "Behold  the  Garden  of  God!" 
"Aba  yaka  la-langit!" — "Our  Father  who  art  in  Heaven!"  .  .  .  "Tdbu 
nama  aivaka, — Baia  raja  awaka, — Buat  nalmm  aivakn,  ilo  la-lanQit,  itu 
batanah.  Mangan  ma-kami  baivah  chohoy, — sam  lala  kami  dosha-kami, 
itu  kami  lalamu  dosha-daya.  Neng  baicah  kami  ma-rachek, — bar  ancha 
kami  ta-bajau".  (The  Lord's  Prayer  in  old  Dayak  or  Indonesian).  Again : 
Klaicah,  Chawah,  Rawah,  "ferocious"  for  Tiger, — Gajah,  Gantir,  Gantal, 
"gigantic",  for  Elephant,— C/ii/J-C/iip,  "chirping",  for  Bird,— Sau'a, 
Sampah,  "hissing",  for  Serpent, — Taju-Talong,  "enormous",  for  Cobra. 
Similarly,  Tabu,  Kayu,  for  Tree,  because  "high",  "sacred",  or  Buah,  Chuah, 
because  "eatable",  or  Nipong,  Pishang,  Mangostcen,  because  "delectable". 
In  this  manner  words  wore  attached  to  natural  objects  in  a  perfectly  un- 
arlificial  way,  for  "whatsoever  Adam  called  every  living  creature,  that  was 
the  name  thereof".  These  are  not  ideal  reconstructions,  but  living  sounds 
uttered  by  living  primitives,  the  expression  "Our  Father"  being  demon- 
strable as  an  invocation,  but  the  various  petitions  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  are, 
needless  to  say,  not  to  be  found, — they  never  rise  beyond  disjointed  cries 
for  help.' 


•  Sources  in  Skeat-Blagden.  Man.  Reed,  Ling-Roth,  etc.  op.  cit.   supra,  and  also  in  the 
lext  under  each  section. 


PARADISE  241 

CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 
The  Institution  op  Marriage 

The  earliest  designations  lor  man  and  woman  imply  a  sex-difTerence, 
which,  in  combination  with  the  idea  of  matrimonial  unity  point  to  a 
general  persuasion  in  the  past,  that  "a  man  shall  leave  his  father  and 
mother,  and  shall  cleave  unto  his  wife,  and  they  twain  shall  be  one  flesh". 
Whether  as  Adjam  and  Hawah,  Amei,  and  Djaja,  Ayer  and  Tanah,  Ilai 
and  Indara,  we  are  brought  before  a  single  couple  who  are  known  as 
"Lord  and  Life",  "Father  and  Mother",  "Water  and  Earth",  "Strength  and 
Affection".  This  means  that  the  earliest  state  was  a  monogamous  one,  for 
this  we  possess  abundant  evidence.  Nay  more,  it  implies  that  marriage 
belongs  to  the  days  of  man's  innocence,  that  it  is  especially  sacred.  Man 
was  to  "increase  and  to  multiply",  even  in  the  garden  of  God,  though  he 
was  to  do  so  subject  to  the  higher  law  of  reason  and  faith,  he  was  not  to 
live  like  the  animals.  For  this  purpose  a  special  instruction  on  the  sanc- 
tity of  the  tie  was  surely  congruous,  and  this  is  hinted  at  in  all  the  stories 
of  the  sanctity  and  happiness  of  the  primitive  couple,  of  their  intimacy 
with  the  Creator. 

Theophanies  and  Manifestations 

It  is  in  harmony  with  the  simple  child-like  existence  of  early  man  that 
the  concept  of  divinity  should  be  anthropomorphic,  that  he  should  picture 
the  Father  in  Heaven  under  human  forms,  that  He  should  speak  and  act 
like  a  "person".  And  so,  without  calling  in  the  aid  of  extraordinary 
miracles,  we  can  easily  realise  the  intense  consciousness  with  which  he 
felt  a  supernatural  presence.  This,  by  a  simple  fact  of  human  psy- 
chology,— exceeding  indeed  the  supernormal — ,  caused  him  to  "hear"  and 
to  "see"  the  Heavenly  Father  as  if  He  were  actually  present,  to  "talk"  to 
Him  as  if  He  were  one  of  his  own,  to  "feel"  Him  in  a  manner  in  which  He 
has  rarely  been  felt  by  any  but  the  saints  and  mystics  of  all  ages.  Now 
such  a  "vision"  seems  to  be  absolutely  required  by  all  the  mythological 
data,  we  cannot  explain  the  phenomena  unless  we  assume  something  vivid 
and  realistic.  Among  these  the  revelation  of  the  higher  meaning  of  sex, — 
whether  in  the  form  of  the  "soul-bird"  or  the  later  "couvade" — ,  is  de- 
manded by  most  of  the  sources.  He  who  had  issued  from  the  Creator's 
"Breath",  as  in  Malakka  or  Celebes, — he  who  was  so  phenomenally  con- 
scious that  he  and  his  helpmate  were  one,  could  not  but  hear  the  words  of 
the  same  Creator  in  his  sleep,  opening  his  side  and  revealing  to  him  his 
"wife".  Nin  tulang  ba-tulang  yaka",  we  can  hear  him  say,  "This  is  now 
bone  of  my  bone  and  flesh  of  my  flesh".  "She  shall  be  called  Woman. 
"Dayang",  because  she  was  taken  out  of  the  M&n,—"Daya". 


242  PARADISE 

CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 
The  State  op  Innocence  and  Integrity 

All  the  sources,  ancient  or  modern,  speak  of  a  state  of  primitive 
innocence  and  immorlality,  sometimes  even  of  omniscience.  The  first 
man  is  not  only  the  best,  the  most  perfect,  the  most  godlike,  but  he  is  also 
the  wisest  of  the  wise,  the  most  clever,  he  knows  everything.  All  this  is 
no  doubt  true  enough  in  its  essentials,  but  we  must  beware  of  making  the 
paradise  of  God  ridiculous  by  converting  the  hero  into  a  frivolous  Don 
Qixote,  operating  unheard-of  wonders.  None  of  the  biblical  nor  the 
scholastic  sources  require  us  to  assume  anything  of  the  sort.  The  simple 
story  of  Genesis  seems  to  exclude  everything  that  we  call  the  "superfluous", 
while  the  Thomistic  Adam,  though  in  every  sense  an  ideal  being,  possesses 
a  science  proportionate  to  his  state,  not  necessarily  the  knowledge  of  all 
things  in  their  purely  secular  relations.  (S.  Thom.  1,  qu.  94).  In  every 
other  respect  he  is  a  child  of  nature,  with  a  minimum  of  external  equip- 
ment,— "And  they  were  both  naked,  the  man  and  the  woman,  and  were  not 
ashamed". 

Now  it  is  this  ideal  primitive  state,  flowing  from  the  praeternatural 
gifts,  that  makes  the  revealed  picture  so  fascinating,  so  conspicuously  true 
to  the  facts.  Nothing  is  said  of  any  arts  and  sciences,  any  wonderful 
palaces,  any  writing  of  books.  The  first  man  possessed  them  all  intui- 
tively, or  rather,  he  had  something  better  than  all  combined, — for  he 
possessed  his  God,  and  in  those  days  "Adam  walked  with  God",  He  was 
the  great  Reality.  For  the  material  picture  we  can  turn  again  to  our  own 
primitives. 

The  Life  in  the  Forest 

The  lirst  pair  had  no  need  of  weapons  or  implements,  much  less  of 
raiment  or  habitations,  for  nature  supplied  them  with  all  the  necessaries, 
and  even  the  luxuries  of  life,  there  was  nothing  to  "make",  nothing  to 
"hunt".  Life  was  spent  in  a  continuous  round  of  song  and  worship,  of 
gathering  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  or  of  naming  the  favorite  animals.  In 
those  days  man  lived  with  the  quadrupeds,  and  lions  and  tigers  were  his 
close  companions.  The  palm-leaf  was  his  only  couch,  the  dense  foliage 
his  only  covering,  and  yet  he  was  not  alone;  for  he  felt  the  divine  presence. 
We  cannot  conceive  the  loveliness  of  that  life, — dimly  painted  by  Milton — , 
in  which  the  father  and  mother  of  mankind  drew  inspiration  from  every 
sight  or  sound  in  nature.  They  followed  their  daily  task  to  the  accom- 
paniment of  a  "Gregorian  Chant",  the  Te  Deum  of  Paradise: — "Shang 
maki  Peng-Amaka-ma,  Shang  maki  Penyalaka!  Soma  tanah  shem- 
bayang,  Amaka  sal-Amaka!"  "We  praise  Thee,  0  God,  we  acknowledge 
Thee  to  be  the  Lord!  .Ml  the  earth  doth  worship  Thee,  the  Father  everlast- 
ing!" 


PARADISE  24S 

CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 
A  Painless  Universe(?) 

Again,  there  is  considerable  evidence  to  show  that  the  first  diet  of  man 
was  a  vegetable  one,  that  like  the  Orang  he  lived  ofT  the  wild  fruits  of  the 
forest.  This  is  not  an  a  priori  speculation,  but  an  a  posteriori  fact.  None 
of  our  primitives  hunt  the  animal  creation  until  their  supply  of  vegetable 
food  begins  to  give  out,  and  all  the  early  traditions  speak  of  an  age  of 
wonderful  fruits,  never  of  an  age  of  wonderful  animals.  Whatever  the 
science  of  dentistry  may  have  to  say  on  the  subject  of  carnivorous  teeth,  it 
would  be  more  correct  to  say  that  man  is  physiologically  omnivorous,  but 
primitively  herbivorous,  the  supposed  "incisors"  being  either  entirely 
absent,  or,  if  present  in  rudimentary  form,  of  no  functional  importance. 
The  same  incisors  are  found  on  nearly  all  the  monkeys,  who  are  certainly 
not  carnivorous.  Nothing  can  therefore  be  found  on  the  basis  of  dentition, 
and  the  existing  types  show  no  strong  deviation  from  the  normal. 

This  tradition  has  been  preserved  in  Gen.  1,  29,  where  the  "green  herb" 
is  distinctly  given  to  man  as  a  food,— "To  you  it  shall  be  for  meat".  This 
of  course  does  not  exclude  the  animal  world,  for  in  the  next  verse  the 
same  gift  is  mentioned  to  "every  beast  of  the  earth",  whom  we  can  hardly 
regard  as  vegetarian.  But  it  shows  that  the  inspired  writer  wishes  to 
emphasise  the  bloodless  and  comparatively  innocent  life  of  paradise,  where 
there  was  no  necessity  either  for  man  or  animal  to  prey  upon  each  other's 
flesh.  The  later  theologumenon,  that  originally  all  the  animals  lived  off 
the  seed  of  the  earth,  is  clearly  absurd.  It  is  a  law  of  nature  that  the 
higher  should  live  off  the  lower  creation,  and  the  objection  on  the  score  of 
"intense  pain"  is  largely  imaginary.  The  Catholic  Church  has  never  given 
her  sanction  to  sentimental  dreamers  of  "murdered  rats",  though  she  for- 
bids the  needless  infliction  of  sufTering.  We  know  that  the  nervous  sys- 
tem of  lower  animals  cannot  compare  to  our  own,  that  their  supposed 
"agonies"  are  largely  of  our  own  invention.  When  the  little  fish  enters 
the  whale's  mouth,  it  is  comfortably  buried,  when  the  sparrow  falls,  it 
has  already  expired. 

But  while  some  form  of  pain  is  a  necessary  discipline  of  nature  in 
its  present  state,  a  painless  universe  is  surely  not  inconceivable,  and  is  in 
any  case  "that  divine  far-ofT  event,  to  which  the  whole  of  the  creation 
moves".  Hence  the  vivid  picture  of  an  ideal  state  of  friendship  in  the 
short  days  of  man's  innocence.  This  is  what  every  living  creature  might 
have  attained  to,  had  not  sin  blocked  the  way  to  its  immediate  realisation. 
It  was  a  change  of  food  that  followed  the  flrst  transgression.  And  it  is 
here  that  we  feel  the  most  comforting  assurance  of  a  brighter  possibility 
for  the  world  at  large. 


244  PARADISE 

CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

Trees  of  Immortality  and  the  Divine  (Command 

But  although  the  vegetable  creation  looms  up  so  prominently  in  the 
earliest  records  of  the  human  race,  though  it  is  the  chief  source  of  man's 
physical  life  and  sustenance,  it  seems  quite  clear  that  any  association  of 
its  purely  alimentary  qualities  with  life  and  death  as  such  cannot  by  any 
possibility  be  derived  from  a  mere  shunning  or  avoiding  of  this  or  that 
enervating  stimulant.  If  it  is  the  majestic  Palm  of  the  tropics,  that 
attracts  the  attention  of  man  by  reason  of  its  wonderful  height,  its  beau- 
tiful outline,  and  its  extraordinary  food-products,  it  is  no  less  evident  that 
thr  power  of  becoming  divine,  godlike,  immortal,  cannot  be  extricated 
from  its  purely  physical  secrets.  Whether  as  the  date,  the  sugar,  the  betel, 
or  the  coconut,  we  find  it  identified  with  the  source  of  life  in  a  super- 
physical  sense,  it  seems  to  impart  the  divine  life  as  such,  to  be  the  source 
uf  moral  rather  than  physical  power.  Whence  came  this  persuasion?  And 
if  the  idea  of  taboo  be  traced  to  purely  natural  causes,  how  is  it  that  the 
Banana,  which  figures  so  largely  as  a  tree  of  temptation  and  is  the  most 
healthful  of  all  tropical  fruits,  should  be  associated  with  the  opposite 
quality?  It  is  these  two  trees, — the  Nipong  and  the  Pishang — ,  which  are 
both  tabu,  sacred,  though  in  a  contrary  sense, — the  Nipong  is  the  Kayu 
Hawah,  the  Tree  of  Life,  while  the  Pishang  is  the  Kayu  Kubu,  the  Tree  of 
Death!    Can  this  be  explained  on  purely  natural  or  hygienic  principles? 

A  Divine  Intervention  Must  Be  Assumed 

Apart  from  all  this,  however,  the  command  itself  implies  a  going 
beyond  the  limits  of  what  is  humanly  useful.  However  wide  the  scope  of 
the  natural  law,  it  can  hardly  dictate  the  observance  of  a  definite  com- 
mand, by  which  abstinence  is  enjoined  from  two  definite  fruits,  and  this 
not  for  natural,  but  for  ^u/M-r-natural  reasons.  It  was  the  purpose  of  the 
Creator  to  test  the  moral  endurance  of  the  race  by  a  definite  trial,  and  for 
this  reason  a  definite  revelation  of  His  will  was  clearly  necessary.  It 
matters  not  by  what  medium  we  conceive  such  a  revelation  to  have  been 
made,  but  it  was  too  important  to  be  merely  surmised.  We  can  hear  the 
voice  of  the  Lord  in  the  forest  speaking  in  unmistakable  tones: — "Sham 
buah  darat  mangd-wa,  bar  buah  kaya  tenga  darat,  neng  manga!  La-kol- 
langit  mangd-wa,  kubu-wa!"  "Of  the  fruits  of  the  garden  thou  mayest 
freely  eat,  but  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  garden 
thou  Shalt  not  eat  thereof.  For  in  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shall 
surely  die!"  Some  such  command  is  dimly  implied  in  the  united  folklore 
of  humanity,  though  the  exact  biblical  wording  cannot  of  course  be  found. 
We  must  look  upon  all  these  profane  parallels  as  the  corrupted  survivals 
of  a  once  perfect  tradition. 


PARADISE  245 

CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 
The  Mystic  Shrine 

"Trees  of  Life"  do  not  grow  everj'where  or  anywhere.  They  are  in- 
variably located  near  the  sources  of  some  stream,  or  rise  in  solitary 
grandeur  from  the  thicket  below,  bathed  in  the  "living  waters"  of  the 
mountain-torrent.  As  we  follow  the  couple  in  their  daily  exploration  of 
the  forest  primeval  we  can  see  them  approaching  the  mountain  clearing, 
and  "the  increasing  numbers  of  ferns  and  mosses  suggest  the  presence  of 
water,  while  the  patches  of  graceful  calami  or  rattan  palms  increase  at 
every  step,  the  stones  and  trunks  become  moss-covered,  and  then  at  last 
the  sound  of  many  waters  breaks  on  our  ears  with  a  cool  and  welcome 
noise,  and  a  few  minutes  later  we  have  struck  the  stream,  as  it  rushes  and 
sparkles  amongst  mossy  and  water-worn  boulders  down  an  open  and 
sunny  ravine.  Some  of  the  larger  rocks  are  covered  with  a  palm-like  fern, 
and  tllmy  ferns  of  the  most  delicate  form  and  texture  abound  on  the  drip- 
ping stones".  "The  vegetation  about  the  falls  was  lovely",  writes  a  recent 
author,  "the  masses  of  ordinary  forest  trees  being  relieved  by  graceful 
palms  and  shrubs  of  various  foliage". 

"As  we  sit  down  on  the  rocks,  a  small  flock  of  gigantic  hornbills  'saw 
the  air'  with  their  wings,  butterflies  come  wobbling  down  from  the  sunny 
clearing  formed  by  the  shallow  stream,  and  the  somber  tones  of  the 
cuckoo  and  the  bird  of  paradise  tell  us  that  we  have  come  to  the  "central 
point  of  the  earth", — the  dividing  line  of  human  history.  Here  is  the  first 
altar  of  man,  formed  of  the  rocks  of  mother-earth,  decorated  with  palm- 
leaf  and  banana,  and  sprinkled  with  the  silver  foam  of  the  cascade.  Here 
the  first  humans  worshipped  in  silent  adoration,  or  offered  their  burning 
incense  to  the  Lord  of  Life,  present  in  the  mysterious  tree.  "We  praise 
Thee,  0  God,  we  acknowledge  Thee  to  the  Lord!" 

The  Serpent 

"But  what  is  that  attractive  gleam  of  gold  and  green  swaying  to  and 
fro  in  the  sunshine?  Ah!  that  is  a  beauty  of  another  kind,  and  the  native 
to  whom  it  is  pointed  out  ejaculates:  "Chulaka  ular,  Tuhan".  "A  wicked 
snake,  sir".  We  do  not  have  to  go  very  far  to  find  "talking  serpents".  The 
antu  takes  possession  of  the  beast,  and  makes  him  speak  with  as  little 
difficulty  as  any  human.  And  so  we  can  hear  him  addressing  the  couple 
in  those  insinuating  words: — "Chd  Peng  td,-ika?"  "Neng-kubii-wa!" 
"Hath  God  said  this?"  "Ye  shall  not  surely  die!" — an  action  which  seems 
to  us  unpicturable,  because  we  do  not  understand  the  psychology  of  primi- 
tive man  and  his  intense  consciousness  of  a  supernatural  power.  For  him 
as  for  St.  Francis  nature  speaks,  birds  and  serpents  have  hum_an  tongues. 


246  PARADISE 

CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 
The  Temptation  and  Fall 

It  surely  requires  more  than  a  simple  "aversion"  to  explain  the  tempta- 
tion-scene that  follows,  and  which  has  been  preserved  in  its  essentials  by 
some  of  the  earliest  traditions  of  the  race.  Even  here  in  Borneo  the  natives 
speak  of  a  wonderful  tree,  "whose  branches  bore  every  imaginable  fruit, 
and  formed  the  ground  of  the  first  great  dispute".  But  the  combined 
Indonesian  folk-lore  offers  considerably  more.  We  know  that  wherever 
a  serpent  is  mentioned,  he  is  the  power  of  evil,  he  cheats  or  deceives  the 
first  couple  by  persuading  them  that  the  intentions  of  God  are  dilTerent, 
that  they  need  have  no  fear.  In  any  case,  the  main  points  of  the  fall  stand 
out  in  bold  relief: — Man  eats  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  and  has  lost  his  God, — 
that  is  the  whole  gist  of  the  story,  and  with  it  has  come  the  reign  of  sin 
and  death  in  the  world,  a  universal  misfortune  which  cannot  now  be 
healed  up. 

The  Sentence 

The  divine  anger  which  follows  is  in  most  cases  well  attested.  Thunder 
and  lightning  accompany  the  fallen  pair,  and  as  they  crouch  away  in  the 
bush  to  hide  their  nakedness,  they  hear  the  voice  of  the  Lord  "in  the  cool 
of  the  day"  as  He  pronounces  the  death-sentence  :—"5^m6a  mangd-wa 
pishang,  hawah-awaka  scrap  hawah-pishang.  Wa  putck  kaya,  kubu 
tebang.  Itu  kubu-wa,  andk-wa  machup  chenih.  Kalu  ambil-wa  batu, 
hawah  darah  serap  batu,  neng-kisar,  neng-kubu!"  "Because  you  have 
chosen  the  banana,  your  life  shall  be  like  its  life.  When  the  banana-tree 
has  offspring,  the  parent  stem  dies.  So  shall  you  die  and  your  children 
shall  step  ni  your  place.  Had  ye  chosen  the  stone {?),  your  life  would 
have  been  like  the  life  of  the  stone,  changeless  and  immortal".  These 
strong  words  come  to  us  from  Celebes,  where  the  stone  is  regarded  as  all- 
sacred,  but  they  reveal  the  main  consequences  of  the  fall  in  language  that 
is  almost  biblical  in  its  power. 

The  Cherubim  and  the  "Eastern  Gates" 

And  so  the  tree  of  life  is  withdrawn  from  man,  or  rather,  man  with- 
draws from  the  tree,  he  is  expelled  from  the  garden,  and  the  World-Eagl» 
or  the  Argus-Pheasant  protect  the  tree  from  further  approach.  These  are 
the  prehistoric  Cherubim,  which  like  those  of  Ezekiel  and  Daniel  are 
winged  beasts  with  four  faces,  "full  of  eyes  within  and  without",  and 
"with  the  appearance  of  a  flash  of  lightning".  As  we  catch  a  last  glimpse 
of  their  flaming  forms,  we  can  see  the  couple  passing  the  eastern  gates  to 
"dwell  in  the  land  of  Nod,  to  the  east  of  Eden",  a  plain  intimation  that  the 
days  of  wandering  have  now  commenced, — "a  fugitive  and  a  vagabond 
shalt  thou  be  in  the  earth !" 


PARADISE  247 

CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 
The  Question  of  Ultimate  Sources 

Now  I  have  taken  the  island  of  Borneo  as  a  typical  example  in  which 
most  of  the  requisites  of  a  paradise-legend  are  fulfilled, — climate,  geograph- 
ical situation,  flora  and  fauna,  primitive  peoples,  strong  echoes  of  the 
days  of  innocence,  and  a  fairly  rich  mythology  of  primitive  times.  But  in 
doing  this,  I  do  not  wish  to  imply  that  this  is  the  only  possible  theater  of 
man's  earliest  activity,  or  to  insinuate  that  here  alone  are  the  mythological 
data  so  convincing  that  any  further  study  of  additional  areas  is  super- 
fluous. The  above  drama  has  been  reconstructed,  not  so  much  from  the 
native  as  from  the  combined  sources,  and  though  there  are  many  good 
reasons  for  directing  our  attention  to  this  quarter,  the  events  described 
might  be  made  to  fit  any  tropical  or  subtropical  region  with  almost  equal 
propriety.  It  is  simply  a  specimen  of  how  the  story  can  be  pieced  to- 
gether from  aboriginal  sources,  showing  how  convergent  the  legends,  how 
suggestive  the  surroundings. 

But  where  are  we  to  look  for  its  final  basis,  its  ultimate  source?  In  this 
connexion  I  would  like  to  call  attention  to  the  utterly  baseless  theories 
that  are  sometimes  put  forward  to  "explain"  the  supernatural,  to  make  it 
appear  that  the  biblical  data  are  after  all  reducible  to  more  or  less  vivid 
sense-impressions  for  which  there  is  abundant  precedent  in  the  life  of  the 
savage  of  today. 

The  "Supernormal"  Cannot  Explain  It 

It  is  not  long  ago  since  the  late  Mr.  Andrew  Lang  tacitly  if  not  actually 
insinuated  that  "supernormal"  knowledge  of  this  kind  was  an  attested  and 
accredited  fact,  that  "to  open  the  gates  of  distance"  was  the  poetical  Zulu 
phrase  for  what  we  call  clairvoyance  or  vue  a  distance.  Now  while  the 
facts  of  the  "subconscious"  are  for  the  most  part  unquestionable,  it  is 
altogether  unwarranted  to  speak  of  these  abnormal,  not  to  say  diseased 
states  of  the  mind  as  granting  "information  beyond  the  reach  of  chance- 
coincidences  to  explain",  as  the  source  in  fact  of  real  preternatural  if  not 
actually  supernatural  knowledge.  The  very  fact  that  these  strange  sensa- 
tions are  on  the  level  with  the  yetit  mal  of  epilepsy  is  a  sufficient  proof 
that  they  are  unhealthy,  and  the  parallel  phenomena  in  the  moral  order, — 
obscuration  of  the  ethical  faculty,  occasional  murder,  admitted  laxity  in 
the  sexual  relations^,  all  are  so  many  additional  testimonies  that,  if  any- 
thing beyond  the  natural,  it  is  the  "father  of  lies",  the  demon,  that  is  here 
at  work.  God  almighty  never  acts  through  diseased  and  perverted  channels, 
whether  in  the  physical  or  moral  order.  Granting,  then,  that  some  of  these 
long-distance  "visions"  do  unquestionably  point  to  a  faculty  in  man  which 
is  above  that  of  the  crude  material  senses,  it  is  no  less  evident  that  so  far 
from  explaining  the  supernatural,  they  are  on  the  contrary  its  most  shame- 
ful travesty,  they  are  the  logical  opposites  of  the  revealed  channels  of  light. 


Andrew  Lang.  The  Making  of  Religion,  (London,  1909),  p.  65-127. 


248  PARADISE 

CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 
A  Supernatural  Revelation  Preserved  in  Corrupt  Form 

For  while  the  "visionary"  power  of  primitive  man  defies  modern 
analysis,  and  was  evidently  far  more  common  in  those  days  than  it  has 
been  in  any  succeeding  time,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  call  in  a  super- 
natural state  of  consciousness  to  explain  the  unique  story  of  the  elevation 
and  fall  of  man.  The  commanding  Elohim  and  the  talking  serpent  cer- 
tainly exceed  the  boundaries  of  a  normal  religious  "impression";  the 
above  phenomena  prove  the  existence  of  super-material,  not  of  super- 
natural powers,  they  cannot  explain  what  we  have  found  to  be  naturally 
inexplicable.  Abnormal  hearing  and  seeing  are  now  demonstrable,  but 
only  as  pathological  states;  they  cannot  account  for  a  supernatural  eleva- 
tion. 

Convergence  op  Sources 

A  more  common  objection  is  that  the  beginnings  of  man  are  too  far 
off  to  be  accessible  to  us,  that  contact  with  biblical  or  Islamic  ideas  is 
strongly  to  be  suspected,  that  the  transmission  of  such  details  through 
countless  generations  of  mankind  is  on  the  face  of  it  improbable,  if  not 
actually  incredible.  I  have  already  considered  the  main  points  of  this 
objection  on  p.  226.  Here  I  would  only  reiterate,  that  a  criticism  on  the 
score  of  "hoary"  antiquity  is  rather  ill-timed.  If  man  himself  can  survive, 
so  can  his  thoughts,  so  can  his  language,  so  can  his  legends,  though  a 
literal  equation  between  man  present  and  primitive  is  not  demanded,  and 
is  indeed  unprovable.  As  to  the  native  origin,  it  seems  to  be  fully  estab- 
lished, (1)  by  the  isolation  of  the  regions  examined,  (2)  by  the  purely 
pagan  mythology,  showing  no  traces  of  Islamic  or  even  Hindoo  thought, 
(3)  by  the  wording  of  the  story,  (4)  by  the  relation  of  the  story  to  the  rest 
of  the  mythology,  which  makes  them  an  indivisible  unit.  Moreover  by 
piecing  together  these  fragments,  it  is  certainly  remarkable  to  find  tree, 
serpent,  garden  of  fruits,  temptation  and  fall,  loss  of  immortality  and  curse 
of  man,  if  not  always  united,  at  least  in  many  cases  directly  attested,  and 
this  in  no  otiier  portion  of  the  world  but  only  here  in  the  East  Indies,  the 
very  spot  selected  by  many  biologists  as  the  cradle  of  mankind!  Can 
this  be  a  purely  fortuitous  circumstance?  Does  it  not  seem  highly  prob- 
able that  these  are  distant  echoes  of  the  earliest  tradition  of  man  on  the 
subject,  of  the  undivided  tradition? 

Combined  Evidence  Irresistible 

Thus  we  have  a  strong  basis  of  fact  to  counterbalance  any  arbitrary  or 
phantastic  theories.  Antecedent  improbabilities  will  have  to  yield  to  the 
combined  verdict  of  biology,  ethnology,  comparative  mythology,  and 
the  revealed  supernatural  data,  that  this  tradition  is  not  only  his- 
torically credible,  but  that  it  is  the  only  tradition  that  is  confirmed  by 
the  early  consciousness  of  man  as  revealed  by  the  earliest  data  that  are  so 
for  accessible  to  us. 


PARADISE  249 

CRITICISM  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 
Interpretation 

It  is  well  known  that  the  biblical  exegesis  of  the  paradise-legend  admits 
of  considerable  latitude.  There  is  the  literal,  mystical,  poetical,  and  alle- 
gorical school,  each  of  which  accepts  the  truth  of  the  legend,  but  gives  its 
own  interpretation  of  details,  the  latter  taking  the  extreme  position  that 
the  whole  story  is  an  allegory,  a  series  of  symbolic  pictures  designed  to 
impress  upon  man  the  fact  that  he  might  have  been  immortal,  but  that 
sin  has  blocked  the  way  to  eternal  life,  that  sin  is  the  origin  of  all  evil,  of 
all  misery,  of  all  unhappiness.  The  temptation  and  fall  repeats  itself  in 
every  individual  of  the  race,  we  are  all  eating  of  the  "tree  of  knowledge", 
losing  our  higher  spiritual  life  by  listening  to  the  "serpent"  of  a  stifled 
conscience,  prevented  from  enjoying  the  paradise  of  a  divine  union  by 
the  "Cherubim"  of  guilt,  of  unpardoned  crime,  of  deferred  repentance. 
Others  will  say  that  the  original  sin  of  mankind  is  equally  universal,  but 
more  specifically  sexual,  that  tree,  serpent,  garden  of  pleasure,  etc.  are 
physiological  terms,  the  "forbidden  fruit"  being  suggestive  enough  with- 
out requiring  any  further  comment.  Is  not  unchastity  the  most  harrowing 
sin  of  mankind? 

After  what  we  have  found  in  the  preceding  analysis,  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  add,  that  while  the  legend  may,  and  no  doubt  does  conceal 
many  secondary,  internal,  and  mystical  significations,  including  all  the 
applications  above  given,  the  weight  of  the  evidence  is  heavily  against 
allegorism.  It  requires  us  to  assume  that  the  drama  of  the  fall  was  ex- 
ternal and  realistic,  confined  to  a  definite  epoch,  taking  place  in  a  definite 
locality, — though  precisely  where,  when,  and  how,  can  indeed  never  be 
known  with  certainty.  The  idea  that  immortality  was  lost  by  si7i  is  of 
course  the  main  lesson,  but  this  has  little  or  no  meaning  without  a  definite 
historical  and  dramatic  setting  such  as  we  find  in  the  earliest  ages. 

The  Trees  of  "Knowledge  .\nd  Life" 

have  caused  some  difliculty  by  reason  of  their  names,  being  seemingly 
appellatives,  or  symbolic  trees,  of  no  definite  species.  But  this  is  decep- 
tive reasoning.  With  mere  symbols  we  cannot  account  for  the  vivid  con- 
sciousness of  a  real  fruit,  eaten  and  refused  to  the  deity,  and  later  offered 
as  a  sacrifice  of  atonement.  If  the  sacrifice  is  real,  the  fruit  is  real  also. 
But  the  fruit  has  also  a  mystical  sense.  It  is  a  tree  of  knowledge  and  life 
because  it  is  through  knowing  the  good  and  the  evil  that  man  is  capable 
of  sinning  on  the  one  hand,  or  of  meriting  eternal  life  on  the  other.  But 
on  no  account  can  the  story  be  divided  into  "real"  and  "ideal"  sections, — 
it  is  a  simple,  straightforward,  realistic,  though  also  mystical  narrative. 
Moreover,  it  is  only  in  the  inspired  Hebrew  tradition  that  we  have  anything 
approaching  to  a  pure,  primitive  and  undiluted  narrative  of  the  most 
momentous  event  in  the  earlv  historv  of  man. 


250  PARADISE 

CONCLUSION 

Taking  a  general  review,  it  will  now  be  possible  to  follow  the  trans- 
mission of  the  paradise-legend  broadly  in  three  stages: — 

(1)  Primitive  Version 

Here  the  picture  is  dramatic  and  realistic,  even  if  sometimes  frag- 
mentary and  occasionally  defective.  The  biblical  story  may  be  traced  in 
outline,  though  the  wording  and  setting  of  the  narrative  reveals  its  inde- 
pendence. Paradise  is  vaguely  in  the  far  East,  an  Island  of  Fruits,  guarded 
by  a  semi-divine  being, — the  Argus-Pheasant  or  the  World-Eagle. 

(2)  Late-Glacial  Version 

Portions  of  the  old  tradition  have  survived  in  Central  India.  Among 
other  totemic  peoples  the  story  has  been  reduced  to  a  mere  skeleton. 
Death  is  the  result  of  passion,  pride,  or  curiosity  through  large  sections  of 
Australia,  Africa,  and  North  America,  but  the  guilt  is  fastened  upon  two 
heroes  of  a  later  age,  not  upon  the  first  ancestors.  Paradise  has  become 
more  "ideal". 

(3)  Recent  Version 

The  old  tradition  is  revived,  but  with  a  more  modern  Western-Asiatic 
setting.  The  fragments  have  been  stitched  together  and  form  a  continuous, 
homogeneous  story.  This  is  more  especially  the  case  with  the  Palestinian 
version,  which  we  know  from  higher  sources  to  embody  the  only  perfect 
picture  of  primitive  man.  It  is  one  of  the  few  non-national,  non-local 
stories,  it  places  the  garden  of  God  once  more  in  the  far  East,  neither  in 
Palestine,  Egypt,  nor  Babylonia.  In  this  it  agrees  with  the  Gilgamesh- 
epic  with  its  Isles  of  the  Blessed.  In  other  cases  paradise  has  become  dis- 
tinctly territorial  or  national,  whether  as  the  Field  of  Alu  in  Egypt,  the 
garden  of  Eridu  in  Mesopotamia,  or  the  Airyanah-Vejah  of  the  Himalayan 
regions.  Only  the  Hesperides  seem  to  reflect  the  universal  idea,  but  their 
climate  is  European,  their  "apples"  distinctly  western. 

Results 

It  is  therefore  within  the  possibility  of  proof  that  the  essentials  of  a 
paradise-story  may  be  traced  to  the  very  earliest  ages  of  man,  that  it  has 
survived  the  ravages  of  the  glacial  epoch,  and  that  it  has  been  preserved 
in  its  purest  form  in  the  Hebrew  tradition  of  our  day.    In  other  words — 

The  Divine  Tradition  Has  Been  Continuous, 

however  much  its  area  may  have  been  reduced  or  its  frontiers  battered  by 
the  successive  invasion  of  pantheistic  or  animistic  phases  of  human 
thought.  There  is  satisfaction  in  feeling  that  Gen  .1-3  was  as  real  to  the 
mind  of  primitive  man  as  to  any  of  his  benighted  successors. 


CHAPTER    THE    FOURTH 


DE    DEO    SALVANTE 


The  History  of  the  Idea  of  Redemption 


THE  STAR  OF  BETHLEHEM 

AS  THE  GUIDING  STAR  OF   IHE  MAGI 


■\\  i:  IIA\  I-;  si;i:n  hi 


>C\H    IN     IIIK    KASI'   AMI   IIA\K   «<».MK    lO    WOll^llir    HIM"    (  M  AIT.    i,  t) 


A  SI  ri;i{\AH  UAI.  I'HKNOMKNON  WIIK  II  is  HKI.IK^  KI>  I<>  IIWK  0<  <  I  Kltlill  AllOl  I'  TIIK 
IIMI-:  <H  IIIK  SWKIHS  ItlKlil.  IIIK  iOl  K  MA.IOK  I'l.ANKIS  IIIOIM.  IN  <  I.OSK  urrosll  ION, 
XM>  III!':  UIIOI.I-;  II  I.I  MIN  Al  i:i>  IIV  an  KXTKAOKKIN  AKII.V  ItKII.I.IAN  r.  K\\NKs(KNI  on 
Mllt\(l  I  Ol  s  SI  \U.  SKK  \\.  KAMSAV.  MAS  CIIKIS'I'  HOKN  AT  ItK'I'll  I.KII  KM '.■  il.ONKON.  IX;|H|. 
V.  M.-..  AIIKKIl  KIIKKSIIKIM.  TIIK  I, IKK  AM>  TIMKS  Ol  .IKs|s  IIIK  MKss|\||. 
iNKW    VOKK.    UMKll.    >OI..    I.    I'.   ■;|-!. 


REDEMPTION  251 


From  the  preceding  material  it  is  sufficiently  clear  that  the  notion  of  a 
fall  or  a  general  failure  is  a  very  wide  if  not  a  universal  persuasion  of 
humanity.  This  fall  is  attributed  in  most  cases  to  moral  causes,  to  a  failure 
of  mankind  to  measure  up  to  an  ideal  standard,  to  a  conscious  rebellion 
of  his  lower  against  his  higher  nature.  In  this  way  reason  has  become  the 
slave  of  the  senses,  and  the  order  of  nature  has  become  inverted, — there 
has  been  a  frustration  of  the  divine  plan,  involving  the  whole  of  humanity 
as  the  wheels  of  a  watch  involve  the  whole  mechanism.  The  consequences 
of  this  fall  are  also  generally  well  marked.  It  has  brought  sin  and  death 
into  the  world,  the  former  a  moral,  the  latter  a  material  stain,  both  together 
reducing  man  to  the  level  of  nature,  yet  leaving  the  supernatural, — the 
means  and  instruments  for  seeing  the  All-Father  face  to  face. 

It  has  always  been  a  problem  of  great  importance  to  understand,  how 
far  the  loss  of  integrity  and  original  justice  has  afTected  the  status  of  man 
with  regard  to  the  supernatural  order,  to  what  extent  that  order  has  been 
rendered  inefficient  until  the  coming  of  the  Redeemer,  with  what  propriety 
it  can  be  said  that  the  nature-peoples  are  living  under  the  "law  of  nature" 
as  described  by  Saint  Paul  and  Cicero,  whether  that  law  has  dispensed 
large  sections  of  humanity  from  imputability  to  a  higher  standard  in  such 
sense  that  a  man  is  capable  of  working  out  his  own  "natural"  salvation 
without  reference  to  a  law  of  which  he  is  blamelessly  ignorant,  and  to 
which  he  cannot  be  held  responsible.    In  other  words: — 

Is  There  a  Natural  Beatitude? 

This  question  has  been  handled  with  great  vigor  by  the  scholastics, 
especially  the  moderns,  and  is  generally  treated  as  a  hypothetical  case 
rather  than  a  real  one, — there  is  7io  natural  beatitude,  though  there  might 
have  been  one  if  man  had  not  been  raised  to  a  supernatural  state. 
(Suarez) .  This  is  in  harmony  with  the  best  tradition,  biblical  and  patristic, 
which  knows  only  one  means  of  salvation,  and  that  a  supernatural  one. 
Moreover  the  Catholic  doctrine  of  the  universality  of  salvific  grace  obliges 
us  to  assume  that  the  supernatural  law  is  at  least  potentially  universal,  that 
in  all  ages  souls  are  capable  of  being  the  objects  of  the  divine  mercy,  of 
being  raised  to  the  supernatural  state,— "Factenii  quod  in  se  est  Deus  non 
denegat  gratiam".^ 


'  An  excellent  and  exhaustive  treatment  of  this  subject  will  be  found  in  Louis  Caperan, 
Le  Probleme  du  Salut  des  Infideles,  2  vols.  (Paris.  1912),  Vol.  I.  Partie  historique.  Vol.  II. 
Partie  dogmatique. 


252  REDEMPTION 

Let  us  see  what  bearings  this  has  on  our  present  subject,  on  the  con- 
dition of  man  after  the  fall  with  reference  to  his  supernatural  merit,  to 
the  possibility  of  his  own  salvation.  It  means  that  the  loss  of  integrity  and 
original  justice  is  analogous  to  the  loss  of  the  rationality  by  the  animal 
passions  of  man,  whenever  he  rebels  against  Ihe  dictates  of  reason,  loses 
himself  in  the  attractions  of  sense.  The  domination  of  sense  over  reason 
is  a  checking,  a  thwarting  of  reason,  not  a  suppression  thereof.  The 
rational  faculty  still  subsists,  though  its  exercise  is  impeded.  And  so,  in 
the  fall  of  man,  we  must  distinguish  between  the  obscuration,  the  rejection 
of  grace,  and  its  complete  suppression.  Man  still  remains  potentially  cap- 
able of  grace  and  the  virtues,  though  he  has  actually  forfeited  them.  In 
other  words — 

Salvation  is  Free,  Gratuitous,  Supernatural,  and  Universal 

It  is  freely  offered  to  man  in  all  ages  and  under  all  climates,  if  only  as 
a  "wave"  of  grace,  a  transitory  impetus,  a  supernatural  stimulus.  But  this 
is  vague  and  indefinite  unless  it  descends  to  further  particulars : — 

"Good  Master,  What  Must  I  Do  to  Inherit  Eternal  Life?" 

Now  it  is  from  the  well-known  answer  to  this  question  that  the  primary 
dictates  of  the  natural  law  are  derived.  Love  of  God  and  love  of  neighbor, 
these  are  the  minimum  conditions  of  salvation  for  all  those  who  have  not 
yet  entered  the  "kingdom", — Jews  and  Gentiles  alike.  Furthermore,  by 
analysing  these  precepts  and  expanding  them  in  their  only  legitimate  and 
practical  sense,  we  get  the  following  evolution  of  the  supernatural  law  as 
far  as  it  affects  the  question  of  justification  for  the  different  periods  of  the 
race. 

Conditions  of  Salvation  : — 

(1)  Under  the  Primitive  Law 

(a)  Dogmatic: — Belief  in  God  as  Creator  and  Judge,  with  implicit  belief 
in  the  Redeemer.  (Trinity,  Incarnation,  and  Redemption  in  voto). 

(b)  Moral: — Compliance  with  the  primary  dictates  of  the  natural  law,  and 
the  divine  positive  law,  as  far  as  known  (Commandments.  Rites. 
Sacrifices). 

(2)  Under  the  Jewish  Law 

(a)  Dogmatic:— Belief  in  Jehovah-Elohim  as  the  Savior-God  of  Israel, 
with  implicit  belief  in  the  Messiah,  (Trinity,  Incarnation,  etc.  in  voto). 

(b)  Moral: — Compliance  with  the  natural  and  the  divine  positive  law  as 
contained  in  the  Torah.  (Commandments.  Rites.  Sacrifices.  Circum- 
cision). 

(3)  Under  the  New  Law 

(a)  Dogmatic: — Explicit  belief  in  God  as  Creator  and  Rewarder,  with  at 
least  implicit  belief  in  the  Trinity  and  Incarnation,  some  theologians 
requiring  an  explicit  profession  of  faith  in  these  mysteries. 

(a)  Moral : — Compliance  with  the  New  Law  with  the  Baptism  of  Water,  etc. 


REDEMPTION  253 

The  Conditions  op  Salvation  Are  Progressive 

From  this  it  is  evident  that  tlio  conditions  for  entering  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  though  uniform  in  their  supernatural  character,  have  not  been 
uniform  in  their  content, — tliere  has  been  a  progressive  demand  for  higher 
and  yet  higher  standards  with  the  advance  of  the  ages,  a  gradual  expan- 
sion of  faith  and  practice  with  the  fulness  of  time.  These  conditions  are 
progressive, 

But  in  Every  Age  Objective  and  Absolute. 

I  am  no  longer  free  to  live  under  Jewish  or  Gentile  conditions  of  justi- 
fication for  the  simple  reason  that  I  am  living  under  the  New  Law,  which 
requires  fidelity  to  a  higher  standard  under  pain  of  an  eternal  loss, — 

"He  that  believeth  and  is  baptised  shall  be  saved, 
he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  condemned". 

Does  this  apply  to  the  whole  world,  pagan  and  non-pagan  alike?  Un- 
doubtedly it  does.  Saint  Francis  Xavier  would  never  have  sacrificed  his 
life  in  the  far  East,  had  he  not  been  convinced  that  the  eternal  gospel  was 
the  only  means  of  salvation  in  the  present  economy,  even  though  individual 
souls  or  even  entire  peoples  might  attain  to  the  same  conditions  by  a 
blameless  fidelity  to  an  anterior  supernatural  law  which  in  their  case  was 
still  partially  operative.  It  is  simply  a  case  of  the  survival  of  prehistoric 
conditions  of  faith  and  practice,  which  are  valid  only  in  so  far  as  the 
higher  standard  is  invincibly  ignored,  but  which  cease  the  moment  that 
standard  becomes  sufficiently  known  to  the  gentile  to  be  binding  in  con- 
science. 

To  What  Extent  are  the  Gentiles  "Excused"? 

From  this  it  will  follow  that  the  gentiles  can  only  be  excused  negatively, 
only  in  so  far  as  the  complete  message  of  salvation  has  not  yet  reached 
their  ears,  but  never  positively,  in  so  far  as  they  reject  that  message  when 
sufficiently  evidenced.    This  is  expressed  by  saying  that 

The  Faithful  Gentile  Will  Be  Converted, 

that  being  already  in  a  proximate  state  of  salvation,  he  cannot  resist  the 
divine  message  of  the  New  Law  without  culpability,  nay,  that  he  may  even 
merit  the  knowledge  of  that  Law  by  the  message  of  a  preacher,  or  by  a 
direct  internal  illumination.  (St.  Thomas).  This  consoling  opinion 
shows  at  least  that  in  the  mind  of  the  angelic  doctor  the  conscience  of  the 
savage  may  be  already  so  responsive  to  grace  as  to  become  the  fit  receptacle 
for  truths  of  a  still  higher  order,  in  itself  a  strong  admission.  It  presup- 
poses that 

The  Gentile  Law  is  the  Basis  of  the  New  Law, 

in  such  sense  that  the  former  "prepares"  for  the  latter  by  removing  the 
obstacles,  by  thus  allowing  full  play  to  supernatural  forces.' 

-  S.  Thorn,  in  14.  de  Verit.  art  11.  ad  primum  :  "Certissime  constat"  etc. 


254  REDEMPTION 

The  State  of  the  Gentu^e  Before  Conversion 

The  possibility  of  justification  under  the  gentile  law  for  the  would-be 
"faithful"  is  therefore  clearly  recognised,  and  is  not  only  in  harmony 
with  the  best  Catholic  tradition,  but  seems  to  be  positively  demanded  by 
the  gospel  data.  The  judgments  passed  by  the  people  of  Niniveh  upon  the 
crimes  of  the  Jews  imply  the  possibility  of  a  gentile  conversion,  however 
remote  or  exceptional  such  a  "conversion"  may  be  taken  to  be.  What  then 
is  the  position  of  the  modern  "savage"  with  regard  to  his  own  salvation? 
Given  that  he  is  in  good  faith  and  blamelessly  ignorant,  what  must  he 
believe  and  do  in  order  to  be  saved? 

Conditions  of  Gentile  Salvation 

(1)  He  must  believe  in  a  supreme  Being  as  the  Creator  and  Judge  of 
man, — that  is  the  minimum, — the  belief  in  a  Saving-God  being  ipso  facto 
included. 

(2)  He  must  follow  those  evident  precepts  of  the  natural  law  which 
are  written  in  the  heart  of  man,  as  the  decalogue,  and  which  include  in 
addition  the  observance  of  certain  rites  and  customs  which  vary  with 
different  ages,  but  which  for  him  are  sacred, — acts  of  penance,  sacrifice, 
atonement-rites. 

The  former  is  known  as  the  objective,  the  latter  as  the  subjective 
redemption. 

Objective  and  Subjective  Redemption 

It  will  be  our  present  purpose  to  ascertain  how  far  the  prehistoric  data 
tend  to  support  the  idea  that  a  redeeming  God  has  been  virtually  beUeved 
in  from  the  earliest  times,  reserving  for  a  succeeding  chapter  the  allied 
problem  as  lo  how  far  sucii  a  redemption  requires  the  observance  of  cer- 
tain rites  or  sacrifices  in  order  to  make  it  efTicient,  in  order  to  apply  the 
fruits  of  the  redemption  promised  to  the  soul  of  man  as  he  yearns  for 
deliverance,  in  order  to  make  it  vivid,  continuous,  realistic.  (Institutional 
aspect) . 

Chiteria  op  the  Objective  Redemption 

Let  it  be  understood  once  for  all  that  we  are  not  searching  for  the 
Redeemer,  but  for  faith  or  hope  in  a  Redeemer,  however  vague  or  con- 
fused or  perverted  such  a  faith  or  hope  may  prove  itself  to  have  been.  It 
is  a  question  of  finding: — 

(1)  Evidence  for  the  belief  in  a  Savior,  Mediator,  or  Messiah  that  is 
to  come. 

(2)  Some  evidence  that  this  Savior  is  more  than  man.  possibly  a 
divine  being. 

Only  One  Redeemer 

In  tliis  way  we  shall  avoid  the  insidious  trap  of  identifying  tiie  Son  of 
God  with  any  prehistoric  demiurge,  liowover  sacred.  -Ml  prehistoric 
redemption  is  wrought  solely  through  the  merits  of  Christ  anticipated, 
for  "there  is  only  One  Name  given  to  men  under  heaven,  whereby  we  must 
be  saved"  (Acts,  4,  12).  It  is  only  through  Him  tlial  the  various  hopes  of 
the  gentiles  fnkp  on  any  real  value,  that  they  nrc  in  rea!  sense  prophetic. 


REDEMPTION  255 

EARLY  OCEANIC  BELIEF 

In  the  very  first  cycle  of  human  development,  among  the  lowest 
aborigines  yet  known  to  us,  there  seems  to  be  an  obscure  consciousness 
that  the  divine  Being  is  more  than  Creator,— that  He  is  also  a  Helper,  a 
Savior  of  man,  in  such  sense  that  He  is  willing  to  restore  the  human  race 
to  the  primitive  conditions  of  friendship  provided  they  will  call  upon  His 
Name,  provided  they  have  real  confidence  in  His  own  power  to  help  them. 
In  many  cases,  moreover, — and  this  is  the  important  point—,  this  power 
of  helping,  of  reconciling  man  with  the  offended  deity,  is  the  prerogative 
of  a  certain  being  who  seems  to  be  distinct  from  the  All-Father,  though 
he  derives  all  his  power  from  Him,  a  fact  which  cannot  be  explained 
except  as  a  relic  of  a  past  supernatural  light. 

(A,  1)  The  Negritos  op  Malakka 

Among  the  Malakkan  Negritos  of  the  Province  of  Perak  we  hear  of  a 
mysterious  being  called  Pie  who  seems  to  occupy  the  position  of  an  inter- 
cessor, of  a  mediator  between  the  supreme  Being  and  His  rebellious 
creatures.    Note  the  following  story: — 

(1)  When  Karl  created  men,  they  were  very  good.  Death  was  not 
yet  established,  and  the  Semang  living  on  fruits  prospered  and  soon  got 
numerous.  But  Kari  saw  that  they  were  getting  too  numerous.  .  .  He 
blew  them  away  with  His  Breath — and  sent  the  wicked  souls  to  the  infernal 
regions.  But  Pie  pitied  them  and  got  the  Thunder-God  to  stop  slaughter- 
ing the  Semang,  arranged  with  Him  in  what  cases  souls  should  be  sent 
to  Paradise,  wrote  his  decision  upon  the  Burial-Bamboo  to  be  shown  to 
Him,  and  obtained  from  Him  the  power  to  avert  diseases}  Moreover  Kari 
shows  pity,  and  listens  to  the  pleadings  of  Pie  on  man's  behalf.=  Pie  often 
appeared  as  a  Semang,  but  with  long  thick  bushy  hair  covering  his  body. 
Some  say  he  returned  to  Kari  with  Simei,  others  that  he  sleeps  in  the  Jelmel 
Mountains  and  will  soon  return.-    (Human  character). 

(2)  Kari  created  everything  except  the  earth.  He  told  Pie  to  complete 
this  part  of  the  work,  and  Pie  did  so.  Pie  created  men,  but  Kari  "gave  them 
souls".*  Like  the  latter.  Pie  appears  to  require  blood-sacrifices,  (thunder- 
charm),  he  can  convert  winds  into  lightning,  and  has  the  power  of  self- 
transformation.'     (Divine  traits). 

It  seems  quite  possible  that  this  is  an  early  case  of  a  half-human,  half- 
divine  personality, — a  possible  logos.  From  the  above  details  it  may  bi^ 
inferred : — 

(1)  That  Pie  is  a  mediator,  that  he  can  save  man,  that  he  will  one  day 
return. 

(2)  That  he  is  a  semi-divine  being,  a  creating  divinity,  or  a  demiurge. 

It  is  not  always  easy  to  distinguish  dualism  from  redemptive  monothe- 
ism, but  in  this  case  the  transcendence  of  One  Being  seems  certain,  though 
Pie  is  sufficiently  powerful  to  appease  His  anger,  to  avert  the  destruction 
of  man.' 

1  Skeat,  Pagan  Races,  II.  p.  211-212.  =  Idem,  p.  177.  =  ijem,  p.  214.  ••  Id.  p.  213.  ^  idem, 
p.  215.     '  Compare  also  the  M>'th-Bamboo.  No.  1.  page  7  above, 


256  REDEMPTION 

EARLY  OCEANIC  BELIEF 

(A,  2)  The  Senoi  of  Malakka 

Among  the  neighboring  Senoi  we  find  the  same  idea  of  a  mediator,  but 
in  female  form.  Here  the  chief  divinity  is  Ta-Peng,  the  "Great  Master", 
and  He  alone  is  recognised  as  all-powerful,  as  the  ultimate  source  of 
benevolence,  to  wit: — 

"After  Peng  had  annihilated  the  demons,  he  observed  that  the  chiefs 
and  the  people  were  sufTering  greatly  from  hunger  and  thirst.  So  he 
touched  the  ground  where  the  Seven-Bamboos  had  been  growing,  until 
there  shot  up  a  number  of  fresh  sprouts,  such  as  are  willingly  eaten  by 
the  Senoi,  as  well  as  full-grown  bamboos  which  contained  water.  Thus 
all  the  chiefs  had  enough  to  eat.  Later  on,  as  a  remembrance,  people  took 
to  burning  into  their  quivers  patterns  representing  the  marks  left  by  Ta- 
Peng's  red  hot  hands  upon  each  separate  part  of  the  bamboos".' 

This  absurd  anecdote  shows  at  least  that  Peng  is  a  helping  and  saving 
divinity,  that  he  wishes  man  to  live  in  spite  of  his  failures.  But  in  the  figure 
of  Lanyut — the  "Great  Woman" — ,  we  have  the  picture  of  a  female  media- 
tor, whose  office  it  is  to  pilot  the  souls  of  the  dying  over  the  paradise -bridge, 
or  to  wash  them  in  the  purgatorial  waters  until  they  are  fit  to  enter  the 
island  of  fruits.  This  reveals  the  distinctive  role  of  a  helper  who  is  prob- 
ably more  than  a  mortal,  and  yet  clearly  below  the  Master  above.  It  is 
through  her  purifying  hands  that  the  sinful  soul  is  finally  saved.' 

(A,  3)  The  Jakuns  op  Malakka 

Among  the  wild  Malays  at  the  southern  end  of  the  peninsula  the  idea 
)f  a  redeeming  god  has  been  mixed  up  with  that  of  the  national  ancestors. 
Here  it  is  To-Entah,  "the  Lord-knows-who",  that  is  par  excellence  the  pro- 
tecting deity.  He  is  the  son  of  the  first  humans,  and  thus  remotely  the 
son  of  Tuhan-di-Bawah,  the  Lord  of  the  Underworld,— a  semi-divine  hero. 
It  is  through  his  pleadings  that  Tuhan  is  besought  to  save  the  race  and  to 
make  it  immortal,  though  the  prayer  is  rejected  and  men  have  had  to  sub- 
mit to  death  on  account  of  their  violence.  Disappointed  at  this,  To-Entah 
then  arranges  the  seasons,  fixes  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  in  the  heavens, 
prepares  the  earth  as  the  habitation  of  man,  and  finally  saves  the  race  from 
the  deluge.* 

Here  again  we  have  a  more  or  less  corrupt  account  of  a  personal 
deliverer,  who,  however  playful  and  light-hearied,  is  probably  more  than 
an  ordinary  human.  He  not  only  helps  to  make  the  world,  but  intercedes 
witli  the  chief  divinity  for  the  salvation  of  man, — in  fact  he  saves  him. 
This  may  serve  as  a  typical  example  of  some  of  the  earlier  beliefs  in  this 
pert  of  the  Asiatic  Continent. 


'Skeat,  op.  cit  11.  234.    ^  ibid.  II.  239ff.    » Ibid.  II.  336-341  (folk-lore). 


REDEMPTION  237 

EARLY  OCEANIC  BELIEF 
(B,  1)  Andaman  Islands 

In  the  Andamanese  tradition  the  role  of  a  mediator  is  not  so  clear. 
Puluga  is  himself  a  redeemer,  for  he  saves  select  souls  from  the  flood,  who 
then  re-people  the  world  from  the  earthly  paradise.*  This  shows  that  in 
spite  of  the  depravity  of  man,  he  is  still  capable  of  meriting  salvation  by 
invoking  the  divine  name,  by  following  the  divine  precepts,  though  this 
is  not  clearly  expressed  in  the  legends.  For  it  is  implied  in  the  doctrine 
of  the  fall, — through  which  the  friendship  of  Puluga  was  lost, — and  in 
that  of  the  future  life,  according  to  which  the  faithful  pass  over  the 
paradise-bridge  to  the  sky-palace,  where  Puluga  reigns  with  his  numerous 
family.  This  means  that  faith  in  Puluga  is  a  necessary  condition  of  sal- 
vation, as  all  the  enemies  of  Puluga  are  consigned  to  the  underworld.^ 

But  is  there  no  evidence  at  all  for  a  mediator  as  distinct  from  a  creator, 
for  some  person  who  fulfills  the  office  of  reconciler  between  the  divinity 
and  his  rebellious  creatures?  Some  such  olTice  may  be  implied  in  the  char- 
acter of  Pijchor,  though  the  scanty  materials  furnish  only  a  fragmentary 
picture,  showing  a  relation  of  divine  sonship  and  nothing  more: — 

"Puluga's  son  is  called  Pijchor.  He  is  regarded  as  a  sort  of  archangel, 
and  is  alone  permitted  to  live  with  his  father  whose  orders  it  is  his  duty 
to  make  known  to  the  Moroivin,  or  sky-spirits".' 

Pijchor  is  therefore  an  only  son  and  has  the  power  over  all  arch- 
angels. But  he  is  bereft  of  the  power  of  creating,  he  is  not  the  object  of 
any  special  cult,  and  he  is  not  associated,  as  far  as  we  know,  with  any  of 
Puluga's  plans  for  saving  mankind.  This  would  seem  to  exclude  the 
office  of  intercessor,  though  perhaps  the  mythology  has  not  yet  been  sufTi- 
ciently  sifted  to  force  the  conclusion  that  such  is  non-existent.  In  default 
of  further  information,  we  must  conclude  that  the  Andamanese  have  a 
belief  in  a  saving  divinity,  who  may  be  a  divine  "son",  but  whose  inde- 
pendent office  cannot  be  proved  from  the  data.  The  materials  are  alto- 
gether inadequate. 

(B,  2)  Ceylon 

The  Kande-Wanniya,  or  "Mighty  Hunter"  of  the  Veddas  is  either  an 
idealised  shaman,  or,  what  is  more  probable,  a  humanised  Heaven-God, 
his  quasi-divine  attributes  being  more  clearly  recognised  by  the  wilder 
tribes.  "Kande-Yaka  was  essentially  a  friendly  and  helpful  xjaka,  who,  un- 
like many  other  yaku,  usually  beneficent,  never  sent  sickness.  In  fact 
Kande-Yaka.^  the  spirit,  scarcely  differs  from  Kande-Wanniya.  the  mighty 
hunter,  still  living,  and  showing  kindness  and  helpfulness  to  the  people 
among  whom  he  dwelt".* 


>  Man.  Andaman  Islands,  98.     2  lb.  94,  96ff.    '  lb.  90.    «  Seligman,  Veddas,  132. 


258  REDEMPTION 

EARLY  OCEANIC  BELIEF 

But  whatever  the  origin  of  the  yaka  belief,  it  is  from  tliis  "Lord  of  the 
dead"  that  the  nae  yaku  or  deceased  spirits  obtain  permission  "to  accept 
offerings  from  their  Uving  relatives,  and  to  obtain  power  from  him  to 
assist  them  in  return  for  their  offerings,  or  to  injure  them  in  the  event  of 
their  bad  behavior".  Tiiis  reveals  an  essential  connexion  between  divine 
assistance  and  good  or  bad  beiiavior,  and  shows  moreover  that  salvation 
is  centered  in  the  great  Yaka,  is  dispensed  by  Him  alone.' 

From  this  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  "Great  Spirit"  of  the  Veddas  is 
capable  of  saving  his  children  under  the  usual  conditions  that  they  obey 
his  laws,  that  they  invoke  his  name.  These  invocations  are  well  repre- 
sented in  this  region  and  breathe  a  spirit  of  lofty  confidence  in  the  divine 
power  to  help.  But  as  to  the  Bilindi-Yaka,  his  supposed  "brother",  it 
should  be  noted  that  "Kande-Yaka  and  Bilindi-Yaka  were  both  known  at 
Godatalawa,  though  they  were  not  recognised  as  brothers,  and  Kande- 
Yaka  was  said  to  be  greater  than  all  other  yaku.  They  are  the  two  prin- 
cipal yaku  invoked  in  order  to  obtain  game".'  But  the  strange  thing  about 
Bilindi  is  the  story  that  he  was  murdered  by  Kande-Yaka  because  he  felt 
lonely  as  a  yaka  and  longed  for  his  company: — 

"For  fear  of  what  solitude  did  you  kill  your  own  younger  brother?" — 
runs  a  versicle  addressed  to  Kande-Yaka,  here  called  Nayide,  or  "Great 
Artificer".'  It  is  evident  that  this  is  no  revengeful  or  criminal  murder  but 
rather  a  divinely  permitted  martyrdom,  born  of  the  intense  love  of  Kande- 
Yaka  for  his  own  "brother",  who  was  still  condemned  to  roam  the  earth 
as  a  hunter  while  he  himself  was  in  celestial  glory.  II  is  a  kind  of  pre- 
historic "assumption",  by  which  the  Lord  of  heaven  delivers  his  dearly 
beloved  from  the  pains  of  existence.  In  the  figure  of  Bilindi-Yaka  we 
may  possibly  discern  the  first  premonition  a  sulTering  divinity, — one 
who  was  to  redeem  the  race  by  the  sacrifice  of  his  life, — though  the  story 
is  couched  in  strongly  mythological  garb.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  Bilindi 
is  always  invoked  in  the  sacrifice. 

(C)  Philippines 

The  same  notion  may  be  concealed  in  the  great  Anito  of  the  Philippine 
negritos.  If  he  punishes  sinners,  he  blesses  and  rewards  the  just,  he 
accepts  the  sacrifice,  he  hears  the  invocation,  "This  for  Thee!", — which 
shows  that  help  and  protection  come  from  him,  that  he  is  its  author.  Of 
the  lesser  anitos  too  little  is  yet  known  to  establish  the  office  of  mediator, 
though  the  Aetas  have  a  great  number  of  guardian  spirits.  In  any  case 
the  dead  return  to  the  great  Aiiito,  he  is  both  able  and  willing  to  deliver 
them.' 


sSeligman.    Veddas,    1.12.      "  Selfgrnan,    1.    c.    150.      ^  Seligman.    1.    c.    288-289.      •  Refd, 
Negritos  of  Zambales,  p.  65.  and  compare  above  pp.  21-24. 


REDEMPTION  2S9 

EARLY  OCEANIC  BELIEF 
(D)  Borneo 

This  idea  of  a  savior-god,  whether  in  male  or  female  form,  will  be 
found  to  be  fairly  prominent  among  a  large  section  of  the  East-Indian 
aborigines.    Almost  invariably  there  is  a  special  "pleading"  divinity. 

The  High  Father  of  the  Bakatans  or  Forest-Dayaks  is  evidently  more 
than  a  mere  Sky-being.  He  is  Bali-Pen-ya-long,  the  Spirit-Master-on- 
High,  whose  triumph  over  the  insidious  crocodile  implies  his  power  of 
saving  mankind  from  a  violent  death.  That  is  why  his  name  is  invoked 
at  the  critical  moment,  it  is  always  the  Aba-lingo,  {Ba-lingo,  etc.),  that 
brings  relief.  But  besides  the  Father  there  is  frequently  also  a  "Mother" 
of  humanity,  though  this  is  less  conspicuous  in  the  very  earliest  period, 
where  the  Father-Mother  God  is  not  often  clearly  distinguished.  Here, 
however,  we  have  the  female  Doh-Pen-ya-long,  to  whom  the  Kenyah- 
women  pray  as  the  "wife"  of  the  Father-God.  This  is  a  slightly  later  stage 
of  sex-cult,  which  shows  however  that  a  mediating  divinity  is  recognised, 
she  "prays"  for  her  worshippers.  But  it  is  more  especially  the  Balli  Flaki 
or  Omen-bird, — here  the  Hawk — ,  that  is  looked  upon  as  the  messenger 
or  intermediary  between  themselves  and  the  High  Father.  It  matters  not 
what  form  such  a  messenger  may  assume,  it  is  evidently  a  personal  being 
that  is  looked  upon  as  an  all-powerful  intercessor.  "0  Spirit  of  this  Bird. 
Ask  Bali-Pen-ya-long  to  take  away  all  sickness  from  us  and  to  keep  us 
from  all  harm!"  This  formula  of  the  Kenyahs  may  be  duplicated  by  a 
very  similar  invocation  among  the  Kayans,  where  the  Hawk  is  known  as 
Laki  Neho,  who  carries  a  similar  prayer  to  Laki  Tenangan,  the  "grand- 
father" of  the  race.  All  this  shows  that  the  All-Father  is  believed  to  be 
accessible  by  prayer,  that  he  hears  the  petitions  of  his  people,  that  he  is 
able  to  help  them,  either  directly  or  through  an  acknowledged  mediator. 
Moreover  the  strong  eschatology  helps  to  bear  this  out.  It  is  Amei,  Tamei, 
(Amaka),  who  punishes  the  wicked,  but  saves  the  good,  and  admits  to 
heaven  all  those  that  are  faithful  to  Adat, — "moral  law".  We  have 
already  seen  that  the  relatively  high  standard  of  most  of  the  interior  tribes 
is  a  guarantee  that  these  utterances  are  not  purely  theoretical.  They  mean 
what  they  say  and  argue  for  a  strong  sense  of  the  divine  power  to  save, 
provided  that  man  will  co-operate  with  the  plan,  will  avail  himself  of  the 
means  of  salvation.  But  whatever  the  value  and  portent  of  these  various 
mediators  or  go-betweens,  it  is  sufTiciently  clear  that  the  divinity  is  looked 
upon  as  benevolent,  as  morally  powerful,  as  a  salvific  God.  This  must  not 
be  taken  in  the  full  Christian,  but  in  the  prehistoric,  dispositive  and  limited 
sense :  it  means  that  the  first  obstacles  to  a  divine  union  are  being  removed.' 


1  Sources  in  Hose  and  McDougall,  Haddon,  Nieuwenhuis,  etc.  op.  cit.  supra  p.  25. 


260  REDEMPTION 

EARLY  OCEANIC  BELIEF 

Celebes 

The  Makkassars  of  Southern  Celebes  have  the  same  idea  of  a  divine 
couple,  described  as  Adji  and  Datu  Palingo,  who  have  in  addition  a  divine 
child  knovi'n  as  Batara,  the  "Lord".  This  being  seems  to  be  another  To- 
Entah,  a  demiurge,  who  descends  from  heaven  on  a  bamboo,  and  arranges 
the  earth  as  the  future  dwelling-place  of  man.  Among  the  Toradjas 
again  it  is  Ilai  and  Indara  that  are  the  father  and  mother  of  Samoa  who 
breathes  into  man  the  breath  of  life.  These  are  special  creating  or  saving 
divinities,  as  they  act  immediately  with  man,  while  their  "parents"  seem 
to  be  more  far  off.  The  Kalangi  of  the  Minahassa  is  in  some  respects  a 
similar  figure.' 

The  Molukkas 

Again,  the  Amaka-Lanito  of  Amboina  is  assisted  by  the  Amaka-Ume 
of  the  same  region,  both  of  whom  are  addressed  as  Aamina-Lanito,  or 
"Father-Mother-Heaven".  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  while  a  divine  unity 
is  for  the  most  part  provable,  such  a  unity  is  not  inconsistent  with  the 
separate  office  of  a  mediating  "mother"  or  "son",  who  are  looked  upon  as 
in  some  respects  nearer  to  man  than  the  Father  of  all,  but  who  derive  all 
their  power  of  helping  or  saving  the  race  from  Him  alone.  This  is  a  very 
general,  however  corrupted,  persuasion  among  the  earliest  and  most 
primitive  peoples  that  we  know  of.' 

(E)  Papua-Melanesia 

In  the  Aru  Islands  it  is  Boilai  and  Tadue,  the  "Lord  of  the  Earth"  and 
the  "Lady  of  the  Sea",  that  reveal  the  same  notion,  the  divine  "lady"  being 
by  a  natural  instinct  of  humanity  a  kind  of  intercessor  at  the  throne  of 
her  "lord",  though  the  latter  is  the  all-ruling  Father,  the  only  Creator. 

In  German  New  Guinea  it  is  Wonekau  himself  that  will  save  man,  that 
will  listen  to  all  his  petitions : — "0  Wonekau,  come  down  and  look  upon 
my  children!" — a  prayer  which  is  expected  to  be  answered  under  the  con- 
dition that  they  obey  his  laws,  among  which  chastity  and  honesty  are  all- 
important. 

In  British  New  Guinea  they  will  tell  you  of  a  mysterious  person  called 
Chidibey  who  was  once  with  them  and  who  taught  them  all  they  know. 
They  cannot  explain  his  disappearance,  but  they  regret  his  having  left 
them  and  point  to  certain  rocks  as  the  vestiges  of  his  presence. 

In  the  Banks  Islands,  Melanesia,  the  notion  of  all-saving  "lord"  is  about 
all  that  is  left  of  a  native  theology.  It  is  Qual-Marawa,  the  "lord-spider" 
that  "beats  down  the  waves",  that  "prepares  the  sea",  that  saves  the  help- 
less mariner. — a  prayer  which  is  believed  to  be  immediately  efTlcacious.* 


■  Sources  in  Wilken,  Kruyt,  Adriani,  etc.  op.  cit.  supra  p.  29.     '  Comp.  Riedel,  etc.  supra 
p.  30.    *  See  above,  pp.  31-36  for  the  sources. 


REDEMPTION  261 

EARLY  OCEANIC  BELIEF 
(F)  Australia-Tasmania 

(1)  fiaiame-Region :— The  Kamilaroi  of  New  South  Wales  believe 
that  the  office  of  mediator  and  intercessor  devolve  upon  two  separate  per- 
sonalities, if  we  are  to  credit  the  reports  of  an  early  and  apparently  reliable 
witness,  Mr.  James  Manning,  who  is  convinced  of  the  native  origin  of  this 
persuasion.  He  says  "They  believe  in  a  Supreme  Being  called  Boijma  (i.  e. 
Baiame),  who  dwells  in  the  North-East  in  a  heaven  of  beautiful  appear- 
ance. He  is  represented  as  seated  on  a  throne  of  transparent  crystal,  with 
beautiful  pillars  of  crystal  on  each  side.  Gregorally  is  his  son,  who 
watches  over  the  actions  of  mankind.  He  leads  the  souls  of  men  to  Boyma. 
The  first  man  made  by  Boyma  was  called  Moodgegally,  who  lives  near  the 
heaven  of  Boyma.  He  lives  on  the  earth  and  has  power  of  visiting 
Boyma,  whose  palace  he  reaches  by  a  winding  path  round  a  mountain, 
whence  he  ascends  by  a  ladder  or  flight  of  steps.  There  he  receives  laws 
from  Boyma"}  "Mr.  Manning",  says  Howitt,  "has  built  up  on  these  facts 
a  superstructure  which  represents  Christian  dogmas,  and  he  has  done  this 
evidently  with  full  faith  in  his  convictions.  The  following  are  his  words : 
"They  not  only  acknowledge  a  supreme  deity,  but  also  believe  in  his  provi- 
dential supervision  of  all  creation,  aided  by  his  son,  Gregorally,  and  by  the 
second  mediator  in  the  supernatural  person  of  their  intercessor.  Moodge- 
gally".'' 

It  is  needless  to  remark  that  these  strong  epithets  are  evidently  of  Mr. 
Manning's  own  devising.  Expressions  like  "supernatural  person",  "inter- 
cessor", and  so  on,  must  always  be  taken  in  the  native  and  more  or  less 
anthropomorphic  sense,  they  cannot  be  made  to  stand  for  the  strictly  philo- 
sophical concept  of  a  creating  logos,  a  divine  mediator.  We  must  beware 
of  attaching  Christian  terminology  to  what  are  nothing  more  than  the 
vague  gropings  of  the  savage  mind  trying  to  explain  the  mystery  of 
redemptive  grace  by  clothing  its  own  heroes  with  "supernatural"  attributes, 
by  making  the  first  ancestor  a  semi-divine  intercessor.  This  is  the  com- 
monest of  phenomena  among  the  nature-peoples,  and  of  this  we  have  had 
abundant  illustrations  above.  Mediator  and  ancestor  are  very  often  sy- 
nonymous. On  the  other  hand  Mr.  Howitt's  criticism  is  perhaps  too  severe. 
He  admits  himself  that  these  are  "facts",  and  we  know  from  other  sources 
that  Baiame  is  more  than  a  mythical  "headman",  that  he  "listens  to  the 
prayer  of  the  orphan",  that  he  is  an  "all-seeing  spirit",  that  he  brings 
salvation  to  his  people.  This  and  the  above  data  should  make  us  recon- 
sider the  point.  We  must  always  be  prepared  for  the  possibility  that  the 
nucleus  of  these  and  similar  legends  is  authentic  and  thus  traceable  in  part 
to  a  remote  supernatural  source. 


1  James  Manning,  Notes  on  the  Aborigines  of  New  Holland  (Sydney,  1882),  quoted  by 
Howitt,  Native  Tribes,  p.  501-502.    '  Howitt,  1.  c.  502. 


262  REDEMPTION 

EARLY  OCEANIC  BELIEF 

(3)  BMnrf/i/-Region : — Further  evidence  for  the  belief  in  a  savior- 
man  of  more  or  less  divine  character  but  of  distinctly  native  concoction 
may  be  gathered  from  the  similar  myths  of  the  Kulin  tribes  of  North-West 
Victoria.  Binbeal,  the  rainbow,  is  the  divine  "son"  or  "brother"  or  Bundjil, 
the  Heaven-God  and  as  Paliyan  he  is  a  possible  demiurge.^  The  former 
suggests  peace,  the  latter  power,  but  there  is  little  to  indicate  the  ofTice  of 
pleader,  or  helper  of  man  other  than  that  of  a  filial  relation  to  deity  and 
of  co-operation  in  his  plans.  These  are  probably  personified  nature- 
powers. 

(5)  Mungan-ngaua  Region : — More  vivid  in  some  respects  is  the  tra- 
dition of  the  Kurnai  of  South  Victoria.  Here  again  the  office  is  merged 
with  that  of  the  first  man,  Tundun.  He  also  is  a  "son"  of  the  "Our-Father". 
Mungan-ngaua,  he  instituted  the  first  Jeraeil  or  initiation-ceremony,  and 
received  from  liis  father  the  sacred  wand  or  "bull-roarer"  which  is  still 
known  as  the  tundun,  or  magic  churinga.  The  very  fact  that  this  instru- 
ment is  regarded  as  possessing  a  superhuman  virtue,  that  in  the  hands  of 
the  righteous  it  is  capable  of  delivering  man  from  the  thraldom  of  misery 
and  death,  shows  that  the  original  Tundun  was  himself  to  some  extent  a 
saving  personality.  But  his  essentially  limited  and  human  character  is 
brought  out  in  the  deluge-story.  For  whatever  Tundun  may  have  been 
in  the  past,  he  is  no  more  imperishable  than  the  rest  of  his  race.  Mungan- 
ngaua  overwhelms  the  whole  earth  with  a  volume  of  water,  and  he  and 
his  wife  are  turned  into  porpoiseS( !), — that  is  the  end  of  the  quondam- 
redeemer.  This  however  is  not  the  climax,  for  the  righteous  few  were 
saved  from  the  fiood,  and  Mungan-ngaua  is  still  their  Father,  which  tends 
to  show  that  he  is  a  merciful  and  pitying  divinity.* 

(6)  Marra-Boona-Region  (Tasmania) : — Echoes  of  a  similar  interven- 
ing-god are  found  in  the  extreme  South-East,  though  the  details  become 
increasingly  meagre.  The  "benevolent  being"  of  South  Tasmania  is 
assisted  by  another  heavenly  one,  who,  full  of  sympathy  for  the  half- 
formed  mortals,  completes  the  work  of  creation,  and  lubricates  their  knee- 
,joints(!).  Moreover  they  "sing  to  the  Good  Spirit"  who  has  power  to 
"protect  their  friends"  and  to  see  that  "they  return  in  health  and  safely", 
an  evident  proof  of  His  desire  to  save." 

Taking  the  Australian  region  as  a  whole,  the  only  safe  conclusion 
seems  to  be,  that,  although  the  idea  of  redemption  by  some  powerful  advo- 
cate is  frequently  hinted  at,  it  falls  short  of  a  distinct  belief  in  a  divine 
Savior  that  is  to  come.  The  mediators  are  not  promised,  they  are  "pro- 
claimed". Only  in  one  case  was  a  certain  Brewin  identified  with  Jesus 
Christ,  but  this  is  a  solitary  and  doubtful  instance." 


'Howitt,  1.  c.  491.     ■•Howitt,  1.  c.  493,  630.    »  Supra,  p.  45.    •  Howitt,  1.  c.  504. 


REDEMPTION  263 

EARLY  AFRICAN  BELIEF 

(G)  The  Negrillos  of  the  Congo-Belt 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  culture-heroes,  there  is  little  in  the  way  of 
a  saving  divinity  in  the  Congo-region.  Such  a  being  is  more  often  identi- 
fied with  God  Himself,  or  if  existent,  he  is  of  little  moral  consequence  to 
the  race.  We  hear  of  a  first  man, — Ryangombe — ,  among  the  Urundi- 
Watwa,  which  is  one  of  the  few  examples  of  a  national  hero  bedecked 
with  semi-divine  attributes.  It  is  worth  while,  however,  to  call  attention 
to  the  numerous  instances  in  which  the  supreme  divinity  is  recognised 
as  the  source  of  salvation,  as  containing  in  himself  the  power  of  recon- 
ciliation. 

(1)  "Waka,  grant  me  continued  strength  and  life,  and  that  no  haiin 
may  come  to  my  children!"  Such  is  the  prayer  offered  by  the  Boni- 
Watwas  to  the  "High-Man-above",  and  the  repeated  asseverations  of  the 
natives  that  He  will  and  does  help  them,  is  a  sufficient  indication  that  such 
is  really  the  case,  that  the  breach  between  man  and  the  Creator  is  to  some 
extent  healed.  For  if  it  is  "dangerous  to  live  under  the  eye  of  God",  it  is 
because  man  has  fallen;  if  He  can  still  be  approached,  if  He  "gives  us 
everything  that  you  see",  it  is  because  He  has  forgotten  their  sins.  He  has 
forgiven  them,  however  inceptive  such  a  "pardon"  maybe  assumed  to  be. 

(2)  Indagarra  sends  the  good  upwards  to  a  place  of  enjoyment,  and 
the  wicked  downwards  to  a  place  of  misery.  This  means  that  he  is  will- 
ing to  rescue  those  who  are  faithful  to  his  laws,  which  in  this  case  are 
fairly  stringent.  Homicide  and  adultery  are  among  the  things  that  are 
morally  fatal  in  Central  Africa,  or  must  be  atoned  by  severe  penances. 
There  is  no  getting  to  heaven  until  the  crimes  have  been  wiped  out. — then 
there  is  hope. 

(3)  Nzambi  loves  the  penitent  man,  for  if  he  is  burdened  with  sin,  he 
descends  to  a  kind  of  purgatory  and  then  rises  to  meet  his  Creator,  if  he 
has  been  "good",  God  says :  "Stay  here,  you  will  possess  great  forests  and 
want  nothing". — another  instance  of  redemption  promised  under  moral 
conditions. 

(H)  The  Bushmen  op  the  Kalahari 

The  Master,  Kaang,  of  the  Bushmen,  is  described  in  very  similar  lan- 
guage. Whatever  follies  were  committed  by  Kogaz,  the  first  ancestor,  he 
shows  his  forgiving  power  by  raising  Kogaz  to  life  and  converting  the 
demons  into  scorpions.  But  even  now  "Kaang  has  made  all  things  and 
we  pray  to  Him",  and  when  they  are  in  need  of  bread  "He  gives  us  both 
our  hands  full".  Evidently  Kaang  has  the  power  of  forgiveness,  or  he 
would  not  listen  to  them. 

These  are  among  the  many  examples  which  tend  to  reveal  the  quality 
of  mercy  in  One  who  is  otherwise  severe,  an  exacting  judge.' 


'  Sources  in  Le  Roy,  Van  der  Burgt,  Stow,  Arbousset,  etc.  loc.  sit.  supra,  p.  47ff. 


264  REDEMPTION 

EARLY  AMAZONIAN  BELIEF 
(K)  Central  Brazil 

It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  the  Amazonian  region  is  par- 
ticularly rich  in  savior-gods.  It  would  be  quite  impossible  to  enumerate 
all  the  creating,  destroying,  and  renovating  divinities  of  the  Brazilian 
forests.  Their  number  is  legion.  But  to  take  the  typical  instance  selected 
in  the  preceding  chapters,  it  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  the  High-Father 
of  Shingo  people,  though  a  faded  and  forgotten  personality,  should  be 
looked  upon  as  the  remote  source  of  a  former  as  well  as  a  future  happi- 
ness. It  is  Kamushini  who  says  to  the  rebellious  couple  in  paradise,  "/  will 
stay",  thus  hinting  that  in  spite  of  the  mortality  of  man,  he  still  wishes  him 
to  live,  or  perhaps  to  deliver  him  by  some  means  of  his  own  devising.  And 
throughout  the  conflict  of  justice  with  mercy  is  the  all  absorbing  theme. 
Though  Kamushini  is  rigorous,  and  destroys  mankind  in  the  fire  because 
of  their  growing  laxity  and  disobedience,  he  is  also  compassionate  because 
of  their  repentance,  because  some  at  least  are  faithful.  These  are  invar- 
iably saved  or  admitted  to  enjoy  the  old-time  days  of  innocence  or  to  live 
with  him  in  the  clouds.  Whatever  their  precise  fate  in  individual  cases, 
it  is  clear  that  as  in  the  days  of  Ken  and  Karnes,  the  gates  of  heaven  are 
still  open  to  them,  or  will  some  day  be  opened  to  them;  mankind  can  still 
under  conditions  merit  eternal  life. 

This  is  brought  out  with  considerable  force  in  the  current  accounts  of 
the  destruction  and  re-elevation  of  man  that  are  here  so  abundant.  The 
Tupi  legend  of  Monan,  who  saves  the  race  from  a  "deluge"  of  fire,  is  only 
one  of  the  many  similar  stories  in  which  the  chief  divinity  is  invariably 
on  the  side  of  the  righteous.  Dr.  Ehrenreich  has  collected  these  anecdotes 
with  considerable  care,  and  they  show  that  in  nearly  every  case  the  burn- 
ing or  the  drowning  of  man  is  the  punishment  for  serious  violations  of 
the  moral  law,  while  the  salvation  of  the  few  is  attributed  not  simply  to 
their  superior  sagacity,  but  very  generally  to  their  more  blameless  lives." 

(L)  Fuegia-Patagonia 

The  same  idea  of  a  pardoning  and  reconciling  divinity  may  be  traced 
far  into  the  Fuegian  archipelago.  In  spite  of  the  consciousness  of  a 
former  rebellion,  it  is  still  possible  to  approach  the  "good  spirit",  whether 
among  the  Yahgans,  the  Onas,  or  the  Alacalufs.  "He  sends  good  and  bad 
things  to  men",  the  "good  go  to  a  delightful  forest",  etc.  implying  that 
the  deity  is  still  benevolent,  that  his  hand  is  still  extended  in  blessing. 
Further  than  this  however  the  scanty  materials  will  not  allow  us  to  pro- 
ceed.* 


•See  Von  den  Steinen.  Ehrenreich,  etc.  supra  p.  54ff.     »  Cooper,  1.  c.  sup.  p.  58ff. 


REDEMPTION  265 

LATER  ASIATIC  BELIEF 
(M,  1)  The  Mundas  of  Central  India 

Among  the  Kolarian  races  the  ancient  concept  of  an  All-Savior  may 
still  be  found,  though  the  idea  of  "sonship"  is  less  pronounced,  it  is  a 
female  that  saves  the  race  from  extinction.  By  her  foresight  the  seed  of 
mankind  is  preserved  and  those  are  distant  echoes  of  a  better  age  to  come, 
vv'hen  the  divine  and  the  human  shall  at  length  be  reconciled,  though  a 
clear-cut  prophecy  is  equally  absent.  The  following  legend  of  the  destruc- 
tion and  reconstitution  of  man  will  probably  help  to  illustrate  this  subject 
with  enough  detail  to  bear  out  the  main  points  of  our  contention.' 

"The  Horo  honko,  or  the  sons  of  men,  threw  off  their  allegiance  to 
Sin-Bonga,  whereupon  he  sent  a  warning  to  men  on  earth  through  his 
servant-bird,  Kaua,  the  Crow,  and  Lipi,  the  Owl(?).  But  men  refused  to 
obey  Sin-Bonga.  Enraged  at  this  impious  contumacy  of  man,  he 
showered  down  on  the  earth  below  a  terrible  rain  of  fire  to  destroy  man- 
kind. And  the  race  of  man  would  have  been  altogether  extinct  but  for 
the  saving  pity  of  the  sister  of  the  Sun-god,— 5in-Bonffa-Misi.  The  com- 
passionate goddess  carried  off  a  man  and  a  woman,  related  as  brother 
and  sister  to  each  other,  and  kept  them  hidden  underneath  a  certain  jov\, 
or  marsh.  And  to  reach  this  hiding-place  one  would  have  to  pass  suc- 
cessively through  ten  massive  doorways.  The  wary  Sun-God  had  his 
suspicions,  and  he  dispatched  the  two  birds  to  look  out  for  any  human 
being  that  might  have  escaped  the  general  conflagration.  Long  and 
patiently  did  the  sagacious  birds  search  for  some  trail  of  the  existence  of 
man.  They  had  well-nigh  despaired  of  their  success,  when  at  length  the 
crow  alighted  on  a  leaf-cup,  such  as  men  use  for  drinking(!)  It  lay  on 
the  marsh  and  betokened  the  presence  of  man.  But  no  human  being 
could  anywhere  be  seen.  Straightway  the  crow  picked  up  the  leaf-cup 
and  carried  it  to  Sin-Bonga. 

Thereupon  Sin-Bonga  himself  went  down  to  the  marsh.  Here  he  was 
met  by  Nage-Era,  the  presiding  spirit  of  the  marsh.  And  of  her  he  de- 
manded to  know  if  she  had  any  human  beings  in  her  custody.  The 
marsh-spirit  promptly  replied: — "All  men  hast  thou  struck  down  with 
fire  and  brimstone.  Where  shall  I  get  one  now".  But  the  Sun-god  was 
not  convinced.  At  length,  however,  he  won  the  confidence  of  the  marsh- 
spirit  by  promising  not  to  destroy  mankind  again,  and  added: — "Hence- 
forth you  shall  have  two  parts  of  the  sons  of  men,  and  I  shall  take  only  a 
third  part  to  myself".  At  this  the  marsh-spirit  brought  out  the  surviving 
human  pair  from  inside  the  jovi-m&vsh. 


To  be  found  in  S.  C.  Roy.  The  Mundas.   (Calcutta.  1912).  pp.  IX-X   (Appendix). 


266  REDEMPTION 

L.\TER  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

Now  this  man  and  woman  were  called  Lutkum-Haram  and  Lutkum- 
Buria  respectively.  They  lived  together  as  man  and  wife  at  Ajamgarh, 
and  the  world  was  peopled  by  their  progeny.  Since  then,  as  a  mark  of 
the  power  of  the  marsh-spirit  over  them,  most  men  have  some  mark  or 
wart  on  their  8kin".(!) 

This  legend  contains  some  undoubtedly  antique  elements.  The  de- 
scription of  the  "sons  of  men"  as  throwing  off  their  allegiance  to  the  Sun- 
god,  as  hiding  in  a  distant  marsh,  as  revealing  their  presence  by  the  "leaf- 
cup",  and  finally  repeopling  the  earth  from  the  Ajam-Garh, — these  may 
be  called  the  archaic  nucleus,  around  which  stories  of  a  later  age  have 
grouped.  But  what  is  more  distinctive, — the  pleading  goddess,  Sin-Bonga- 
Misi,  reveals  the  same  fundamental  idea  of  salvation  promised  even  to  the 
first  ancestors  which  is  dimly  implied  in  the  earlier  legends.  It  is  nearly 
always  a  prominent  intercessor  that  saves  either  the  first  couple  or  their 
distant  descendents,  there  is  always  some  chance  for  humanity  to  escape 
destruction.  The  fact  that  the  intercessor  is  here  a  female,  is  nothing 
strikingly  new.  As  the  "sister"  of  the  God  of  heaven,  she  obtains  a  semi- 
divine  character  which  may  be  parallelled  in  the  earliest  mythologies, 
whether  of  Malakka  or  Borneo.  The  bird  messengers  and  the  protecting 
marsh-spirit  are  also  suggestive,  the  former  carrying  out  the  divine  sen- 
tence, while  the  latter  pleads  for  stricken  humanity  quite  after  the  man- 
ner of  a  guardian  angel.  Finally  the  verdict  of  the  Sun-god.  that  he  will 
punish  only  a  third  part  of  humanity  shows  that  the  remaining  two  thirds 
are  in  future  to  be  saved — an  evident  proof  of  benevolence,  of  the  ultimate 
triumph  of  mercy. 

On  the  other  hand  the  moral  causes  of  the  punishment  and  the  partial 
salvation  of  man  are  here  no  longer  as  clear.  The  "rebellion"  spoken  of 
has  no  definite  ethical  content,  there  is  no  specific  sin  that  is  mentioned 
as  the  remote  or  proximate  cause  of  the  trouble,  and  we  know  that  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  Mundari  peoples  on  this  head  are  by  no  means  as  vivid 
as  in  the  earlier  days  of  the  race.  This,  combined  with  the  doctrine  of 
metempsychosis,  of  the  return  of  a  large  portion  of  humanity  into  the 
bodies  of  animals,  reveals  a  scheme  of  "redemption"  which  is  after  all 
little  more  than  a  survival  of  the  physically  fit.  .\nd  this  is  only  to  be 
expected  in  a  region  where  the  strong  development  of  totemism  has  robbed 
the  people  of  the  clear  notion  an  all-commanding,  all-exacting  Person- 
ality. The  totems  are  in  so  far  useful,  however,  in  that  the  marsh-spirit 
is  in  league  with  the  "queen  of  heaven"  to  procure  the  redemption  of  man. 
Wben  coupled  with  the  old  wind-spirits,  they  assume  a  dignified  role. 


REDEMPTION  267 

LATER  AFRICAN  BELIEF 
(M,  2)  The  Bantus  of  East  Africa 

The  idea  of  deliverance  by  some  special  guardian  spirit  is  in  fact  a 
very  common  feature  among  the  totemic  peoples.  If  the  sun  represents 
the  creating  and  preserving  side  of  divinity,  it  is  quite  often  the  moon,  the 
earth,  or  the  morning  star  that  is  symbolical  of  hope  or  of  rejuvenation, 
the  harbinger  of  a  better  age  to  come.  But  it  is  more  especially  the  animal 
and  the  vegetable  creation  that  is  looked  upon  as  the  direct  source  of  salva- 
tion, as  containing  the  power  of  bridging  over  the  gulf  that  separates  the 
human  and  the  divine.  Thus  we  find  the  sun,  the  serpent,  the  buffalo,  and 
the  mystic-tree  not  only  as  mysteries,  but  as  medicines,  and  this  through- 
out the  totemic  region,  whether  in  India,  Africa,  or  North  America,  the 
Australian  emu  taking  the  place  of  the  bufTalo  in  the  far  South-East. 

Side  by  side  with  the  plant  or  animal  totems,  however,  we  find  the 
ultimate  source  of  redemption  quite  frequently  traced  to  the  ancient 
Heaven-God,  it  is  a  divine  or  semi-divine  Person  that  is  back  of  the  scheme. 
If  it  is  a  goddess  in  India,  it  is  Mulungu  himself  in  eastern  Africa.  I  have 
already  called  attention  to  the  Bantu  formula  for  exorcism:  "May  God 
forget  it,  may  he  live!"  and  the  fact  that  the  person  exorcised  is  believed 
to  live  and  to  be  admitted  to  the  heaven  of  Mulungu  when  he  comes  to  die, 
is  sufficient  evidence  that  the  latter  is  merciful,  that  the  sins  of  man  can  be 
cancelled.  The  definition  of  God  as  Ahendaye,  "He  who  does  good",  agrees 
with  the  common  tradition  of  a  divine  benefactor,  who  will  reward  man 
not  only  in  the  present,  but  also  in  the  future  life.  The  numerous  prayers 
and  invocations  throughout  Bantu  Africa  testify  to  a  belief  in  a  redeeming 
spirit,  even  if  this  spirit  is  often  identified  with  a  charm  or  some  other 
magical  power.  In  very  few  cases  is  the  belief  to  be  found  in  its  purity, 
without  a  confusion  of  the  god  of  heaven  with  some  animal  ancestor, 
which  detracts  greatly  from  its  moral  and  personal  value. ^ 

Thus  among  the  Nandi  it  is  the  hyaena  that  is  all-absorbing,  that  is  the 
mouthpiece  of  the  ancestor,  that  is  the  channel  of  communication  between 
the  living  and  the  dead.  If  cures  are  wrought  or  a  deliverance  in  any  way 
possible,  it  is  through  this  beast  that  the  salvation  must  come,  there  is  no 
other  way  of  approaching  the  Father  of  all.  Similar  views  are  entertained 
in  other  parts  of  East  Africa  of  the  snake  and  the  world-serpent;  he  is  not 
only  the  ancestor  but  in  some  sense  the  redeemer  of  man,  which  shows 
how  far  it  is  possible  to  drift  from  the  simple  if  crude  traditions  of  an 
earlier  age.  However  tarnished  these  earlier  legends  may  be  taken  to  be, 
they  at  least  have  a  dignified  ring;  they  tear  us  away  from  the  eternal  ser- 
pent, the  power  of  evil. 


'  Comp.  LeRoy,  La  Religion  des  Primitifs,  pp.  191-192,  293-327.  and  supra  p.  67ff. 


268  REDEMPTION 

LATER  AUSTRALIAN  BELIEF 
(M,  3)  The  Aruntas  of  Central  Australia 

With  the  growing  importance  of  the  totem-cull  the  idea  of  a  personal 
redeemer  begins  to  fade  more  and  more  into  the  background.  Here  and 
there  it  is  true  we  have  the  dim  outlines  of  a  culture-hero, — more  often  the 
first  ancestor — ,  who  is  believed  to  possess  the  power  of  operating  won- 
derful cures  or  of  helping  mankind  in  a  variety  of  ways.  Yet  even  he  soon 
disappears  in  the  magical  herbs  and  fabulous  monsters  that  are  believed 
to  be  all-powerful,  the  only  source  of  physical  or  what  is  left  of  spiritual 
strength.  Altjira  himself  is  incapable  of  saving  man,  unless  we  take  the 
few  stories  of  a  heavenly  fate  for  the  righteous  as  a  sign  that  formerly  at 
least  the  deity  was  benignant,  was  willing  to  give  the  earthly  wanderer  a 
well-earned  rest.  The  same  of  Tukura,  Alnata,  and  other  totemised  gods. 
We  are  therefore  obliged  to  turn  to  the  totems  themselves  as  the  only  life- 
savers. 

Among  these  the  sun  and  the  emu  take  the  principal  rank,  both  to- 
gether being  known  as  the  aboriginal  ones, — the  Altjira  above.  We  have 
already  seen  that  in  the  so-called  Intichiuma  ceremonies  there  is  little  of 
any  moral  or  theological  content.  The  primary  object  of  these  ceremonies 
is  to  obtain  the  control  of  the  totem,  and  thence  the  supply  of  the  article 
required,  whether  it  be  rain  or  sunshine,  bird,  beast,  or  reptile.  Now  it  is 
quite  true  that  in  so  far  as  a  supreme  personality  is  still  recognised  in 
these  rites,  they  take  on  a  semi-religious  character,  it  is  the  Heavenly  One 
that  is  still  operating  in  them,  they  are  to  some  extent  "sacred".  But  we 
know  that  in  practice  this  is  not  the  case;  Altjira,  the  person,  is  rarely  if 
ever  invoked,  it  is  the  sun-dial  with  the  emu  feathers  that  merit  the  atten- 
tion of  man  as  such,  they  are  the  bringers  of  fortune.  This  is  in  harmony 
their  purely  utilitarian  nature,  they  are  in  no  sense  sanctifying,  but  simply 
useful,  and  the  faded  eschatology  of  these  peoples  shows  that  there  is  no 
deliverance  from  nature,  they  are  condemned  to  be  reborn  and  to  com- 
mence the  cycle  of  life  with  the  lizards.  In  other  words,  there  is  no 
redemption  in  any  proper  sense  of  the  word  except  for  the  exceeding  few 
who  cling  to  Altjira  as  the  original  source  and  dispenser  of  existence. 

The  same  remarks  apply  to  the  Mura-Mura  of  the  neighboring  Dieri. 
Here  the  ancestor-cult  has  entirely  obscured  what  was  in  earlier  times  no 
doubt  a  saving  divinity.  Nay  more,  mura-)nura  is  the  carpet-snake  and 
will  furnish  you  with  as  many  of  his  own  species  as  you  may  desire.  In 
this  respect  he  is  like  the  great  W ollunqna-serpeni  of  the  Waramunga, — a 
giant  reptile,  who  will  supply  his  clients  with  every  imaginable  comfort.' 


'  Sources  in  Spencer  and  Gillen,  Northern  Tribes,  p.  177fT.  and  supra  p.  71. 


REDEMPTION  269 

NORTH  AMERICAN  BELIEF 

(M,  4)  The  Prairie  Indians 

North  America  is  well  supplied  with  saving  divinities.  Indeed,  this  is 
the  region  above  all  others  where  the  divine  is  looked  upon  as  essentially 
helpful,  if  not  exclusively  so.  The  idea  of  justice  recedes  more  and  more 
into  the  background,  and  what  we  have  in  the  Prairie  States  is  above  all 
things  a  pitying  and  condescending  God,  rarely  a  vindictive  one.  This  is 
expressed  by  calling  the  deity  the  "medicine".  One  who  is  in  a  special 
sense  the  fountain  of  all  that  is  benevolent,  even  if  only  in  a  lower  material 
sense  of  what  is  immediately  useful,  immediately  practical.  It  is  this 
utilitarian  aspect  of  the  divine  which  is  here  developed  to  its  logical  issue 
at  the  expense  of  the  higher  notion  of  an  exacting  God,  one  who  demands 
a  life  of  strict  integrity  as  a  condition  of  moral  salvation. 

The  Wakanda  as  the  "Great  Medicine" 

It  is  fairly  evident,  for  instance,  that  although  the  Sun-Wakanda  is 
the  "Man  above"  who  "rules  over  them",  who  "regulates  everything  that 
moves",  who  "decides  when  my  last  day  shall  come".  He  makes  but  the 
slightest  moral  demands  on  his  worshippers  as  a  condition  of  meriting  his 
friendship.  We  know  that  apart  from  the  fasts  and  bodily  mortifications 
by  which  the  guardian  is  secured,  there  is  little  of  a  higher  spiritual  con- 
tent in  these  prayers.  Too  often  they  wind  up  with  monotonous  refrain, 
"0  Wakanda,  pity  me",  in  itself  an  inspiring  petition,  but  which  is  rarely 
coupled  with  any  consciousness  of  sin,  any  strong  sense  that  the  divinity 
has  been  outraged.  This  can  hardly  be  called  a  confession-formula,  for 
the  admission  of  moral  guilt  is  very  generally  wanting.  It  is  rather 
analogous  to  the  magical  rain-making  prayers  of  the  Aruntas  just  con- 
sidered, where  the  chief  object  of  the  ceremony  is  the  control  of  the  weather 
or  the  acquisition  of  some  material  advantage.  This  is  revealed  among 
other  things  by  the  national  Sun-Dance  and  by  the  Corn  and  ButTalo- 
Mysteries,  in  which  the  idea  of  influencing  the  weather,  the  harvest,  the 
crops,  the  supply  of  butfalos,  and  so  on,  is  apparently  uppermost;  there 
are  no  direct  signs  that  the  worsliipper  wishes  to  atone  for  any  past  trans- 
gressions, for  any  moral  culpabilities. 

But  here  again  we  must  be  careful  not  to  draw  conclusions  that  are 
too  sweeping.  It  is  always  unsafe  to  argue  from  the  absence  of  a  peni- 
tential formula  to  the  absence  any  consciousness  of  guilt,  and  the  very  fact 
that  the  Wakanda  is  asked  to  "pity"  his  client  and  that  the  general  tone  of 
morality  is  at  least  theoretically  high,  culminating  in  such  invocations  as 
"I  am  pure,  I  am  pure!",  should  make  us  proceed  with  great  caution. 


270  REDEMPTION 

NORTH  AMERICAN  BELIEF 

On  the  basis  of  a  merely  negative  argument,  it  might  be  inferred  with 
equal  propriety  that  the  negritos  and  others  have  no  sorrow  for  sin  because 
no  catalogue  is  made  of  the  faults  committed.  We  know  from  the  general 
absence  of  gross  crime  and  the  comparatively  high  standard  of  these 
peoples  that  their  religion  is  efficient,  that  their  divinity  can  as  a  fact  save 
them,  which  must  include  some  horror  or  destination  of  sin  as  a  condition 
of  its  operation.  In  like  manner,  the  general  respect  for  decency,  for 
right  living,  and  sometimes  even  for  moral  heroism,  that  characterises 
so  many  of  our  wild  prairie  Indians,  should  make  us  hesitate  in  throwing 
over  their  religion  as  a  mere  charm-cult.  While  much  of  their  ritual  is 
undoubtedly  of  this  nature,  there  are  occasional  beams  of  a  Higher  Light 
which  are  all  the  more  inspiring,  because  they  are  unexpected. 

"Wakanda!  Here  needy  stands  he,  and  I  am  he!"  Even  if  the  sinner 
is  here  crying  for  merely  earthly  bread,  for  the  material  necessities  of  life, 
it  surely  argues  for  a  strong  conviction  that  all  good  gifts  come  from  a 
heavenly  "Giver",  that  He  has  the  power  to  supply  their  needs,  the  essential 
note  of  a  saving  deity.  Again, — though  a  majority  of  the  race  are  con- 
demned to  reenter  the  butTalos,  the  heroic  few  are  given  a  vision  of  the  Man 
above,  the  Wakanda  is  strong  enough  to  save  his  clients  from  the  fate  of 
animals  provided  they  will  recognise  Him  as  their  Father.  To  what 
extent  this  is  the  case,  can  indeed  never  be  determined.  As  in  the  preced- 
ing instances,  the  reward  is  hypothetical  and  visionary,  but  it  seems 
to  be  offered  to  all,  each  soul  may  enter  the  Great  Wakanda. 

Of  the  lesser  vvakans  the  "Morning  Star"  is  one  of  the  most  important. 
He  is  the  natural  symbol  of  hope,  of  better  days  to  come.  This  alone 
suggests  a  bright  and  cheerful  aspect  of  divinity,  one  who  is  to  deliver 
man  if  he  will  but  have  patience,  if  he  will  wait  for  the  duly  appointed 
time.  The  fact  that  Christ  Himself  is  called  the  "Morning  Star"  in  the 
.Apocalypse  of  St.  John  shows  how  appropriate  this  symbol  is  for  convey- 
ing the  idea  of  a  Redeemer  that  is  to  come.  Needless  to  say,  there  is  no 
distinct  prophecy  to  this  effect  among  any  of  our  savage  peoples,  but 
these  are  nevertheless  beacon-lights  that  help  to  keep  the  hope  in  future 
expectations  brightly  burning  in  the  hearts  of  men.  However  much  this 
hope  has  been  mixed  up  with  the  sordid  and  the  trivial,  however  remote 
and  exceptional  salvation  appears  to  be,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  behind 
the  totems  the  helping  hand  of  God  is  still  reaching  out  to  the  faithful 
few.' 


'  Sources  in  Dorsey,  A  Study  of  Siouan  Cults,  and  Omaha  Sociology,  1.  c.  supra,  p  7Sflf. 


REDEMPTION  271 

REGENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 
(N, 1)  Early  Babylonian  Form 

With  the  increasing  years  of  humanity,  the  notion  of  a  deliverer 
begins  to  assume  a  more  definite  though  largely  astrological  form.  The 
attribute  of  mercy  is  not  only  applied  to  the  divinity  in  general,  but  it  is 
more  especially  the  attribute  of  a  particular  "savior"  who  either  promises 
salvation  or  points  to  some  future  source  of  deliverance.  This  last  con- 
cept begins  at  length  to  occupy  the  only  attention  of  man,  it  is  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  general  failure  of  the  pagan  divinities  that  makes  him 
look  more  and  more  to  the  land  of  Palestine  as  the  only  cradle  of  hope, 
as  that  portion  of  the  world  in  which  the  only  real  Redeemer  is  to  be 
expected. 

Beginning  with  the  earliest  Western-Asiatic  tradition,  we  cannot 
expect  anything  very  definite  or  theologically  precise  from  the  ancient 
lands  of  Sumer  and  Akkad.  It  is  only  by  degrees  that  the  idea  of  a  "deliv- 
erance" begins  to  be  formed,  and  then  it  is  only  of  the  vaguest  and  generally 
astrological  character.  Very  early,  however,  we  find  the  gods  described 
as  &alamu,  Salmu,  Sulmu,  (Sum,  silim).  in  which  the  idea  of  integrity, 
peace,  happiness,  salvation  is  seemingly  contained.  This  is  even  applied 
to  the  heaven-god.  Anu,  who  with  his  numerous  progeny  is  otherwise  a 
rigorous  judge.  Ann  mu-Sal-lim  epSit  katia, — "May  Heaven  bless  this 
undertaking!" — and  one  of  the  earliest  kings  of  Kish  was  Mesilim,  the 
"Friend  of  Peace".  Though  the  word  has  undergone  a  variety  of  second- 
ary and  even  opposite  meanings,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  its  primary 
sense  is  health-bringing,  benevolent,  well-minded.' 

But  apart  from  the  lexical  evidence,  the  oldest  prayers  and  invocations 
leave  no  room  for  doubt  that  the  quality  of  mercy  was  distinctly  recog- 
nised and  was  more  especially  vested  in  Bel-Enlil,  the  great  savior-god  of 
Mesopotamia.  Such  petitions  as  "Look  down  upon  the  city",  "Have  mercy 
upon  the  people",  "Give  me  power  to  rule  with  a  strong  hand",  are  a  suffi- 
cient index  that  such  a  power  exists,  that  he  is  benevolent.  Nor  would 
the  confession-formula  have  any  meaning,  unless  the  deity  was  believed  to 
pardon  and  to  reconcile  the  penitent  sinner.  "0  Lord,  my  transgressions 
are  many,  great  are  my  sins !"  ^  But  as  to  an  actual  deliverance,  it  is  only 
Bel-Marduk  that  is  capable  of  saving  humanity  from  the  great  serpent, 
Tiamat,  the  power  of  evil :  "If  I  indeed  a^  your  savior  deliver  you  from 
the  great  monster,  (Tiamat),  and  keep  you  alive, — then  call  an  assembly, 
announce  to  all  men  my  destiny".^ 


» Compare  Delitzsch.  Assyrisches  Handworterbuch,  pp.  663-665  (under  salamu,  etc.) 
Jastrow,  Die  Religion  Babyloniens  und  Assyriens,  Vol.  II.  p.  1043,  1046,  giving  index  of 
passages.  Dhorme,  La  Religion  Assyro-Babylonienne,  p.  291  (suUumu).  For  /inu-inscrip- 
tion,  Sarg.  Cyl.  69.  =  See  below  p.  363  for  te.xt  and  translation,  '  close  of  the  second  tablet 
of  Creation,  King  op.  cit.  Vol.  I.  p.  37  and  below,  p.  273. 


272  REDEMPTION 

REGENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

The  same  thought  is  revealed  in  the  deluge-story,  though  here  it  is  the 
ocean-god,  Ea,  that  pleads  and  finally  prevails  upon  the  mercy  of  Enlil: 
"Be  merciful,  let  him  not  be  cut  off,  yield,  let  him  not  perish"  etc.  Though 
Enlil  is  the  cause  of  the  flood,  he  is  evidently  the  cause  of  its  cessation,  as 
the  few  are  ultimately  saved  and  deified.* 

But  the  idea  of  forgiveness,  of  tenderheartednoss,  is  brought  out  by 
nothing  so  powerfully  as  by  the  words  in  which  the  divinity  is  sui)plicated. 
It  is  even  a  question  whether  the  tender  side  of  divinity  was  not  unduly 
exaggerated  at  the  expense  of  his  justice,  whether  he  was  not  all  too 
helpful,  all  too  easy-going.  Many  of  these  prayers  have  a  decidedly  '"soft" 
tone,  they  appeal  to  the  "liver  or  heart"  of  the  deity  in  a  manner  that  is 
almost  sentimental  and.  though  doubtless  genuine  exhibitions  of  faith, 
they  are  not  always  sutficiently  masculine  to  be  altogether  inspiring.  They 
show,  however,  that  ancient  Babylon  was  not  without  wliat  we  call 
"pathos":— 

"0  Lord,  Madnnu,  may  thy  heart  be  pacified,  may  thy  liver  be  appeased. 
Lord  of  E-rap-ri-ri,  mxty  thy  heart  be  pacified,  may  thy  liver  be  appeased. 
Lady,  who  takes t  our  life,  may  thy  heart  be  pacified,  may  thy  liver  be 

appeased. 
Lady  of  Isin,  may  thy  heart  be  pacified,  may  thy  liver  be  appeased. 
Lady  of  E-gal-makh,  may  thy  heart  be  pacified,  may  thy  liver  be  appeased. 
Lady  of  E-rap-ri-ri,  may  thy  heart  be  pacified,  m/ty  thy  liver  be  appeased. 
My  Lady,  Ban,  may  thy  heart  be  pacified,  may  thy  liver  be  appeased. 
Lady,  Mother  Ban,  may  thy  heart  be  pacified,  may  thy  liver  be  appeased. 
Bau,  merciful  Lady,  may  thy  heart  be  pacified,  may  thy  liver  be  a})peased. 
Ishtar,  heavenly  Queen,  may  thy  heart   be  pacified,  may   thy   liver  be 

appeased.'^ 

This  lamentation  is  directed  appariMitly  to  Ishtar  Bau,  an  ancient  fe- 
male divinity.  But  the  invocation  of  the  "Lord  Madanu",  the  "Almighty 
One",  at  the  beginning  of  the  prayer  is  just  as  pood  evidence  tiiat  the 
almighty  Bel  is  its  chief  object,  that  he  is  willing  to  answer  the  call  for 
mercy.  We  have  a  sutTicient  number  of  Bel-invocations  of  a  similar 
nature  to  prove  the  point.  In  most  cases  this  power  is  expressed  by 
libbu,  (Sum.  sa),  and  kabitlu.  (Sum.  bar),  the  heart  and  the  liver  being 
recognised  as  the  seats  of  the  omotions.  In  the  words  of  Father  Dhorme, 
"the  liver  was  an  important  organ  of  the  victim.  With  the  heart  it  was 
the  center  of  life,  and  when  they  wanted  to  mark  the  seat  of  the  feelings, 
anger,  love,  or  hatred,  they  employed  the  heart  and  the  liver  in  a  parallel 
sense"."  Though  many  of  these  expressions  were  undoubtedly  perverted 
(with  a  lower  and  sexual  meaning),  they  furnish  abundant  proof  of  the 
benevolent  and  condescending  character  of  the  divinity. 


*  See  below   p.   438ff.   — .     ^  Rawlinson,   V.   52.   Kol.    IV.   .3-15.     Jastrow.   op.   cit     II.   44. 
'  Dhorme,  1.  c.  p.  295. 


THE  'TABLES  OF  DESTINY*' 

AS  THE  PERVERTED  CHANNELS  OF  A  PREHISTORIC  HOPE 

THE  STORY  OF  BEL  AND  THE  DRAGON 
(2000-3000  B.  C) 

II.    TABLET     OF    CREATION,    L.     133-136.    C.    T.    (VOL.    XIII.    PL.    6,    «>.      K.    29«+K.    4832  ^  405St 
KINO,  OP.   CIT.   I.   86.   n.   PL.  XX.  JENSEN,  KB.  VI,  P.   10. 


BE   —   LUM  ll-ANl  ilMAT  ttAMI  RXBUTl 

^U^    _     h^A MA  A_K**-KO  MU r,K       g,  — MIL-l-l-  KU-UM 

A— IC*M-ME  Tl- AM*T- AM-MA        \J   -  SA\^\-Kr       KA-A-Su— UN 

SUK  — MA-A-MA  PU-    UH— TUJ  Su — -re— IT*  — BA-»  £|M TUM 


"O   LORD   OF   THE   GODS,   DESTINV   OF  THE   GREAT   GODS! 
IF  1,  VOIR  SAVIOR,  CONQUER  THE  SERPENT  AND  GIVE  YOU   LIFE, 
THEN  CALL  AN  ASSEMBLY,  ANNOUNCE  TO  ALL  MEN  MY  DESTrNY!" 


THE  ANU-ENLIL  SERIES 

OR 

THE  ASTROLOGICAL  CHARTS  OF  BABYLON 

(ASCENDING   IN   SUBSTANCE   TO  THE  TIME   OF  8ARGON   THE   GREAT,  ABOL'T  S(K)0  B.  C.) 


(i)  JUPITEX-SiaN *FEA.Ce  on  EAKTm"-  -  (TH0MT>S0N.N0J.a<,.)«7) 

AHA    MUU       kAa-M(-aA1^   BA    '—   <l-        A»RA»4««I>ICM)  A-iA-1«>nH»»4«l'-fc-«»^ 
A»4«   MUL        IN— '(»li4A< AN— HA        I  —  »A      >  l\.  MIM  U    ZUNKI (la^Sn^ 

AHA    MVH.         Ml— »  tlU       IPPU^A-MA        ILANI  6uL-MA         |- £A-A--niM 

INAd'At)  HAL  -      JJA    A  —    -ruM  1    XAK —    KA A 

ANA    MUL      Sac-mi— qAiv    a  —  m«      ikib      i^AMJii        i  -n  —  m 

j^  ►i^ M^ •^  :^^-<p=f  TA^ja^^ -^ 

^UBTl]       Kl Ij;  Tl         *U  —  LUMSULI>AMIKnA>UM«n  UW-UA— »A 


SOURCES  IN  CB.\IG,  .*STBONO.^UCAL  ASTROLOOICAI.  TEXTS  (LEIPaO,  189»K  EDITED  BT  B. 
C.  THOSrPSON,  REPORTS  OF  THE  MAGICIANS  AND  ASTROLOGERS  OF  ANCIENT  NINIVEH  .AND 
BABYLON,  2  VOLS.  (LONDON,  lOOO),  AND  REVISED  BY  VIROLLEAID,  L'ASTROLOGIB 
CHALDKENNE  (PARIS,  1005-1»12).  TRANSLATIONS  BY  THOMPSON,  (OP.  CIT.),  ANTJ  BY 
JASTROW,  R.  B.  A.  II.  458Br.  CONSULT  ALSO  JASTROW.  "THK  SIGN  AND  NAME  FOR  PLANET 
IN  BABYLONI.VN",  PROC.  OF  TIIF.  AMER.  PHILOSOPH.  80C.  VOL.  47,  P.  ISSff.  (DUM-P.\-l'D- 
OC-JUFITER,  ZAL-BAT-MAR8    (LI -BAT,  APIN),   Gl -UD-MERCUBY,  8AG-U9-8ATUBN,  DIL-BAT- 

VENU8), 


REDEMPTION  273 

REGENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

But  are  these  yearnings  in  any  sense  prophetical,  do  they  point  to  a 
Savior  that  is  to  come?  This  can  hardly  be  inferred  from  the  existing 
data.  The  redemption  was  believed  to  be  operated  there  and  then,  man 
vi'as  already  in  part  saved,  or  saveable,  he  had  no  need  to  look  to  the  future. 
There  is  only  one  element  that  seems  to  point  in  this  direction.  It  is  the 
absence  of  any  certainty  that  the  sins  are  forgiven  apart  from  a  successful 
augury,  apart  from  the  fact  that  the  deity  had  revealed  his  good  will  by 
sendiHg  the  people  good  fortune,  and  this  generally  of  a  military  nature. 
The  repeated  national  disasters  and  the  final  overthrow  of  the  Babylonian 
empire  by  the  Parthian  Gomates  dashed  all  these  hopes  to  the  ground  and 
could  not  but  convince  the  more  thoughtful  that  the  deliverance  was  yet 
to  come,  that  there  was  something  inherently  deficient  in  the  national 
theology.  Hence  we  may  look  upon  these  gropings  as  preparing  the  world 
for  something  better  through  their  own  miserable  insufficiency. 

The  Evidenck  op  Astrology 

A  different  line  of  argument  is  that  derived  from  the  belief  that  the 
heavenly  world  is  in  some  sense  the  picture  of  the  earthly,  that  what  is 
going  on  in  the  skies  is  a  certain  indication  of  what  is  about  to  happen 
in  the  terrestrial  world.  Here  we  stand  on  a  more  solid  footing,  as  it  is 
quite  certain  that  the  fta/'M-priests  looked  upon  the  different  groupings 
and  conjunctions  of  the  heavenly  bodies  as  portentous  of  great  world- 
movements,  as  a  sign  that  something  wonderful  would  be  sure  to  occur. 
And  if  such  a  cluster  of  stars  should  be  grouped  around  the  quondam 
savior, — Jupiter-Marduk — ,  it  would  be  a  proof  positive,  in  their  minds, 
that  the  real  Marduk  age  was  about  to  be  inaugurated,  that  a  special  de- 
liverer was  about  to  appear.  Let  us  see  to  what  extend  this  is  borne  out  in 
the  Anu-Enlil  series,  the  astrological  charts  of  the  nation.' 

The  Tables  op  Destiny 

(1)  Jupiter-Sign: — "Peace  on  Earth",  Salvation  is  promised.  Apart 
from  the  solar  and  lunar  eclipses,  which  are  naturally  of  evil 
portent,  the  brightness  and  position  of  the  planet  Jupiter  is  all-import- 
ant as  revealing  the  mind  of  Bel-Marduk-Taurus,  the  "mighty  bull",  who 
is  also  an  illuminator,  a  lord  of  the  conjuration,  a  master  of  hidden  knowl- 
edge. 

"If  Jupiter  shines  with  brilliance,  the  king  of  Akkad  ivill  be  vic- 
torious, {the  land  ivill  prosper,  the  country  will  be  blessed).  If  Jupiter  is 
strong,  there  will  be  floods  and  rains.  When  rising  in  the  meridian,  the 
godi  will  send  salvation,  cares  will  be  obliterated,  complicaiions  unravelled. 
Does  he  move  to  the  West,  peace  and  merciful  salvation  will  come  to  the 
land". 


'  Virolleaud,  L'Astrologie  Chaldeenne   (Paris,   1905).    Jastrow,   1.  c.   I.  41Sff.    Detailed 
sources  on  the  opposite  page. 


274  REDEMPTION 

RECENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

(2)  Jupiter  approathirig  Mar*. — "Danger".  Miafortunfe  ia  coming. 
"Z)o«#  Jupdter  ttanh  beff/re  Mart,  there  vAll  he  crop»,  but  alio  the  defeat  of 
0  muUUude,  the  oterthrov:  of  a  l/xrye  array.  If  Man  apprrjochei  JujAter, 
qreot  dvicf/rafdure  in  the  land.  If  Jupiter  and  Mart  are  in  conjunction, 
misfortune  vnll  fall  upon  the  land.  Thit  ornen  it  unfavorable  for  the 
nntifjnt". 

'3)  Mare-Portent; — "War  Among  the  nations" — Change  of  Dynasty. 
"If  Mart  t'f/arklet  arid  becornet  brilliant,  the  King  of  Elam  will  die.  If  he 
'ipprfftjctiei  the  Scorpi^m,  a  Prince  v.-ill  die  of  a  Scorpi.on't  tting  and  hit 
aon  v:iU  take  hit  throne  after  him.  Ttie  dv:eUing  of  the  Uind,  the  lord  of 
the  l/irui,  and  Ifie  frorUier  of  the  land  vAll  not  be  tecure" — "Mart  it  the  ttar 
of  Arnurru"  'the  West-land;   'Compare  the  death  of  Herod?; 

'ij     Jupiter  approar;hirig  Saturn: — "Peace  and  Justice"'?;. 

"Tfie  potition  of  Saturn  in  thit  case  it  favorable,  but  not  entirely". 

lb)  .Saturn-.Sign : — '(jfjfA  Will  toward  Men".  Triumph  of  Justice. 
"If  Saturri  *.to.nd.t  near  ttie  tialo  of  ttie  moon,  tfiere  v:ill  be  jvMice  in  the 
l/ind,  ttie  tf/n  vAll  be  faithful  to  hit  fattier,  taltation  for  v;orld-rule.  -The 
world-rule  of  the  Messiah  ?; 

'fij  Jupiter  approaching  Venus; — "Confidence  and  Hope".  "// 
Jupiter  approfj/:het  Venut,  the  prayer  of  the  land  uAll  reach  the  heart  of  the 
qo'lt" .     The  climax  of  expectation;. 

'1 1     Veniis-SigT) : — ^Star  of  Motherhood, — "Triumph  of  Love. '     "// 
Venut  ttawbs  in  the  Fith,  mercy  ari/l  taltation  vAll  come  to  the  land" . 

!Hi  Meteoric  Sign: — "Conquest  of  the  Enemy".  Final  Victory.  "If  a 
bright  ttar  thine*  likt  fire  at  tunrite  and  tett  vAth  equ/il  tplendor  in  the 
Wett,  the  enemy  t  hott  vAU  be  vanquished  in  battle"." 

In  view  of  the  fragmentary  and  at  times  conflicting  nature  of  many  of 
thie  minor  portents,  it  is  manifestly  impossible  to  arrive  at  conclusions 
which  Bhall  be  in  any  sense  convincing.  But  the  conjunction  of  Jupiter  and 
Saturn  as  port'.-nding  'Peace"  and  "Justice",  followed  by  Mars  the  planet 
of  "War",  Venus,  the  planet  of  "Love",  and  this  again  by  the  flashing 
meteor,  the  star  of  "Victory",  should  be  suggestive  enough  to  the  ordinary 
mind  that  something  wonderful  was  about  to  happen. 

Now  such  a  conjunction  is  believed  to  have  occurred  about  the  lime 
of  the  Savior')!  birth,  and  this  in  the  constellation  of  the  Fish,  and  there- 
fore not  far  from  the  Pleiades.*  Its  cryptic  meaning  is  therefore  obvious. 
To  tlie  Babylonian  astrologer  the  four  major  planets  would  suggest: — 

l\)  Marfi, — subversion  of  former  power,  '2,  Jupiter, — light  and  sal- 
vation. ''A)  Saturn, — triumph  of  peace  and  justice,  'i,  Venus,— inaugura- 
tion of  love. — which  in  <^;/jmhi nation  with  a  brilliant  variable  is  sufTl- 
ciently  eloquent  of  a  new  era  in  humanity.  To  this  extent  they  are  pro- 
phetic, though  as  purely  natural  omeng  they  do  not  of  course  reveal  the 
Messiah:  they  an;  simply  portenfjj  which  direct  the  attention  of  mankind 
to  the  heavens  above,  tupem/itural  only  v;hen  informed  by  a  tpeci/il  ray  of 
liyhl. 

*  f*tt*se*  in  jMtrow,  op.  ett.  11.  pp.  639-^62.    *  Set  below,  p  289. 


THE  'TABLES  OF  DESTINY" 


C2)  JU'P'TER   AFPROACHIMC  MARS  -  - -"JBANCEZK"*  (NO.(9S) 

Sl_IM     IRA^l   ^iiY_u—  M**k«l^  ^^O^fi,"!^   UMMAKU  KAEU   iviMKUTOnl 
AHA   MUU    ZAl.-B«.T(A-  NU^ANA  MU>-  ^AG-Ml-  (5A^  rmi      MU-  IK  —  XI 
lAN-NU    IMA  MA-n      IBA^H^O      ■****     ""^'-     **0-»^l-<3AR,  U     MUCLU-BAT 
KAV-KABANI-du-KU  MlT-{jA-KU       LUnjmMfnMl    ►.U(^AM(A^<^    iiAic*N(AN) 
ITTI  AN-NI— -n     UIMUTTI     Sa  MA-TJSTI  ill    ( 


(3)  MAW  S  -  ■pOT^TEr^-r "WAV (NO   lJl->  ^SS  +  lOl) 

AHA    MUl.        XAL-KAtCA-NUI      UM -MU-LiS  IPPuyA-MA  J-ARU  RI  Ju    ISWIP 

JUr  ILAN*At%W>    C>>-l''    '►I*'"'"  ANAMUI.     AJ^N  AHA   MUU    C51R-5-AB  lr\ji] 

TUIBU    INA      XI— KIT    AKRAB1(JN\AT1  AKKU—  ku    mJwU-Su     Ku5jA(lgABBATl 

Jurat  n»at  &AKmTANi  M*TUBiuiJk*NuS«<k<^   kuduh  Nt<n  La  kini(0  (ti-U)  i»M5 

MUU       iAU-TlAT  (A-NUl        KAKkAB     tvUTU      AMURH.U 


(^    JUPITEK    APPROACHINQ     SATURN- -TC^CEAND  JUSTICE"? 

JMP'mATlON  OF  (I^ANP^Sl   SUTCnWCRWlSP  rOUBTTUV.  (  J  A9TT>C>\\  IT    t.KS) 
ANAaA-MUH-TI    L.A    A3- feu  .    '  FAVOKM^LC  .BUT  NOT  Er^TtKCO' " 


(3>  SATURN-  3\flN  — "JUSTICE"  -     ■ — (NO  ns) 

AHAOl-U)  iAI>*\  AHA  LIB    SIN    IRUp    WATU      KIT- TA       I —  TA  — (MU U")  - - 

^m-    fr^^^    ^♦^  <^S»   *~^    i.F>AS&40C3  COMPLETH)  IN  JASTROW, 
SA Lt IM        K-tl 4a  Tl 


fWJUPITeR     APPROACHING     VENUS- -"CONRDEKCr'- (No. Ifci) 

T  Ki^^  PTI V T  ^-^^  W^^^  ^^'^ 

AHA    MUU         S-AC-Ml— «JAR.        IT Tl  MUU    t>IU-BAT        lU  —    UAK 

UN—    taiN    MATI  ANA    LIB  lUAHl  IB SA— A&-4u— U 


frW^NUS-  SIGN "HCAVtNUy  LOVC    --<  KO.2.11  -flOD 

AHA  MUV.  IKUIWri'NA    lu-»^-T«    INNAMIW.  RIMU  U   SuiMU(MU>  IHAIiWl   l»ABllil> 
A-4A  MUL  RAIW    ,,x        iAMj.  A-  HA    IK»  W«l   Vt»Sn.M>.m(Bl) 

"^  ;a^  X  •"  ^^^^  -^  i^^^NitTtowc  SIGN  -vicTownw 

UMNUNIJ^O  HAfWI  INA  TAKASI        SuMKUT(at) 


(A)      lOll  S.\M8I  A8  8.\0-r8-S.\TrUN.  SKK  J.\8TKOW.  "SIN  AND  SATl'RN" 

(IlKV.    I>'A8SVIUOI.O<IIK.    lUlO,   I*.    1030'.) 
(7)      lOll   8AIIAH    A8    ANINIT— I>1I.<1AN.    NKAK    THK    "FISH",    8KR   *A8- 

TRUW.   K.  U.  A.  II.   aiS. 


EGYPTIAN  PARALLELS  ON  THE  ADVENT  OF  A 

BETTER  AGE 

THE  TRIUMPH  OF  HORUS-FIA  OVER  THE  SERPENT  AS  A  DIM  FORE- 
SHADOWING OF  BETTER  THINGS  TO  COME 

THE    TOMB    OF    8ETI    I.,     (ABOIT    CONTESfPORARY    HTTH    THE    EXODCS).    SHOWS    US    THE 

DESCENDANTS   OF   ATIM,   GODS   AND   MEN,   LITINO   IN    A   TERRESTRIAL   PARADISE,    WHILE 

RA  WAS  TBIUMFHINO  OVER  APOPHIS,  THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  EVIL 


FOB  IN   THE   DAYS   OF   INNOCENCE   THE   FEAR    PRODICED   BY   THE    "EYE    OF   HOBl'S'    WA» 
STILL   UNKNOWN   TO   SIANKIND 

"FEAR  CAME   INTO   BEING   TRROl'OH  THE   EYE   OF   HOBL'S" 


THE  "COUNSELS  OF  PHTAH-HOTEP"  AS  SHOWING  THE  MORAL 
BENIGNITY  OF  THE  DIVINE 

PBISSE-PAPYTBl'S,   VI.   9-10.      VII.    10-11 

EN    -PA-^")      HERIT    EN -p-EMTET  HEPER    WEpET      NEtfaK   PU 
IR    VVEMENEK  EM   ES    \if£K    n=».IK   SA      EH        SEMAM       NfcibK 

"MAY  NO  TERROR  INVADE  THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN,— IT  IS  THE  COMMAND  OF  GODl" 
"IF  THOl'  ART  A   WISE   MAN,  TRAIN  A  SON  WHO   SHALL   BE   AGREEABLE   TO   GOD!" 

SOIRCE:  VIREY,  LA  RELIGION  DE  L'ANCTENNE  EGY1TE,  (PARIS,  1907),  P.  11-1«.  TR.^NSLTT- 
ERATI0N8  BY  PROF.  DINCAN  (BALTIMORE,  1817)  LEFEBIRE,  LE  TOMBEAT  DE  8ETI  L  PT. 
IV.  PL.  XV-XVIII,  IN  VOL.  n.  OF  THE  MEMOIRE8  Pl'BLIES  PAR  LE8  MEMBRES  DE  LA  MIS- 
SION ARCUEOLOGIQl'E  FRANCAISE  AT  CAIRE.  %1BEY,  L  c.  P.  7-8.  ALSO  EDOt'ABD 
NAVILLE,  "LA  DE8TBICTION  DE8  HOMME8  PAB  LE8  DIECX,  "IN  TRANSACTIONS  DE  LA 
SOCIETE  D'ABCHEOLOGIE  BIBLIQCE.  VOLS.  IT.   l-l*.   vm.   41f-4*0 


REDEMPTION  275 

RECENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

(N,  2)  Egyptian  Development 

But  if  the  idea  of  personal  deliverance  is  comparatively  dim  on  the 
Euphrates,  it  is  more  clearly  developed  on  the  Nile,  where  the  belief  in 
personal  immortality  is  also  far  more  vivid.  From  the  earliest  times  we 
find  the  idea  of  a  pardoning  and  saving  Ra  dimly  implied  in  his  triumph 
over  the  serpent  Apophis  and  his  promise  of  a  better  fate  to  come.  To 
those  who  remain  faithful  to  him,  he  still  dispenses  his  graces,  and  for 
their  sakes  he  extends  the  privilege  to  humanity  at  large.  In  the  Prisse- 
Papyrus  these  "counsels  of  divinity"  are  brought  out  with  considerable 
force : — 

"May  no  terror  invade  the  hearts  of  men,  it  is  the  command  of  God!" ' 
The  appearance  of  the  divine  sign  in  the  singular  number,  and  the  literal 
sense,  "may  the  terror  of  man  not  be  produced",  is  taken  to  indicate  that 
an  obscure  message  of  hope  is  here  implied,  that  the  divinity  is  essentially 
benevolent,  the  "principle  of  wisdom  and  goodness". 

Now  we  have  already  seen  that  Ra  is  the  first  emanation  of  Atum,  and 
therefore  it  is  Atwn-Ra,  {Tum-Ra),  the  "Father-Sun",  that  is  the  earliest 
basis  of  this  hope;  in  the  very  dawn  of  Egyptian  history  an  optimistic  note 
seems  to  be  sounded.  But  the  transfer  of  these  qualities  from  a  father 
to  an  equally  divine  "son"  is  such  a  universal  feature  of  Egyptian  religion 
that  it  is  quite  impossible  to  speak  of  any  one  of  them  as  a  unique 
"redeemer".  At  the  very  outset  Ra  is  stung  by  the  serpent  whom  he  con- 
quers, and  all  his  saving  power  passes  to  his  son,  Shu,  who  becomes  the 
first  mediator  between  heaven  and  earth,  and  is  finally  translated  without 
dying  fo  the  abode  of  the  blessed.  He  is  the  "Air"  that  supports  the  starry 
vault,  and  is  thus  in  some  sense  an  Atlas,  a  kind  of  Titan.  He  is  followed 
by  his  sister,  Tafnut,  the  "Dew",  and  again  by  Geb  and  Nut,  who  as 
"Earth"  and  "Sky"  are  equally  essential  to  his  being.  Finally  the  whole 
culminates  in  the  Osiris-h'iad,  who  as  "Heaven,  Earth,  and  Ocean"  inherit 
the  wonderful  qualities  of  their  ancestors,  it  is  they  alone  that  possess 
this  power  in  all  its  fulness.^ 

The  Osiris-Legend 

Osiris  was  thus  the  fourth  Pharaoh  of  the  divine  dynasties.  He  was 
one  of  the  sons  of  Ra,  who  devoted  his  life  to  doing  good,  subduing  the 
world  by  the  arts  of  peace,  transforming  humanity  from  savages  into 
civilised  men.  During  this  mission  he  left  his  sister-wife,  the  well-known 
Isis,  to  govern  the  land  in  his  absence.  On  his  return  his  brother,  Set, 
conspired  against  him.  imprisoned  him  in  a  chest,  and  cut  his  body  into 
fourteen  pieces. 


»  Papyrus-Prisse,  pi.  VI.  9-10.     Comp.  Virey.  La  Religion  de  I'ancienne  Egypte.   (Paris 
1910),  p.  9-12.     'Virey,  op.  cit.  p.  136-15.3ff. 


276  REDEMPTION 

RECENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

At  the  news  of  tliis  tragedy  Isis  took  to  boat  and  searched  for  the  pieces 
until  she  had  recovered  all  save  one.  Carefully  she  collected  the  frag- 
ments with  the  help  of  Nephihys,  the  sister  of  the  typhon-god,  and  it  was 
the  latter's  son,  Anubis,  that  embalmed  the  body  and  thus  produced  the 
first  mummy  in  the  world.  In  the  mean  time  Horus,  the  younger,  had 
been  born  to  Isis,  and  secretly  nursed  in  the  marshes  of  the  Delta.  When 
he  had  come  to  man's  estate,  he  set  out  with  his  partizans  to  avenge 
his  father's  death.  He  captured  Set,  made  him  a  prisoner,  and  at  the 
attempt  of  his  mother  to  release  him,  he  cut  off  her  head  in  a  fit  of  anger, 
which  was  immediately  replaced  by  Toth  with  the  head  of  a  cow(!). 
Carrying  his  cause  before  Toth,  the  celestial  judge,  he  obtained  a  verdict 
in  his  favor,  he  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  his  father  and  the  usurping 
Set,  and  became  the  si.xth  Pharoah  of  the  celestial  dynasty.  His  immediate 
followers  were  known  as  the  "Horus-Worshippers".  the  semi-divine  kings, 
that  preceded  the  reign  of  Menes. 

HoRUS  AS  A  Deliverer 

This  pathetic  story  is  not  without  a  religious  and  mystical  significance. 
From  the  first  the  position  of  Osiris  is  that  of  a  compassionate  father  of 
the  land.  His  designation  as  Unnefer,  "the  Good  Being",  and  the  tender 
lamentations  of  Isis  and  Nephthys  over  his  death,  show  how  strong  was  his 
hold  on  the  hearts  of  the  people.  "Look  upon  me,  I  am  thy  sister  who  loves 
thee,  says  Isis,  "do  you  not  see  me?  My  heart  is  in  bitterness  because  of 
thee,  my  eyes  seek  thee,  .  .  .  To  see  thee,  that  is  happiness,  0  God  An,  to 
see  thee,  that  is  happiness.  Come  to  her  who  loves  thee,  come  to  her  who 
loves    thee,   0   Blessed   One!    Come    to   thy   sister,   come   to    thy    wife! 

Gods  and  men   turn   their  faces   towards   thee   to   deplore   thee 

Nobody  has  loved  thee  more  than  I,  thy  sister,  thy  sister!"  "Come 
to  thy  home,  come  and  see  thy  son  Horus,  the  supreme  master  of  gods 
and  men.  He  has  taken  possession  of  cities  and  lands  by  the  grandeur 
of  the  respect  tliat  he  inspires.  Heaven  and  earth  are  in  fear  of  him,  the 
barbarians  in  terror  of  him.  Thy  son  Horus  offers  for  thee  the  oblation 
of  bread,  thy  son  Horus  salutes  thy  name  in  the  temple  of  mystery.  Come 
to  thy  companions,  great  Lord,  keep  no  longer  from  us". 

These  touching  appeals  reveal  for  the  first  time  a  martyred  god,  whose 
wife  is  a  compassionate  lady,  and  whose  son  is  evidently  a  deliverer, 
nurtured  by  a  "queen  of  heaven".  But  apart  from  the  moral  flaws  of  the 
story,  introducing  vengeance  and  violence,  not  to  speak  of  carnal  love,  the 
whole  scheme  is  a  badly  twisted  attempt  to  clothe  the  forces  of  nature  with 
powers  which  they  can  never  yield,  to  make  the  cornstalk  and  the  phallus 
the  only  principle  in  the  higher  life  of  man. 


REDEMPTION  277 

REGENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 
(N,  3)  Assyrian  Form 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  early  Babylonian  and  Egyptian  beliefs  run  to  a 
certain  extent  on  parallel  lines,  that  in  both  cases  the  idea  of  a  moral 
deliverance,  at  first  confused,  is  finally  connected  with  distinct  personal- 
ities, whether  as  Bel-Marduk  in  Babylon,  or  as  Osiris-Horus  on  the  Nile. 
Moreover  in  each  case  the  "saviors"  are  vaguely  looking  into  the  future; 
as  the  personified  forces  of  nature  they  point  to  a  time  when  the  revolu- 
tion of  the  heavens  shall  have  been  so  far  completed  that  the  Marduk- 
Horus  age  will  be  either  repeated  or  consummated;  there  will  come  a  time 
when  the  divinity  shall  be  "reincarnated",  when  the  mystery  of  sin  and 
death  shall  be  finally  solved.  If  not  directly  stated,  this  is  certainly  implied 
in  the  numerous  cries  and  hopes  for  deliverance,  which  can  only  mean 
that  the  cycles  are  yet  in  the  making,  the  great  solar  and  planetary  con- 
junctions are  yet  to  come. 

The  same  thought  is  revealed  in  the  Ashur-Ishtar  combination,  which 
plays  such  a  prominent  role  in  the  lands  of  the  Tigris.  Here  also  the  deity 
is  Salamu  from  the  earliest  times,  he  brings  health,  salvation,  good  fortune, 
he  invariably  answers  the  call  for  help.  Ki-i  saa-na  ASur  am-hu-ruiS-li- 
ma, — "Just  as  I  prayed  to  Ashur,  thus  has  it  come  to  pass".'  This  is  further 
illustrated  by  the  supplications  to  the  divine  couple  which  are  nowhere 
so  powerful  as  here  in  the  kingdom  of  Niniveh.  "Mighty  Heart,  subtle 
Intelligence,  Lord  of  our  fate",  these  are  but  a  few  of  the  titles  of  Ashur, 
while  the  devotion  to  Ishtar  as  the  "merciful  Lady"  surpasses  anything  to 
be  found  in  the  neighboring  lands.  "0  Lady,  majestic  is  thy  rank!  Over 
all  the  gods  is  it  exalted!  Where  thou  lookest  in  pity,  the  dead  man  lives 
again,  the  sick  is  healed.  The  afflicted  is  saved  from  his  affliction  when  he 
beholds  thy  face.  I,  thy  servant,  sorrowful  and  sighing,  cry  unto  thee. 
Look  upon  me,  0  my  Lady,  and  accept  my  supplication.  Truly  pity  me, 
and  hearken  unto  my  prayer"."  But  the  failure  of  Ishtar  to  save  from 
habitual  moral  corruptions, — amply  testified  in  the  temple  archives — ,  is 
a  strong  though  negative  proof  that  the  real  "Ishtar"  is  yet  to  come. 

The  Tammuz-Ishtar  Myth 

But  the  most  distinctive  of  all  the  Assyrian  cults,  though  of  remote 
Babylonian  origin,  was  that  to  the  romantic  pair,  who  as  the  Venus  and 
Adonis  of  the  western  nations  became  the  symbol  of  passionate  love,  of 
heroic  self-sacrifice.  These  are  the  sun-god  Tammuz,  and  the  earth-god- 
dess Ishtar  of  Arbela,  later  of  Ninniveh,  the  Ashtaroth  of  the  Jews.^ 


1  Rawlinson,  V.  2,  117.  Delitzsch,  Assyrisches  Handworterbuch,  p.  664.     -See  the  texts 
given  above,  p.  99.     '  Sources  in  Jeremias,  op.  cit.  I.  pp.96-100,  117-134. 


278  REDEMPTION 

RECENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

Tammuz,  {Sum.  dumu-zi,  "son  of  life"),  is  a  very  ancient  figure  in 
Mesopotamia.  He  is  the  god  of  sunsiiine  and  harvest,  and  represents  the 
active,  life-giving  principle  in  nature.  As  such  he  is  the  husband  and 
lover  of  Ishtar,  the  mother  of  earth,  out  of  whose  substance  all  things, 
even  the  high  gods,  take  their  rise.  Hence  her  designation  as  the  "queen 
of  heaven",  sharrat  shamami,  the  "mother  of  gods",  banat  Hani,  the 
"queen  of  the  stars",  sharrat  kakkabe,  the  "star  of  the  sea",  kakkab  tamti, 
:=  Venus.  Now  in  the  yearly  succession  of  the  seasons  it  was  believed  that 
Tammuz  was  born  in  midwinter,  grew  to  manhood  in  the  spring,  and 
finally  died  in  midsummer,  the  cycle  being  repeated  from  year  to  year.  It 
was  natural,  therefore,  that  the  suffering  earth-goddess  should  be  pictured 
as  pursuing  her  lover  into  the  realm  of  shades  in  order  to  restore  him  to 
life,  in  order  to  bring  back  his  health-giving  power. 

Ishtar's  Descent  into  Hell 

"To  the  land  from  which  there  is  no  return,  to  the  realm  of  darkness, 
Istar,  the  daughter  of  Nannar,  turned  her  mind,— yea,  the  daughter  of 
Nannar  turned  her  mind  to  go.  To  the  house  of  gloom,  the  dwelling  of 
Irkalla,  to  the  house  from  which  those  who  enter  depart  not,  the  road  from 
whose  path  there  is  no  return, — to  the  house  where  they  who  enter  are 
deprived  of  light,  a  place  where  dust  is  their  nourishment,  and  clay  their 
food.  The  light  they  behold  not,  in  thick  darkness  they  dwell,— they  are 
clad  like  bats  in  a  garb  of  wings,  on  the  door  and  the  bolt  the  dust  is  laid".* 
Here  the  virgin-goddess  meets  her  lover  and  raises  him  from  the  dead, 
(his  winter  sleep),  and  from  that  time  onwards  the  couple  increase  in 
happiness  and  prosperity  with  the  advance  of  the  season,  and  at  the 
approach  of  the  summer  solstice,— the  feast  of  Tammuz—,  the  "son  of 
life"  again  grows  old  and  dies,  leaving  a  mourning  Ishtar  in  his  trail. 

The  lamentations  of  the  queen  for  her  dying  "son"  and  husband  are 
pictured  partly  in  the  Gilgamesh-epic.  partly  in  other  fragments  of  Sumer- 
ian  antiquity. 
"The  Lord  of  my  fortune  dwells  no  more,  the  lord  of  my  fortune  du-ells 

no  more. 
The  man  of  sorrows,  the  lord  of  fate,  my  spouse,  my  Damu,  he  dwells  no 

more. 
I  ivill  eat  no  more,  I  ran  drink  no  more,  the  lord  of  my  fortune  dwells  no 
more"." 

Tammuz  as  a  Veget.a.tion-God 

And  yet  Tammuz  holds  in  his  custody  the  secret  of  life,  of  rejuvenation, 
even  if  only  in  a  lower  physical  sense.  He  is  to  this  extent  an  "example" 
in  that  he  kmes  his  followers  to  a  brighter  hope  for  the  future,  even  if 
through  pain  and  sulTering.  Though  soiled  by  the  sexual  and  unnatural, 
his  message  is  on  the  whole  useful,  generally  encouraging. 


*Text    see  below,   p.   479.     » C.   T.   XV.    18.     Zimmern.   Bab.   Hym.   n    Gebete    (Leipzig. 
1911),  p. 'l3-14. 


THE  PROTEVANGELIUM 

OR 
THE  FIRST  GOSPEL  GIVEN  1  O  MAN  IN  PARADISE 

ACCORDING   TO  THE   REVEALED  HEBREW   ACCOfNT 
(GEX.    3,    15) 

MASSORETIC  TEXT 
SEPTUAGINT 


VULGATE 

INnaCITIAN    PONAM    INTER    TE    ET    MTLIEREM,   ET  SEMES  TITM   ET  SEMEN  FLLlrS.     IPSA 
CONTKRET   CAPIT   TllM,   ET   Tl     INSIDIABERIS   CALCANEO   EJl'.S. 

ORIGEN'S  HEXAPLA 

TRANSLATES  YESHl  PHKA  CONTERET  TE'.  GIVING  l.XX.  TERESEI',  AQl  ILA  PROSTRIPSEI', 
K«IM.ACHl  S    THLIPSEI',  CONTAINING  THE  IDEA  OF  BRl  ISINO,  CRt  8H1NG.  SEEKING,  L«NO 

IN  WAIT,  ETC. 

IN  FIEl.D'S  EDITION   (OXFORD,  1875)   WE  II.WE  THE  FOOTNOTE — 

HIEKOVi'MlS:  "Il'SE  SERVABIT  CAPIT  TITM,  ET  TC  SEKVABI8  EJCS  CALCANKl'M". 
MELIV8      IN      IIEBRAEO,      "IPSE      CONTERET      CAPIT      TllM.      ET      Tl       CONTF.RE8      EJI'S 

CVI.CANEC.M". 

.\LL  THE  EVIDENCE  POINTS,  TliEREI'OKE.  TO  A  .MASCl  LINE  BRl  ISEK  OF  THE 
SERPENT'S  HEAD,  WHICH  SHALL  IN  TIRN  BRIISE  HIS  HEEL.  BIT  THE  ASSOCIATION  OF 
THE  SERPENT  WITH  MORAL  EVIL.  BOTH  HERE  AND  IN  THE  CONTEMPOR.VRV  PERSI.AN, 
EGYPTIAN  AND  B.ABVl.ONIAN  LITERATI  RE  (Q.  V.),  SHOWS  WITH  80.ME  CERT.AINTY  THAT 
THIS  IMPLIES  A  CONQl  EST  OVER  SIN.  THE  CRl  SIIINO  OF  THE  HE.AD  BEING  FAT.AL.  WHILE 
THE  M.\NGLIN<i   OF  THE   HEEL   IS   ONLY  TENTATIVE 

SEE  CORLIY,  SPICELEGllM  IN  GEN.  S,  15.  HOBERG,  GENESIS,  49-80.  DILMANN,  OENE8U, 
-.1.  DRIVER,  GENESIS,  48.  SKINNER,  GENESIS,  — .  J.  MORGENSTERN,  "THE  ROLE  OF 
THE   SERPENT  IN   SEMITIC  »nTHOL«)OY".  ZEITSCHR.  F.   ASSVRIOLOGIE    (8TRA88BIRO.   IBIS), 

P.  tma. 


REDEMPTION  279 

REGENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

(N,  4)  Palestinian  Form 

But  it  is  only  on  liie  banks  of  the  Jordan  that  we  find  the  messianic 
concept  for  the  first  time  revealed  in  its  fulness,— the  distinct  promise  of 
a  future  deliverer,  who  is  not  to  be  a  mere  nature-power,  but  a  definite 
personality,  who  is  to  be  born,  suffer,  and  die  in  a  very  special  and  super- 
natural manner,— a  triumphant,  yet  martyred  King.  It  is  not  my  purpose 
to  expound  the  prophetic  argument  in  all  its  detail,— this  would  require 
a  separate  volume—,  but  I  simply  wish  to  call  attention  to  the  well-known 
passages  in  which  this  promise  is  gradually  unfolded  and  which  in  their 
united  force  can  be  truly  said  to  furnish  us  with  a  powerful  argument  for 
the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  one  which  is  quite  commonly  overlooked. 

The  Messianic  Prophecies 
Taking  them  in  their  literary  order,  these  passages  appear  as  follows  :— 

(1)  The  Protevangelium, — A  future  Redeemer 
The  paradisaic  promise  is  admittedly  vague,  but  eminently  typical  :— 
"/  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and  the  woman,  between  thy  seed  and  her 
seed.  He  shall  crush  thy  head,  and  thou  shall  crush  his  heel".  (Gen.  3, 
15).  In  the  Massoretic  lext:—We-eibah  'ashith  beineka  u-bein  ha-ishah 
u-bein  zar'eka  ubein  zar'ah.  Hu  yeshuphka  rosh,  we-attah  teshuphennu 
'aqeb. 

The  grammatical  objection  that  there  is  here  no  indication  of  gender, 
that  hu  and  hi  are  used  indiscriminately  for  male  and  female  alike,  is  not 
of  much  consequence.  Whether  as  the  "woman"  (fem.)  or  the  "seed  of  the 
woman'"  (masc),  both  will  answer  the  purpose  equally  well.  For  the  sake 
of  argument,  however,  it  should  be  mentioned  that  the  masculine  hu  is 
now  generally  accepted,  zera'  being  a  masculine  noun  and  yeshuphka  a 
masculine  construction,  a  reading  which  is  supported  by  the  LXX.  autos, 
though  the  V.  has  ipsa."^  In  both  cases  however  we  have  the  triumph  of  the 
woman  or  the  seed  of  the  woman  over  the  serpent's  head,  which  can  only 
mean  that  redemption  is  to  come  through  a  woman  or  through  her  off- 
spring, both  being  preserved  from  the  serpent's  bite,  as  shuph  contains 
the  idea  of  "lying  in  wait",  not  always  "bruising",  though  such  a  bruising 
might  refer  to  the  Redeemer's  death. 

That  this  is  a  moral  redemption,  implying  a  complete  conquest  over  sin, 
is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  serpent  is  himself  the  power  of  sin,  and 
therefore  the  triumph  is  to  come  through  a  sinless  woman  and  her  equally 
sinless  son.  This  can  hardly  apply  to  an  ordinary  savior,  but  must  be  taken 
as  dimly  prophetical  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  and  the  Incarnate 
Word. 


See  Kautsch,  Hebraische  Grammatik  (1909)  p.  lU. 


280  REDEMPTION 

RECENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 
(2)  The  Prophecy  of  Noah, — A  Semitic  Savior 

"Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Shem,  and  Canaan  shall  be  his  servant". 
(Gen.  9,  26).  The  first  intimation  that  the  victor  is  to  belong  to  the  Semitic 
race. 

(3)  The  Promise  to  Abraham, — A  Hebrew  Savior 

"In  thee  shall  all  the  kindred  of  the  earth  be  blessed".  (Gen.  12,  3). 

(4)  The  Promise  to  Isaac, — A  Jewish  Savior 

"In  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed".  (Gen.  26,  4.) 

(5)  The  Promise  to  Jacob, — A  Judaic  Savior 

"The  scepter  shall  not  depart  from  Juda,  nor  a  ruler  from  his  thigh,  till 
He  shall  come  that  is  to  be  sent,  and  He  shall  be  the  expectation  of  the 
nations".  (Gen.  49,  10).    In  the  Massoretic  text  we  have: — 

Lo-yasur  shebet  mihudah  umechoqeq  mibein  raglau  ad  ki-yaboh 
shiloh,  welo  yiqqehath  'ammim. 

Here  s-l-h  (shiloh)  may  be  read  in  three  dilferent  ways: — 

(1)  As  a  simple  phrase,  "that  which  belongs  to  him"  (ta  apokeimena 
autou),  LXX. 

(2)  As  shaluach  (from  shalach)  "He  who  is  to  be  sent"  (qui  mittendus 
est),  Vulg. 

(3)  As  shiloh  (from  shatah)  the  "peaceful  one",  "the  pacifier",  etc.  (Is. 
9,6). 

But  whether  as  the  Kingdom  that  belongs  to  him,  or  as  the  Deliverer 
that  is  to  come,  or  as  the  Prince  of  Peace,  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  Talmud 
and  the  Jerusalem  Targums  understood  it  in  the  messianic  sense,  and  this 
is  sulTicient  to  prove  that  the  savior  is  to  come  from  the  tribe  of  Juda,  the 
expression  "until"  implying  continuous  duration  (Comp.  Gen.  42,  15. 
Deut.  7,  24,  Matt.  1,25). 

(6)  The  Prophecy  of  Moses, — A  Levitical  Savior 

"The  Lord  God  shall  raise  up  to  thee  a  prophet  of  thy  nation  and  of  thy 
brethren  like  unlo  me:  Him  shall  thou  hear".  (Deut.  18,  15). 

(7)  The  Prophecy  of  Nathan, — A  Davidic  Savior 

"/  will  raise  up  thy  seed  after  thee,  which  shall  proceed  out  of  thy 
bowels,  and  I  wilt  establish  his  kingdom.  He  shall  build  a  house  to  my 
name,  and  I  will  establish  the  throne  of  his  kingdom  for  ever.  I  will  be 
to  Mm  a  Father,  and  He  shall  be  to  me  a  Son"  (2  Kings,  7,  12-14).  Though 
tliis  refers  proximately  to  Solomon,  the  idea  of  an  "eternal  sonship"  can 
hardly  apply  to  him. 

(8)  The  MEssIA^'^c  Psalms, — A  Supernatural  Savior 

The  second  and  the  hundred  and  ninth  psalm  describe  the  Messiah  in 
language  that  can  only  refer  to  a  superluiman  person.  "Unlo  which  of 
the  angels  said  He  at  any  time;  Thou  art  my  Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten 
Thee"?  (Heb.  1.  5).  "If  David  in  sprint  rrilled  Him  Lord,  how  is  He  then  his 
son".  (Mat.  22,  43).  The  usp  of  i/nlnd  in  tlieso  passages  points  to  a  unique 
divine  generation. 


REDEMPTION  281 

RECENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 
A  Universal  Kingdom 

Thus  He  enjoys  the  prophetical  office  as  Teacher,— "Receive  instruc- 
tion, ye  that  judge  the  earth"  (2,  10),— the  priestly  office  as  sacrificer,— . 
"Thou  art  a  Priest  for  ever  after  the  order  of  Melchisedech"  (109,  4),— the 
royal  office  as  King,— "He  shall  judge  among  nations,  He  shall  fill  the 
ruins,  He  shall  crush  the  heads  in  the  land  of  many"  (109,  6),  (Hebr.  110). 

"My  opinion",  says  Gheyne,  "is  that  the  second  psalm",  (and  therefore  a 
fortiori  the  hundred  and  ninth),  "can  in  no  sense  be  referred  to  any  his- 
torical event  of  the  time,  for  there  is  no  period  of  time,  in  which  any  king 
of  Israel  could,  even  by  a  poetic  license,  be  considered  as  the  King  of  the 
entire  earth".' 

(9)  The  Prophecy  of  Isaiah, — An  Extraordinary  "Son" 
"For  unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given,  and  the  govern- 
ment shall  be  upo7i  his  shoulder:  and  His  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful, 
Counsellor,  the  Mighty  God,  the  everlasting  Father,  the  Prince  of  Peace" 
(Is.  9,  6). 

to  be  born  op  a  virgin 

"Behold  a  virgin  shall  conceive  and  shall  bring  forth  a  son,  and  they 
shall  call  his  name  Emmanuel".  (God  with  us)  (Is,  7,  14).  The  word  alma 
(LXX.  parthenos)  must  be  taken  in  the  sense  of  unmarried  virgin,  for  this 
is  generally  its  meaning  in  the  Hebrew  text,  the  Septuagint  parthenos  is 
opposed  to  a  married  neanis,  and  only  in  this  sense  would  it  be  a  "sign"  to 
Achaz,— something  extraordinary.  (Comp.  Gen.  24,  43.  Ex.  2,  8.  Ps.  67,  26. 
Matt.  1,23.  1,25). 

TO  SUPPER  AND  DIB 

The  pains  of  the  Messiah,  already  hinted  at  in  the  psalms  (29,  68),  are 
brought  out  with  striking  force  in  the  famous  fifty-third  chapter.  "No 
form  nor  comeliness — despised  and  rejected — a  man  of  sorrows — wounded 
for  our  transgressions — bruised  for  our  iniquities — he  was  offered  because 
it  was  his  own  will — he  opened  not  his  mouth — he  shall  be  led  as  a  sheep 
to  the  slaughter,  as  a  lamb  before  his  shearers" — and  so  on.  Even  if  this 
is  a  post-exilic  addition,  which  is  still  to  be  proved,  its  prophetic  value  is 
not  diminished. 

AND  YET  TO  TRIUMPH 

"Therefore  will  I  distribute  to  him  very  niany,  and  he  shall  divide  the  spoils 
of  the  strong"  (v.  12),  which  cannot  but  refer  to  a  great  victory. 

(10)  The  Prophecy  op  Micheas, — To  Be  Born  in  Bethlehem 

"And  thou  Bethlehem  Ephrata  art  a  little  one  among  the  thousands  of 
Juda,  yet  out  of  thee  shall  come  forth  He  that  shall  rule  my  people  Israel: 
and  His  going  forth  is  from  the  beginning,  from  the  days  of  eternity" 
(Mic.  5,  2). 

'  Cheyne,  The  origin  and  religious  contents  of  the  Psalter,  p.  238, 


282  REDEMPTION 

REGENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

It  is  useless  to  pretend  that  Zorobabel  or  some  other  ruler  is  here 
referred  to.  For  in  the  first  place  Zorobabel  was  a  Babylonian  by  birth, 
and  in  the  second  place,  to  speak  of  his  "going  forth  from  the  days  of 
eternity"  even  if  permissible  as  a  metaphor,  would  be  an  altogether  absurd 
expression  to  apply  to  such  an  evanescent  and  comparatively  trivial  per- 
sonality. 

(11)  The  Prophecy  op  Daniel, — Jerusalem  to  be  Destroyed 

Whatever  be  the  meaning  of  the  "seventy  years"  of  Jeremias.  it  is  clear 
that  the  vision  of  Daniel  reveals  the  future  Messiah  and  the  destruction  of 
the  city  and  Temple  of  Jerusalem. 

"And  after  sixty-two  weeks  Christ  shall  be  slain,  and  the  people  that 
shall  deny  him  shall  not  be  his.  And  a  people  unth  their  leafier  that  shall 
come  shall  destroy  the  city  and  the  sanctuary:  and  the  end  thereof  shall  be 
waste,  and  after  the  end  of  the  war  the  appointed  desolation"  (Dan.  9.  26). 
Here  again  the  reference  cannot  be  to  Onias  or  any  other  ephemeral  hero, 
but  must  be  plainly  assigned  to  Him  who  preceeded  the  great  calamity  of 
A.  D.  70. 

(12)  The  Prophecy  of  Malachi, — A  Universal  Priesthood 

"/  have  no  pleasure  in  you,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  I  will  not  receive 
a  gift  of  your  hand.  From  the  rising  of  the  sun  even  to  the  going  down 
thereof,  my  name  is  great  among  the  gentiles,  and  in  every  place  incense 
shall  be  offered  to  my  name,  and  a  pure  oblation.  For  my  name  is  great 
among  the  gentiles,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts".  (Mai.  1.  10,  11). 

The  universality  of  the  Kingdom,  already  expressed  in  the  Psalms,  is 
here  combined  with  a  universality  of  worship,  which  implies  the  cessa- 
tion of  the  old  Law.  The  worship  is  to  be  international. — everywhere  and 
for  ever. 

Synopsis 

These,  I  repeat,  are  but  the  barest  links  in  the  chain  of  Messianic 
prophecy,  they  furnish  but  the  skeleton  of  the  full  Messianic  ideal.  Their 
accomplishment  in  the  person  of  the  historic  Redeemer  may  be  further 
illustrated  by  those  more  detailed  statements  concerning  the  Messiah,  which 
are  quoted  in  the  gospels,  and  whjch  are  too  overa'helmingly  convergent 
to  be  accidental, — for  whicli  consult  any  standard  work  on  the  subji^ct."' 

Here  I  would  only  emphasize  that  it  is  in  the  Jewish  tradition  alone 
that  the  entire  scheme  of  redemption  is  unfolded  without  a  break. — a  serios 
of  prophetical  utterances  whose  cumulative  power  can  only  be  rejected 
either  by  denying  the  historicity  of  Christ  or  by  wilfully  mangling  the 
prophetical  sources.    The  greatest  rabbinical  experts  have  come  to  see  this." 


i*  Maas,  Christ  in  Type  and  Prophecy  (New  York,  1896).  Lagrange,  Le  Messianisme 
chez  les  Juifs  (Paris.  1909).  "  Edershcini.  The  Life  and  Times  of  Jesus  the  Messiah,  (N.  Y. 
1903),  Vol.  I.  p.  160fT.  For  a  criticism  of  apologetic  values  see  Th.  Laboure,  "The  Argument 
from  the  Messianic  Prophecies,"  Eccles.  Review   for  April,  1917,  p.  337 ff. 


REDEMPTION  283 

RECENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

Apocalyptic  Sources 

But  in  addition  to  the  canonical  scriptures  tliere  is  an  immense  body 
of  apocalyptic  lore,  which  although  of  secondary  value,  is  nevertheless  of 
some  import  as  exhibiting  the  tendencies  of  Jewish  thought  even  during 
the  time  of  its  greatest  decadence.  The  Book  of  Enoch  and  the  Sibylline 
Oracles  are  equally  emphatic  on  the  subject  of  a  universal  Messianic  rule, 
and  the  proximity  of  a  new  era  is  painted  nowhere  in  more  glowing 
colors  than  in  the  Assumption  of  Moses  and  the  Apocalypse  of  Baruch, 
though  their  messianic  theories  are  conflicting,  the  latter  preparing  the 
hearts  of  the  people  for  a  possible  reverse,  a  fresh  dispersion. 

The  Doctrine  of  the  Logos 

A  far  more  difficult  question  is  that  of  the  nature  of  the  messianic 
"Person",  his  relation  to  the  divinity  as  such,  and  the  degree  to  which  his 
"hypostatic  union"'  was  recognised,  if  at  all,  in  the  pre-Christian  ages  of 
mankind.  Is  there  any  hint  of  a  unity  of  nature  in  the  filial  relation  of 
Father  to  son  that  is  so  strongly  brought  out  in  the  Jewish  Messiah?  Is 
the  "Servant  of  Jahwe"  in  any  sense  the  equal  of  Jahwe  Himself,  and 
therefore  a  strictly  divine  being?  Is  the  Logos  of  St.  John  absolutely  new 
and  original?  These  questions  are  more  easily  asked  than  answered,  but 
some  orientation  on  this  subject  seems  to  be  called  for.  if  it  is  only  to 
grasp  the  problem. 

It  is  clearly  beyond  the  scope  of  the  present  work  to  handle  this  subject 
even  in  outline.  I  will  only  bring  the  state  of  the  question  before  the 
reader  with  a  view  to  calling  attention  to  the  following  points: — 

(1)  the  trinity  is  adumbrated,  but  not  revealed 

The  so-called  "trinitarian"  passages  both  of  the  historical  and  the  pro- 
phetical books  have  already  been  referred  to  in  a  preceding  chapter  (p. 
103).  From  the  combined  texts  it  is  not  too  much  to  conclude  that 
although  a  hidden  or  mystical  allusion  is  for  the  most  part  provable,  it 
falls  short  of  an  explicit  revelation  of  three  distinct  though  consubstantial 
Persons.  If  an  essential  part  of  the  Jewish  faith,  we  should  expect  these 
passages  to  be  far  more  prominent  and  numerous  and  clearly  worded  than 
they  actuallv  are.  .\s  it  is.  they  prepare  for  the  mystery  rather  than  define 
it.  ^ 

(2)    the   MESSIAH   IS   A   DIVINE   "SON   OF  GOD" 

On  the  other  hand  the  language  in  which  the  Anointed  One  is  described 
in  the  above  places  is  so  exalted  as  to  be  applicable  only  to  a  divine  being. 
Eternity,  omnipotence,  elevation  above  the  angels,  power  of  creation, 
redemption,  eternal  salvation. — could  these  belong  to  any  but  an  Infinite 
Person? 


284  REDEMPTION 

RECENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

It  is  true  that  in  (tie  later  Rabbinical  literature,  with  its  denial  of 
original  sin,  these  ideas  were  largely  obscured  and  secularised,  yet  even 
here  the  boundary-line  between  the  human  and  the  divine  was  of  the 
slenderest,  He  was  still  a  super-angelic,  supra-mundane  being.  Now  if 
He  was  One  with  Jahwe  in  his  supernatural  attributes,  He  was  equally 
distinct  from  Jahwe  as  His  "Son"  or  "Servant",  and  thus  a  twofold  per- 
sonality in  the  divine  nature  seems  to  be  insinuated,  while  His  appear- 
ance under  human  form  points  with  equal  emphasis  to  the  union  of  two 
natures, — the  essential  point  in  a  true  Ghristologj'.  However  perverted  in 
later  times,  this  was  undoubtedly  the  original  notion. 

(3)    THE  MEMR.^i  IS  THE  "WORD"  OF  GOD 

The  expression  memra  is  found  only  in  the  Targums,  where  it  occurs 
about  600  times  in  the  sense  of  "the  Word  of  Jehovah",  in  one  case  as  His 
creative  act: — "By  His  Memra  was  the  world  created"  (Targ.  Onkelos.  in 
Deut.  33,  27).  That  the  Memra  is  distinct  from  Jehovah  seems  certain, 
but  as  to  its  nature  there  is  much  speculation.  Some  hypostatisation  seems 
to  be  called  for,  yet  the  "Word"  of  God  in  the  Jewish  sense  was  not  a  per- 
son, but  rather  the  revelation  of  a  person,  his  living  manifestation.  As 
such  it  was  neither  Jehovah  nor  the  servant  of  Jehovah,  but  the  revelation 
or  word  proceeding  from  both. 

(4)    THE  SHEKINAH  IS  THE  "SPLENDOR"  OP  GOD 

In  a  still  more  attributive  sense  the  Shekinah  represented  the  material 
and  local  side  of  His  manifestation.  It  was  the  "splendor"  of  the  divine 
presence,  the  place  where  His  glory  and  majesty  were  revealed, — th^ 
Mercy-Seat. 

(5)    THE   ALEXANDRIAN    LOGOS   IS   THE     "IMAGE"   OF   GOD 

An  entirely  different  view  is  represented  by  the  Logos  of  the  Alex- 
andrian schools.  This  is  not  a  theological  but  a  philosophical  concept 
designed  to  interpret  the  act  of  creation  in  terms  of  the  Greek  metaphysics. 
So  far  from  being  a  person,  the  Logos  of  Philo  is  an  immaterial  essence 
which  mediates  between  God  and  nature,  the  bridge  between  the  world  of 
light  and  the  world  of  darkness.  Though  revealing  itself  also  in  man.  the 
Logos  is  essentially  cosmic,  it  represents  the  archetypes  or  exemplary 
ideas  as  they  exist  in  the  divine  Mind  and  projected  into  the  universe, — it 
is  the  "cosmic  image"  of  God. 

(6)    THE  JOHANNINE  LOGOS  IS  THE  "SON   OF  GOD  AS  WORD,  SPLENDOR, 
AND  GLORY." 

In  Ihe  fourth  gospel  all  these  ideas  are  welded  together  into  a 
higher  synthesis.  For  the  first  time  the  Word  is  God.  though  it  is  also 
with  God,  He  is  "the  Light  that  shineth  in  darkness,  by  Him  all  things 
were  made",  and  "we  beheld  His  glory  even  as  the  only-begotten  of  the 
Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth".  Whatever  may  be  said  of  terminologies, 
this  is  clearly  a  new  revelation. 


REDEMPTION  285 

RECENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

Astrological  Sources 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  change  from  the  Marduk-Taurus  age  to 
that  of  the  Ram  and  the  Fish  is  vaguely  indicative  of  a  new  dispensation, — 
of  a  time  when  a  fresh  and  perhaps  unique  redemption  is  to  be  expected. 
In  any  case  this  was  its  meaning  for  the  early  Christians,  who  trans- 
formed the  old  pagan  zodiac  into  the  twelve  characters  of  Christ  and 
peopled  the  sun,  moon,  and  planets,  nay  the  entire  universe,  with  the  saints 
and  divine  Persons  of  the  New  Era.  (See  under  Creation,  p.  174).  This 
must  be  called  providential  rather  than  miraculous,  though  the  symbolism 
is  certainly  striking  and  suggests  a  gigantic  plan.  Furthermore,  to  the 
Chaldaean  astronomer,  the  approach  of  the  four  greater  planets  and  the 
appearance  of  a  "new"  star  has  a  definite  meaning,  which  we  have 
attempted  to  elucidate  above.  It  means  war,  peace,  justice  and  mercy 
combined,  together  with  a  special  era  of  salvation. 

Thk  Jewish  Expectation 

The  subject  of  Jewish  astrology  is  involved  in  much  obscurity.  While 
it  is  certain  that  divination  of  all  kinds  was  strongly  condemned  in  the 
Torah,  it  is  equally  undeniable  that  moderate  forms  of  astrology  in  the 
sense  of  religious  symbolism  were  readily  countenanced,  and  became  in 
fact  a  powerful  means  for  raising  the  thoughts  of  the  people  to  higher 
things,  for  keeping  their  hope  in  the  Messiah  brightly  burning  in  their 
hearts. 

The  Star  op  Jacob 

Among  these  there  is  one  at  least  that  is  sufTiciently  explicit  to  merit 
our  attention.  "A  Star  shall  rise  out  of  Jacob".  (Num.  24,  17).  The 
Midrash  to  this  text  is  contained  in  the  Haggadoth  Mashiach,  and  runs  as 
follows : 

"A  star  shall  come  out  of  Jacob, — and  the  star  shall  shine  from  the  East, 
and  this  is  the  Star  of  the  Messiah.  And  it  ivill  shine  from  the  East  fon 
fifteen  days,  and  if  it  be  prolonged,  it  will  be  for  the  good  of  Israel". 

Here  the  star  is  to  appear  in  the  fifth  year  of  the  hepfad  of  the  son  of 
David,  and  at  the  close  of  the  seventh  "the  Messiah  is  to  be  expected".  A 
similar  statement  is  found  in  the  "Book  of  Elijah"  and  in  two  other 
Midrashim,  which  is  sutficient  evidence  that  the  Star  in  the  East  was  to 
appear  two  years  before  the  birth  of  the  Messiah.  Now  such  an  astral 
phenomenon  is  believed  to  have  occurred  shortly  before  the  birth  of  Christ, 
and  hence  there  are  two  points  to  be  established,  if  this  prophecy  is  to  be 
of  any  value : — 

(1)  Do  these  passages  antedate  the  coming  of  Christ  the  Messiah? 

(2)  Can  the  Star  of  Jacob  be  interpreted  in  terms  of  the  Star  of 
Bethlehem? 


286  REDEMPTION 

RECENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

(1)  Is  THE  Prediction  Authentic? 

Now  it  is  quite  true  that  most  of  the  Midrashim  in  their  present  form 
were  not  composed  during  the  early  centuries  of  the  Christian  era.  But 
neither  was  the  greater  portion  of  the  Talmud,  and  this  alone  is  of  little 
significance  when  there  is  evidence  to  show  that  the  ideas  which  they 
embody  can  be  traced  to  a  far  higher  antiquity,  that,  like  the  fourth  gospel, 
their  appearance  was  late,  but  their  message  comparatively  primitive.  In 
the  present  instance  there  are  internal  reasons  for  believing  that  this 
Midrash  is  a  pre-Christian  conception,  that  it  is  a  testimony  which,  in 
the  words  of  Edersheim,  is  "not  only  reliable,  but  embodies  the  most 
ancient  Jewish  tradition".  But  the  point  that  we  wish  to  bring  forward 
is  this:  Whatever  be  the  date  that  we  may  assign  to  these  "commen- 
taries", it  does  not  in  the  least  impair  the  fact  that  in  the  mind  of  the  Jews 
before  or  after  the  time  of  Christ  the  advent  of  the  Messiah  was  to  be 
heralded  by  a  wonderful  sign  in  the  heavens,  which,  precisely  because  it 
was  independent  of  the  evangelical  account,  was  for  this  reason  all  the 
more  valuable.  This  expectation  survived  in  fact  far  into  the  middle  ages, 
as  witness : — 

THE   TESTIMONY   OF   RABBI   ABRABANEL,    (XV.    CENT.   A.  D.) 

In  his  commentary  on  Daniel  the  author  asserts  that  the  conjunction 
of  Jupiter  and  Saturn  in  the  constellation  of  the  Fish  is  of  far-reaching 
consequences,  and  this  especially  for  the  people  of  Israel.  His  further 
argument  that  as  this  phenomenon  occurred  three  years  before  the  birth 
of  Moses,  so  would  it  precede  the  birth  of  the  Messiah,  is  ciironologically 
erroneous,  but  shows  nevertheless  that  among  the  Jewish  commentators 
of  all  ages,  the  Messiah  was  still  to  be  preceded  by  his  prophetical  "star". 

THE   POST-CHRISTIAN    BELIEF    PROVES    ITS    AUTHENTICITY 

It  is  therefore  of  prime  importance  to  note  that  the  continued  belief  of 
the  Jews  in  the  Star  of  Jacob  in  spite  of  their  rejection  of  the  historical 
Messiah  is  a  proof  positive  that  this  tradition  is  independent  of  Christian 
sources,  that  it  is  a  bona  fide  Jewish  belief.    But 

IF  AUTHENTIC,  WHY   NOT  .APPLIED  TO  CHRIST? 

Why  did  they  fail  to  apply  the  symbolism  of  the  heavens  to  the  early 
Augustan  age,  when,  as  they  must  have  known,  the  expectation  was  at 
its  height  and  such  a  sidereal  apparition  was  known  to  have  occurred? 
It  is  because  in  these  as  in  other  matters  their  minds  were  obscured  and 
their  hearts  hardened, — it  was  simply  impossible  that  this  could  be  the 
Messiah  promised.  The  whole  subject  was  too  humiliating  to  the  con- 
temporary Jewish  mind  not  to  furnish  the  traditional  "stumbling-block". 
This  is  a  notorious  illustration  of  the  fact  that  God  is  "no  respecter  of  per- 
sons", that,  however  much  favored  in  the  past,  no  nation,  not  even  the 
children  of  promise,  can  afford  to  be  independent  of  His  never-failing 
light.  If  they  reject  that  light,  they  have  only  themselves  to  blame  for  their 
dfplor.iblp  ignorance. 


REDEMPTION  287 

RECENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

(2)  Is  THE  Star  of  Jacob  Verified  in  the  Star  of  Bethlehem? 

It  is  plain  tliat  the  entire  controversy  turns  upon  two  further  points: — 
Can  the  star  of  the  Messiah  be  identified  with  the  star  of  Bethlehem?  Can 
the  star  of  Bethlehem  be  referred  to  the  great  conjunction  of  B.  C.  6? 

(a)   THE  star  of  JACOB  IS  IN  ITSELF  INDEFINITE 

The  expression  kokab  Yaqob  gives  no  definite  clue  to  its  astronomical 
meaning.  As  the  aster  of  the  Septuagint,  however,  we  know  that  any 
stellar  phenomena  might  be  designated,  the  sense  of  constellation  of  group- 
ing of  stars  being  fairly  well  certified.  The  "star"  is  therefore  of  vague 
description. 

But  of  Supernatural  Portent. 

Of  this  there  can  hardly  be  any  doubt.  For  the  Rabbis  it  is  to  be  a  sign, 
sufficiently  manifest  in  the  heavens,  that  the  Messiah  is  immediately  to 
come,  that  his  reign  is  about  to  commence.    It  is  therefore  a  divine  sign, 

And  Probably  of  a  Planetary  Nature, 

as  the  Jewish-Babylonian  astrologers  must  have  been  acquainted  with  the 
current  tradition  of  a  now  Marduk-Jupiter  age,  to  be  inaugurated  by  a 
new  grouping  of  stars  or  planets  in  the  constellation  of  the  Fish.  This 
is  true. 

But  Does  Not  Exclude  a  Single  Bright  Phenomenon, 

which  would  be  so  conspicuous  as  to  be  infallible  in  its  portent. 

(b)   THE  STAR  OF  THE  MAGI  IS  OF  THE  SAME  NATURE 

Now  this  description  will  apply  to  the  Star  of  the  Magi  with  equal  force. 
Here  also  aster  is  indefinite  for  star  or  "grouping",  it  is  of  supernatural 
character  at  least  in  its  portent  and  possibly  in  its  nature,  it  may  be  fit- 
tingly applied  in  a  broader  sense  to  the  planets,  but  points  with  greater 
propriety  to  a  single  center  of  brightness, — a  "guiding"  star. 

Threefold  Interpretation  of  the  Astron 

We  therefore  get  the  following  three  possibilities  in  regard  to  the  star. 

(1)  It  is  entirely  symbolical, — for  the  "wise  men"  only.  This  is  the 
"star  of  conscience", — whether  visible  or  purely  internal. 

(2)  It  is  a  planetary  group, — for  the  star-gazing  Orient.  This  is  tlr:' 
"conjunction",  of  chief  interest  to  the  professional  observer. 

(3)  It  is  a  brilliant  meteor, — for  the  "shepherds"  of  all  nations.  This 
is  the  bright  variable  that  would  naturally  attract  universal  attention. 

The  Star  op  Bethlehem  Combines  All  Three 

There  are  reasons  for  believing  that  the  traditional  star  is  primarily  of 
cosmic  nature, — that  it  is  meant  to  reveal  Christ  to  all  men — ,  and  sec- 
ondarily of  psychic  nature,  that  it  is  meant  to  guide  the  believing  few. 


288  REDEMPTION 

REGENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

Why  Should  the  Star  be  Visible  to  All? 

The  reasons  for  this  seem  to  me  to  be  obvious.  In  the  first  place  Christ 
came  to  redeem  all  men,  and  it  was  only  fitting  that  the  message  should  be 
written  in  the  skies,  so  that  shepherds  and  kings  alike  could  read  the 
portent  without  misgiving,  so  that  all  could  have  as  it  were  an  equal 
chance.  If  some  found  the  Savior  and  others  did  not, — this  was  because 
fhi'ir  minds  and  hearts  were  already  prepared  for  the  mystery — ,  the  case 
of  the  Magi, — or  because  they  had  not  arrived  at  a  sufTicient  spiritual 
hciglit  to  follow  the  star, — the  case  of  Herod, — or  because  again  there  were 
many  whose  astrological  phantasies  drove  them  to  the  West,  but  whose 
want  of  zeal  in  ascertaining  "when  and  where  Christ  should  be  born" 
would  naturally  cause  their  expedition  to  be  a  failure, — the  case  of  the 
numerous  "magi"  who  invaded  the  Roman  empire  at  this  period.  In  no 
case  does  God  refuse  the  light  to  those  who  prayerfully  seek  Him,  even  if 
they  find  nothing  but  His  heavenly  sign.  In  the  second  place,  we  know  that 
there  was  a  general  invasion  of  the  West  during  the  Augustan  age,  that 
many  were  looking  for  some  great  catastrophe  in  the  Roman  Empire  by 
reason  of  the  signs  in  the  skies,  that  this  went  hand  in  hand  with  a  belief 
in  a  Redeemer  to  come, — all  of  which  seems  inconceivable  unless  we  sup- 
pose the  Creator  intended  that  this  should  be  in  part  at  least  the  messianic 
sign,  unless  He  wished  that  the  world  at  large  should  know  that  the  time 
of  mercy  had  at  last  arrived.  Finally,  a  moving  supernatural  star,  to  be 
visible  by  all,  would  be  a  standing  miracle,  for  which  there  is  no  warrant 
in  the  divine  economy.  Where  nature  herself  speaks  in  emphatic  tones, 
there  is  no  necessity  for  calling  in  a  supernatural  prodigy. 

Why  it  Should  Have  a  Special  Meaning  to  the  Magi 

On  the  other  hand  it  is  no  less  congruous  that  those  who  are  already 
equipped  with  supernatural  wisdom,  those  who  have  a  special  desire  to 
see  the  expected  of  the  nations  and  have  taken  the  necessary  means  for 
ascertaining  the  time  and  the  circumstances  of  His  birth,  should  be 
rewarded  by  a  special  vision  in  the  heavens,  in  which  the  star  would  "go 
before"  them  and  "stand  over  where  the  child  was".  Yet  even  this  requires 
no  extraordinary  wonders.  The  setting  of  the  star  over  the  house  of 
Bethlehem  would  naturally  be  described  as  a  standing-over  and  hailing, 
though  a  miraculous  phenomenon  cannot  of  course  be  excluded.  But 
whatever  the  nature  of  the  "moving"  star,  if  is  sulTiciently  clear,  that  the 
Magi  saw  more  in  the  constellation  than  the  remaining  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
precisely  because  they  were  better  prepared,  they  had  taken  enormous 
pains  to  find  Him.  Moreover,  we  shall  now  see  that  there  are  additional 
reasons  for  believing  that  at  this  momentous  crisis  in  the  world's  history  a 
phenomenon  did  appear  in  the  heavens  which  challenges  the  natural 
powers  of  man  to  explain. 


REDEMPTION  289 

RECENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

The  Question  of  Fact, — Did  Such  a  "Star"  Appear? 

The  famous  calculation  of  Kepler,  according  to  which  the  three  major 
planets  were  conjoined  in  the  Fish  about  B.  G.  6,  and  accompanied  by 
anther  bright  and  evanescent  star,  stUl  holds  its  own,  in  spite  of  the  many 
doubts  that  have  been  raised  against  it.  Here  are  a  few  recent  comments 
on  this  subject: — 

Jupiter,  Mars,  Venus,  and  Saturn  as  a  Prophetical  Unit 

"Professor  Patterson  reminds  me",  says  Dr.  Ramsay,  "that  the  result 
which  we  have  attained  agrees  with  the  celebrated  calculation  of  Kepler, 
who  fixed  on  the  year  B.  G.  6,  because  in  March  of  that  year  there  occurred 
a  conjunction  of  Jupiter,  Saturn,  and  Mars,  which  would  present  a  most 
brilliant  appearance  in  the  sky,  and  would  naturally  attract  the  attention 
of  observers  interested  in  the  phenomena  of  the  heavens,  as  were  the  Wise 
Men  of  the  East".'^  We  have  already  seen  that  in  the  Babylonian  system 
this  betokens  Peace,  War,  and  Justice,  in  the  Messiah-Haggadah  the  Star 
of  Jacob  is  to  appear  two  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  and  with  the 
mediaeval  Rabbis  this  meeting  of  the  planets  in  the  Fish  is  heralded  as  the 
special  sign  of  the  Messiah's  coming.  Does  this  not  sound  a  little  sug- 
gestive?— "Peace  on  earth,  and  Good  Will  toward  men,— but  War  among 
the  gentiles  and  Universal  Love  to  come,  the  portent  of  Venus  as  the  star 
of  Maternity,  conjoined  with  Jupiter  in  the  same  year  according  to  many? 

The  Brilliant  Variable  as  the  Star  of  Bethlehem  (?) 

"Kepler's  theory  was  that  just  as  the  conjunction  in  1604  of  Jupiter 
and  Saturn  culminated  in  1605  in  the  conjunction  of  Jupiter,  Saturn,  and 
Mars,  and  was  followed  by  the  appearance  of  a  new  and  brilliant  star, 
which  disappeared  again  after  eighteen  months,  so  in  B.  C.  7  and  6,  the 
exactly  similar  conjunctions  were  followed  by  the  appearance  of  a  new 
star  after  the  triple  conjunction,  and  that  this  was  the  star  of  Mat.  2,  2". 
Can  this  be  the  Babylonian  star  of  "victory",  the  finding-star  of  the  Magi? 

Dr.  Edersheim  writes  in  a  similar  strain:— 'Astronomically  speaking, 
and  without  any  reference  to  controversy,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
most  remarkable  conjunction  of  planets, — that  of  Jupiter  and  Saturn — in 
the  constellation  of  Pisces,  which  occurs  only  once  in  800  years—,  did 
take  place  no  less  than  three  times  in  the  year  747  A.  U.  C.  or  two  years 
before  the  birth  of  Christ  (in  May,  October,  December).  This  conjunction 
is  admitted  by  all  astronomers.  It  was  not  only  extraordinary,  but  pre- 
sented the  most  brilliant  spectacle  in  the  night  sky.  such  as  could  not  but 
attract  the  attention  of  all  who  busied  themselves  with  astrologj'.  In  the 
following  year,  (A.  U.  G.  748) ,  another  planet,  Mars,  joined  the  conjunc- 
tion"}^   Then  he  says : — 


12  W   Ramsay  Was  Christ  born  at  Bethlehem?  (London,  1898),  p.  215.     "Alfred  Eders- 
heim, The  Life  and  Times  of  Jesus  the  Messiah.  (N.  Y.  1903")  Vol.  I   p.  212. 


290  REDEMPTION 

REGENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

"The  merit  of  discovering  these  facts  belongs  to  the  great  Kepler,  who 
accordingly  placed  the  Nativity  of  Christ  in  the  year  748  A.  L'.  C.  This 
date  however  is  not  only  well-nigh  impossible,  but  it  has  also  been  shown 
that  such  a  conjunction  would,  for  various  reasons,  not  answer  the  require- 
ments of  the  evangelical  narrative,  so  far  as  the  guidance  to  Bethlehem  is 
concerned.  But  it  does  fully  account  for  the  attention  of  the  Magi  being 
aroused,  and.  even  if  they  had  not  possessed  knowledge  of  the  Jewish 
expectancy  above  described,  for  their  making  inquiry  all  around,  and  cer- 
tainly, among  others  of  the  Jews,  Here  we  leave  the  domain  of  the  certain 
and  enter  the  domain  of  the  probable.  Kepler,  who  was  led  to  the  discovery 
by  observing  a  similar  conjunction  in  1603-4.  also  noticed  that  when  the 
three  planets  came  into  conjunction,  a  new,  extraordinarily  brilliant,  and 
peculiarly  colored  evanescent  star  was  visible  between  Jupiter  and  Saturn, 
and  he  suggested  that  a  similar  star  had  appeared  under  the  same  cir- 
cumstances in  the  conjunction  preceding  the  Nativity.  Of  this  of  course, 
there  is  not.  and  cannot  be  absolute  certainty.  But  if  so.  this  would  be 
the  star  of  the  Magi  in  its  rising". 

Conclusions  to  be  Drawn 

It  is  well  known  that  the  exact  date  of  the  birth  of  Christ  cannot  be 
fixed  with  certainty,  being  generally  placed  between  A.  U,  C,  747  and  749. 
that  is,  between  B.  C,  7  and  5.  Dr,  Ramsay,  however,  who  has  made  a 
life  study  of  the  subject,  has  hit  upon  A.  U.  C.  748,  or  B.  C.  6,  as  satisfy- 
ing the  synoptic  data  more  perfectly  than  any  other,  and  this  is  precisely 
the  date  of  the  triple  or  quadruple(?)  conjunction,  when  Mars.  Jupiter. 
Venus,  and  Saturn  slione  together  as  one  star. 

On  this  principle  the  quadi-uple  star  is  the  planetary  group 
as  synchronising  with  the  birth  of  Christ  (B,  C,  6), 
ivhile  Jupiter-Marduk  precedes  it  as  the  special  Star  of  Salvation. 

But  as  to  Kepler's  "variable '.  it  may  well  have  given  an  additional  lustre 
to  the  group,  or  it  must  be  frankly  put  down  as  a  supernatural  apparition. 
— it  is  nothing  less  than  the  Star  of  Bethlehem! 

Now  this  is  in  harmony  witli  tlic  certain  results  of  astronoiny,  with  tln' 
most  approved  biblical  chronology,  with  the  united  voice  of  eastern  astro- 
logy, and  with  the  common  expectation  of  Jewish  propliecy.  Can  all  tiiis. 
1  ask,  be  accidental?  \\'e  know  that  what  to  us  is  accidental  is  in  the  mind 
of  God  a  pre-established  harmony,  that  there  is  nothing  that  happens  by 
what  we  call  "chance".  Here,  however,  the  element  of  the  fortuitous  is 
ruled  out,  the  sources  are  too  convergent,  the  message  is  too  plain,  the  coin- 
cidences too  striking, — the  very  heavens  are  declaring  the  advent  of  the 
new  King.'* 


'*  Further  light  on  this  subject  in  the  International  Critical  Commentary.  (New  York, 
1910),  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew,  p.  11-14.  .Articles  on  Biblical  Chrono1og>'.  lesus  Christ. 
(Catholic  Encyclopaedia,  1910).  and  see  Plate,  p.  251  above. 


THE  GATHA  USHTAVAllt 

OR 

THE  PERSIAN  CRY  FOR  DELIVERANCE 


OPENDiO  STANZAS  OF  THE  HYMN 

"SALVATION'S  HAIL" 

WRITTEN  IN  THE  OLD  OATHIC  TEXT.   BETWEEN   700-900  B.  C. 

(YASNA.  XLIII.   1) 

KAHMAICHTt  uStTA  yah  MAI  AHMA»  Ll^TA 

AHURO        J3AYAT  ^rfAZ^^AO       KHSWAyXs  VASH 

VAS(Ei)MT  TO!  CVAT       TEVISHT  UTAvQitT 

ySl^^ft^MAITE  XSAO     MOI       TAT         KERETDYAJ  ASH  EM 

MAMA  MHO     ^AYEM       VANHEuS  ASHT^  RAYO 

FOB  THE  TEXT  AND  PAULA %T[  TKAN8LATION  SF,E  PROF.  L.\ WHENCE  H.  SIILLS.  D.  D.,  "A 
STIDY  OF  THE  FIVE  ZORO.VSTRI.VN  GATH.AS".  (BROCKIIAl'S-LEIPZIG.  1893-94),  P.  47.  FOB 
AVE8TIC  TRANSLITER.4TION,  FKH'ATE  SOrRfFS  FROM  THE  S.*ME  (OXFORD,  1917).  COM- 
PABE  .ALSO  SPIEGEL,  OELDNEIl,  .\ND  WESTEKG.VARD,  FOR  SIMILAR  TEXTIAL  EDITIONS 
OF  THE  AVE8TA   (ALL  IN  CONGRESS.  LIBRARY,  WASHINGTON). 

"WHO  SMOTE  THE  DRAGON.  DAHAKA.  DEMON  OF  THE  LIE" 
(YASNA.  IX.  8) 

SEE   THE   HOM-YA8HT    ABOVE,    P.   219,    WHERE   THE    CONQIEST    OF 

ATHWAYA  OVER  THE  SERPENT  IMPLIES  SOME  CONQIEST  OVER  THE  POn'ER  OF 

MORAL   EVIL 


REDEMPTION  291 

REGENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

(N,  5)  Iranian  Form 

It  is  beyond  the  scope  of  a  prehistoric  study  to  sketch  the  further  devel- 
opment of  these  ideas  except  in  their  barest  outhne,  except  in  so  far  as  they 
show  how  the  common  yearnings  of  humanity  were  gradually  crystalised 
mto  a  more  defmite  hope.  If  we  take  a  glance  at  the  Iranian  soteriology 
it  is  only  to  bring  out  a  few  of  its  salient  characteristics,  and  because  it  is 
from  this  region  that  the  salvation-seeking  Magi  are  believed  to  have  come. 

"Redemption"  in  the  Gathas 
There  can  no  longer  be  any  doubt  that  "benignity"  is  promised  in  the 
Gathas  or  oldest  portion  of  the  Avesta.  Apart  from  the  invocations  to 
Ahura,  Mithra,  Haoma,  the  Amesha-spentas,  the  fravashis,  etc.  which 
imply  some  power  to  help,  it  forms  the  opening  theme  of  the  forty-third 
chapter  of  the  Yasna: — 

"Salvation's  hail  be  his,  whosoever  he  may  be: 
May  the  All-Ruling  send  it,  He  who  is  supreme  o'er  strife. 
Long-lasting  strength  be  ours,— of  Thee  I  ask  it. 
For  the  upholding  Right,  this,  Holy  Zeal,  vouchsafe  us: 
Rich  power,  blest  rewards,  the  Good  Mind's  Life".^ 

By  a  singular  coincidence  this  ancient  text  reveals  the  first  triad  of  the 
Iranian  "seven".  For  if  the  All-Ruling  One  is  Ahura-Mazda,  who  "sends" 
salvation,  who  is  "supreme"  over  the  two  worlds  of  light  and  darkness,  it 
is  Asha-Rita,  the  "upholding  Right",— the  Holy  Order  of  the  Law—,  that  is 
fdesired  as  the  result  of  "rich  power,  blest  rewards,  the  Good  Mind's 
Life",— evidently  Vohu-Manah,  the  Spenta-Mainyu,  or  "Holy  Spirit",  of 
Persian  theology. 

Asha-Rita  as  the  Mazdean  Logos 

With  the  regard  to  the  position  of  Asha-Rita  as  a  possible  "logos",  and 
its  supposed  derivation  from  the  Greek  Stoics  or  the  Alexandrian  Philo, 
the  following  summary  will  furnish  abundant  material  for  thought:— 

(1)    THE  AMESHAS   are   ATTRIBUTES,   NOT   CREATED   LOGOI 

"Ahura  Himself  arranges  and  plans.  He  is  the  endiathetos  of  Philo, 
and  Asha  in  one  place  is  the  object,  not  the  subject  of  manta,  as  compare 
Y.  31.  He,  Asha,  constitutes,  however,  a  good  prophorikos,  but  then  he  is 
inferior  to  the  original  Reason.  It  is  by  the  exercise  of  his  Asha  or 
Vohumanah  and  his  other  attributes  that  Ahura  himself  performs  those 
acts  of  creation  and  providence  which  are  denied  to  Philo's  God  as  beneath 
His  sublimity.  The  kosmos  aisthetos  and  the  kosmos  noetos  look  very 
like  our  two  worlds  in  Yasna,  28,  2,  but  they  are  not  logoi".' 


iL.  H.  Mills,  The  Gathas  of  Zoroaster,    (Leipzig,   1950),  p.  3.   S.  B.   E.  XXXI.  p. 
-Idem,  Zoroaster,  Philo,  the  Achaemenids,  and  Israel,  (Leipzig,  1906),  p.  161. 


292  REDEMPTION 

RECENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

(2)  THE  AMESHAS  AUE  SOMETIMES  I.\  PERSONS.  BIT  NOT  .45  PERSONS 

'"The  dim  presence  of  these  distinctions  in  the  Zend-Avesta  is  not  only 
not  remarkable. — they  are  simply  unavoidable  because  necessary  to  all 
speculation  of  the  kind.  And  the  activity  of  Ahura  in  exercising  these 
attributes  is  entirely  simple,  corresponding  to  the  activity  of  a  supreme 
good  Creator  in  all  theogonies.  though  it  is  often  actually  impossible  to 
tell  whether  the  passages  in  the  Gathas  mean  to  describe  God  as  imme- 
diately icorkiiifj  through  His  attributes,  or  through  the  meu  iv  ichom  these 
attributes  have  implanted  themselves.  Both  .\sha  and  Vohumanah  are 
executive,  fast  enough,  'bearing  forth'  the  plans  of  God.  but  they  have  no 
such  position  as  the  Logos  of  Alexandria. 

(3)  THE  PHILONIAN   LOGOS  IS  THE  SUM-TOT.-VL  OF  PROPELLING   FORCES 

"According  to  Philo.  then,  the  world  is  created  through  reason,  nous, 
or  its  manifestation,  the  Word,  the  Logos.  This  world  is  an  imprint  of 
the  Divine  Reason,  and  so  the  most  complete  work.  Moving  ideas  which 
were  the  forces  propelling  life  were  active,  and.  the  Logos  was  the  sum  of 
them".  (The  Seal). 

(4)  And  therefore  not  .applicable  to  the  divine  '"ideas'  as  such 

"It  is  easy  to  see  that  neither  Vohumanah  nor  yet  Asha  correspond  to 
such  a  Logos.  They  are  more  like  one  of  "the  ideas' "'.  By  this  is  meant 
that  they  are  immanent  not  transient  entities,  that  they  have  no  real  exis- 
tence outside  of  the  divine  Mind,  that  they  are  in  fact  the  attributes  of  God. 

(5)    the  ASHA-RITA  is  god  as   "order"   and   "THrTH" 

'"It  is  again  Ahura  who  does  this  thing,  that  is.  who  creates  something 
physical,  which  was  considered  impossible  to  Philo's  God.  It  is  not  Asha 
who  does  it".  And  yet  "Asha  is  under  God  the  rhythm  of  order,  keeping 
all  things  in  balance",  and  therefore  God  creates  the  world  through  His 
Asha. 

(6)    AND   ONLY    INAPPROPRIATELY    A    SAVINri    ""SON" 

"It  is  He  himself,  Ahura.  who  through  Asha  keeps  ruin  from  all".  Y. 
44,  2),  and  "Ahura  is  Asha's  Father,  as  in  Y.  44,  3,  4,  Asha  being  in  that 
place  the  rhythm  of  the  physical  universe,  the  thing  produced",  (sic). 

(7)    BUT  NOT  THE  LOGOS  PROPHORIKOS  OF  PHILO 

which,  like  all  the  Greek  logoi,  is  a  cosm.ic  force,  distinct  from  tlie  Nous. 

(8)    NOR  THE  MEMRA  OP  THR  TARGUMS. 

for  tiiis  also  is  clcjii-iy  distinguisiied  botii   from  Jahwe  and  the  Messiuli. 

(9)    NOR  FINALLY   I.S  IT  THE  LOGOS  OK  ST.  .TOHN. 

for  the  Johannine  "Word  ".  though  one  in  essence  with  God.  is  a  distinct 
Personality  in  the  Divine  Nature. — and  moreover  an  incarnating  Person- 
ality. 


REDEMPTION  293 

REGENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

I  do  not  pretend  that  these  conclusions  are  beyond  criticism.  It  still 
remains  to  be  clearly  proved, —  (1)  that  the  Ameshas  are  never  nature- 
powers;  (2)  that  the  logoi  are  never  personified  or  treated  as  persons, — 
(3)  that  the  Johannine  Word  has  never  in  any  sense  been  anticipated.  For 
it  seems  certain  that  the  seven  spirits  are  sometimes  used  tenninatively 
for  the  finished  product  of  divine  action,  the  planning  and  executing  logos 
comes  perilously  near  a  personal  word,  and  the  Johannine  logos  is  by  this 
very  fact  brought  into  closer  touch  with  the  Alexandrian  philosophy,  even 
though  its  application  to  the  historical  Messiah  is  altogether  unique,  and 
the  two  concepts  are  otherwise  diametrical.  No  Prophorikos  was  ever 
incarnate. 

But  perhaps  the  whole  subject  is  too  abstruse  to  lead  to  a  final  settle- 
ment, and  in  the  mean  time  it  behooves  us  to  note  that,  whatever  may  be 
the  nature  of  Asha  as  a  separate  hypostasis,  He  is  certainly  in  no  sense  a 
unique  "Son",  but  should  rather  be  considered  as  a  major  attribute  of  God, 
sometimes  personified,  and  who  as  the  Order  and  Symmetry  of  the  divine 
Plan,  became  vaguely  associated  with  a  salvation  that  was  yet  to  come. 

The  Position  of  Mithra 

A  more  definite  thought  is  revealed  by  that  popular  demi-god  who 
under  the  name  of  Mithra  became  synonymous  with  divine  "Friendship", 
the  diffused  "Light"  of  the  world.  From  the  oldest  times  he  is  mentioned 
side  by  side  with  the  great  Mazda,  and  was  evidently  a  separate  person- 
ality :— 

"/  will  announce  and  complete  my  Yasna  to  Mithra  of  the  wide  pastures, 
of  the  thousand  ears,  and  of  the  myriad  eyes,  the  Yazad  of  the  spoken 
name". 

"I  will  announce  and  complete  my  Yasna  to  the  two,  to  Ahura  and  to 
Mithra  the  lofty  and  the  everlasting  and  the  holy,  and  to  all  the  stars  which 
are  Spenta  Mainyu's  creatures,  and  to  the  star  Tistrya,  the  resplendent  and 
glorious,  and  to  the  Moon  which  contains  the  seed  of  the  Kine,  and  to  the 
resplendent  Sun,  him  of  the  rapid  steeds,  the  eye  of  Ahura-Mazda,  and  to 
Mithra,  the  province-ruler" .^ 

This  formula  is  so  frequently  repeated  that  some  connection  between 
Mithra  and  the  all-seeing  sun,  though  without  confusion,  seems  to  be 
postulated. 

He  is  the  Angel  of  Light  and  Truth 

and  the  spirit  of  Friendship,  and  this  is  as  far  as  our  Avestic  sources  can 
lead  us.  In  no  case  is  he  identified  with  the  creating  Mazda,  nor  with  any 
of  the  Ameshas,  nor  with  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  in  a  purely  material 
sense,  which  makes  the  latter  interpretation  on  the  whole  the  most  plausible 
one.* 


•Yasna,  I.  3,  11.  (S.  B.  E.  XXXI.  196,  199.     <  Comp.  Franz  Cumont,  Die  Mysterien  des 
Mithras   (Leipzig,  1911)   showing  historical  development  from  early  .\vestic  times. 


294  REDEMPTION 

RECENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 
The  Mithras  of  Hellenism 

Far  different  is  the  Mithras  of  Graeco-Roman  times.  He  is  sprung  from 
a  rock,  he  is  very  generally  confused  with  the  sun,  he  is  the  slayer  of  the 
sacred  bull  of  Ormazd,  which  is  itself  the  source  of  all  the  higher  powers 
of  man.  He  is  neither  a  logos  nor  in  any  sense  a  mediator,  but  should 
rather  be  considered  as  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  fiery  orb  of  heaven 
shedding  his  genial  rays  of  light  over  a  world  of  physical  and  moral  dark- 
ness. 

It  is  not  difTicult  to  trace  Babylonian  and  perhaps  even  Jewish  influences 
in  this  make-up.  It  is  simply  Bel-Marduk-Taurus,  the  'mighty  bull  of 
Anu"  slain  by  Gilgamesh,  and  combined  with  the  Messiah-theme  of  the 
Jews,  the  Attiscult  of  the  Phrygians,  and  rounded  off  with  a  liberal  sprink- 
ling of  -Vlexandriaii  philosophy.  It  is  therefore  not  surprising,  that  with 
such  a  rich  history.  Mithras  should  represent  the  highest  "savior"  of  the 
gentile  world. 

The  Persian  Expectation  of  a  Virgin-born  Redeemer 

The  well-known  allusions  in  the  Persian  Yashts  to  a  Virgin-born 
Redeemer  show  a  gross  deterioration  from  Gathic  times,  are  admittedly 
lafe  and  wore  undoubtedly  influenced,  in  part,  by  the  Hebrew  prophets:— 

"We  worship  the  guardian-spirit  of  the  holy  maid  Eretatfedhri,  who  is 
called  the  all-conquering,  for  she  will  bring  him  forth  who  will  destroy 
the  malice  of  the  demons  and  of  men"} 

But  the  maid  is  to  conceive  from  the  seed  of  Zoroaster  miraculously 
preserved  in  the  Lake  Kasava.  hardly  a  wortiiy  thought  to  conntct  with  the 
prophet  of  Iran.  In  the  Bundahesh  this  seed  is  regarded  as  all-sacred,  and 
ninety-nine  thousand  nine-hundred  and  ninety-nine  myriads  of  the 
guardian  spirits  uf  the  saints  are  entrusted  ivith  its  protection" {\)  * 

The  Far-Seeing  Magi 

As  it  is  next  to  certain  that  the  Magi  of  the  gospels  were  Persian  astrol- 
ogers, we  can  now  understand  to  what  extent  their  minds  were  "prepared" 
for  Christ.  They  had  the  Asha-Rita  of  old.  the  saving  "symmetry"  of  the 
divine  Order, — in  itself  only  a  confused  longing  for  a  reign  of  peace.— then 
they  were  looking  for  Jupiter-Mithras  in  the  skies, — for  them,  as  for  other 
orientals,  the  symbol  of  hope,  the  bringer  of  a  brighter  age. — but  finally, 
their  certain  expectation  of  a  virgin-born  Deliverer,  of  undoubtedly 
Jewish,  biblical,  and  supernatural  origin,  would,  with  the  miraculous 
"star"  of  the  gospels,  infallibly  lead  them  to  the  land  of  the  West,  the  land 
of  Amurru,  to  search  for  Him  who  was  to  be  born  the  "King  of  the  Jews". 

Here  then  we  have  an  historical  "preparation"  of  which  the  .\ryan  race 
may  well  be  proud.  It  was  tee  alone  of  all  tho  races  of  antiquity  that  were 
tlif  first  tn  rcco^jnise  the  omnipotent  God  in  tin*  helpless  Child  of  Bethlehem. 


Yasht,  13.  142.    «  Bundahesh,  S.  B.  E.  Vol.  V   p.  144. 


THE  FINDING  OF  THE  LIGHT  OF  THE  WORLD 

THE  PERSIAN  MAGI  DISCOVER  THE  REDEEMER 

"WE  HAVE  BEEN  HIS  6TAB  Ut  THE  EAST" 

ASHA,    KAT  THWA  DAT^SANl, 
MANASCHA  VOHU      VAESEMANO  ? 


"O   RIOHTEOl'RNESS,   WHEN   SHALL   I   SEE  THEK, 

AND    THEE.    THOI     SPIRIT   OF   TRITH?"    (YASNA.    XXVUI.   ») 

PACSnilLKS   OF   TWO    FRESCOES    FOl  ND   IN    THE    CATACOMBS    OF    ST.    PIU8C1LLA    .\ND    ST. 
CALLIXTFS,   ROME,   THE   MOST   ANCIENT   PICTIRES    OF   THE   MOTHER   ANT)   CHILD   IN   EX- 
ISTENCE,   (H-ni   CENT). 

(NOTE  THE  PERSIAN   I'NIFORMS) 

"THE  KINUUOM  OF  OOD  SHALL  BE  TAKEN  FROM  VOl ,  AND  SHALL  BE  GIVEN  TO  A  NATION 
VIELDINO    THE    FRI  ITS    THEREOF."    (MAT.   tl,    48l 


REDEMPTION  295 

RECENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

Importance  of  the  Persian  Question 

We  may  now  take  this  opportunity  to  call  attention  to  the  enormous 
biblical  and  theological  value  of  the  study  of  Aryan  religion  in  general 
and  of  Iranian  or  Medo-Persian  religion  in  particular.  Theologically 
speaking,  and  without  any  reference  to  critical  controversy,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  greatest  social,  moral  and  religious  upheaval  of  any  age 
was  the  sudden  expansion  of  the  Jewish-apostolic  Church  from  a  simple 
offshoot  of  the  synagogue  into  the  enormous,  international  world-empire 
of  the  historic  Papacy.  Though  the  foundations  of  Christianity  are  un- 
doubtedly Semitic  in  a  proximate  and  dogmatic  sense,  though  we  have 
received  the  highest  and  purest  ideas  of  God  and  the  most  untarnished 
tradition  of  primitive  belief  and  practice  through  Jewish  channels,  it  is 
not  commonly  realised,  that  the  further  propagation  of  that  Faith  under 
the  New  Law  has  been  entrusted  to  a  race  which  by  its  very  Founder  was 
destined  to  become  the  chief  inheritor  of  revealed  divine  lore  of  the  ages. 
"We  have  seen  His  star  in  the  East,  and  have  come  to  worship  Him" 
(MaL  ^,  2). 

We  have  not  far  to  go  to  hnd  abundant  proofs  of  this  promise.  The 
very  birth  of  the  Messiah  is  heralded  by  men  clad  in  oriental  garments, 
speaking  a  non-Jewish  Medo-Parthian  dialect,  they  have  travelled  many 
hundreds  of  miles,  through  mountain  passes,  through  the  scorching  heat 
of  the  desert,  to  find  the  Light  of  the  World,  the  supernatural  guiding-star 
of  the  New  Era.  This  alone  seems  strange,  an  unexpected  phenomenon, 
when  we  consider,  how  strongly  Jewish  was  the  consciousness  of  the 
early  Church,  how  desirous  of  reconciling  the  Faith  of  Calvary  with  the 
Hebrew  mind.  Yet  it  is  in  the  most  Jewish  of  all  gospels,  that  of  St.  Mat- 
thew, that  this  incident  is  narrated  with  the  greatest  care,  put  in  the  very 
forefront  of  the  glad  tidings.  What  a  strong  ray  of  divine  illumination 
must  this  imply! 

But  more  than  this.  One  of  the  first  and  greatest  of  Christian  converts 
of  all  time  was  to  be  found,  not  among  the  rags  of  Jerusalem,  but  among 
the  Roman  nobility,  it  was  the  centurion  of  Capernaum,  who  first  enun- 
ciated the  formula  now  to  be  found  in  the  Roman  Mass,  the  prelude  to  the 
divine  banquet  as  such : — "'Domine,  non  sum  dignus"! 

'"Lord,  I  am  not  worthy  that  thou  should^t  enter  under  my  roof,  but 
speak  the  word  only,  and  my  servant  shall  be  healed"  (Mt.  8,  8). 

And  it  is  notorious  that  the  same  Jewish  evangelist  immediately  adds, 
that  when  Jesus  heard  it.  "he  marvelled"  and  said  to  them  that  followed 
him, — 

"/  have  )iot  found  so  great  faith  in  Israel"  (Matt.  8,  10). 

Whence  came  this  faith,  and  how  was  it  acquired?  from  the  surround- 
ing Jews? 


296  REDEMPTION 

REGENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

The  New  Faith  is  to  be  International 

Furthermore,  to  make  the  new  Kingdom  more  intelligible  to  His 
simple-minded  followers,  the  Messiah  boldly  denounces  its  artificial 
Hebrew  limits: — 

"And  I  say  to  you  that  many  shall  come  from  the  east  and  the  west  and 
shall  sit  down  with  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven"  (Mat.  8,  11). 

The  coming  of  strange  races  from  tlie  east  and  the  west  can  only  be 
interpreted  as  a  supernatural  prophecy  that  other  and  more  potent  peoples 
shall  take  the  Kingdom,  wiiile  the  sons  of  Abraham  shall  be  turned  away. 

"But  the  children  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  cast  out  into  exterior  dark- 
ness: there  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth"  (Mat.  8,  12). 

The  Kingdom  Passes  to  Another  Nation 
"Therefore  I  say  to  you,  that  the  kingdom  of  God  shall  be  taken  from 
you,  and  shall  be  given  to  another  Jiation,  yielding  the  fi-uits  thereof' 
(Mat.  21,  43).    Here  we  have  the  explicit  statement  of  the  coming  transfer 
of  the  kingdom,  of  its  complete  severance  from  the  Jewish  Covenant. 

WE  Have  Found  the  Messiah,  While  THE  JEWS  Have  Lost  Him 

If  then  the  children  of  promise  could  do  nothing  more  original  than 
to  persecute  the  Messiah,  to  spit  in  his  face,  and  finally  to  crucify  Him,  it 
is  no  less  evident  that  we  of  the  Aryan  race  were  destined  to  become  His 
principal  adorers,  the  custodians  and  promoters  of  His  celestial  empire. 

The  Aryan  Religion  Supersedes  the  Semitic 

For  it  may  be  said  without  exaggeration,  that  if  to  this  day  the  faith  of 
humanity  is  in  the  hands  of  Aryan,  not  of  Semitic  peoples,  if  we  chant 
the  divine  praisos  in  our  native  Indo-European  tongue,  if  we  have  woven 
our  Christianity  into  the  very  soul  and  marrow  of  our  culture,  and  con- 
signed the  Hebrews  to  an  appropriate  though  inevitable  "Jewish  quarter", 
it  is  precisely  because  we  are  the  heirs  of  the  Kingdom,  we  have  been  called 
by  the  Messiah  Himself  to  be  the  great  vehicles  of  His  truth. 

Now  all  this  Demands  an  Historic  Antecedent 

Here  then  we  have  the  basis  for  searching  into  the  past,  for  discover- 
ing the  roots  and  mainsprings  of  the  pre-Christian  faith  of  the  race.  As 
i'ver>-  effect  demands  n  jirnjinrtionate  cause,  it  will  stand  to  reason  that,  as 
this  failh  was  not  derived  from  the  rontomporary  Jews  in  gtobo,  but 
rather  in  spite  of  them,  it  must  be  referred  to  a  remote  stream  of  Jewish- 
Persian  Iradilion  from  the  days  of  the  exile,  a  pre-Christian  contact  with 
the  inspired  prophets  of  the  Old  Law.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  ancient 
Gntiias  of  Zoroaster  we  find  what  we  may  call  the  purely  "natural"  re- 
lipinn  of  the  Aryan  race,  the  common  longings  of  the  pre-exilic  .Xryan 
religinn  in  llieir  purest  and  most  heauliful  form.  Heuce  the  surpassing 
interest  of  their  contents. 


REDEMPTION  297 

REGENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

Brahministic  Form 

But  if  ancient  Persia  represents  the  purest  and  loftiest  development  of 
the  pre-Christian  hope,  its  migration  to  eastern  lands  has  not  been  a 
happy  one  by  reason  of  its  alliance  and  partial  fusion  with  lower  forms 
of  belief.  For  if  the  early  Vedic  theology,  as  being  the  identical  system,  is 
still  comparatively  elevated,  the  later  Brahminism  exhibits  a  mass  of  con- 
tradictory notions  which  has  given  the  proverbially  nebulous  character 
to  the  modern  Hindoo  mind.  It  will  be  quite  impossible  to  enumerate  all 
the  mythical  saviors  of  the  lands  of  the  Ganges,  but  upon  two  of  them  a 
few  very  brief  remarks  should  be  made,  if  only  to  show  how  wide  has 
been  the  degeneration. 

The  "Light  op  Asia" 

As  against  the  Iranian  system,  with  its  creating  Mazda,  its  personal 
archangels,  its  strong  eschatology,  and  its  bright  rays  of  hope,  the  Brahma- 
Vishnu  belif'f  is  but  a  shadow,  the  attempt  to  combine  the  theism  of  all  ages 
with  the  pantheism  of  the  totem-cult.  Hence  the  appearance  of  Gautama, 
the  great  Buddha,  must  be  interpreted  by  the  mental  atmosphere  of  the 
times,  and  these  were  comparatively  late, — the  sixth  century  before 
Christ.  So  far  from  claiming  anything  like  a  "sonship",  a  filial  relation 
to  the  Godhead,  this  Aryan  prince  distinctly  repudiated  all  speculations  of 
this  nature  as  unprofitable,  and  in  this  indeed  he  was  wise,  he  made  no 
pretence  to  divinity.  Again,  the  Nirwana  towards  which  he  aimed,  though 
apparently  pessimistic,  is  after  all  not  far  removed  from  that  blissful 
repose  of  the  faculties,  that  paradisaic  "sleep",  which  is  the  negative  con- 
tent of  all  beatitude,  deliverance  from  the  painful  side  of  mortal  existence. 
His  noble  renunciation  and  his  lofty  ethical  code  are  also  inspiring.  But 
on  the  other  hand,  his  asceticism  is  out  of  all  proportion  to  what  is  univer- 
sally practicable,  the  great  majority  of  mankind  are  outside  of  his  scheme 
of  redemption,  and  perhaps  it  is  safe  to  conclude,  that,  although  a  sleeping 
Buddha  represents  the  highest  ideal  of  the  middle  Orient,  he  is  incapable  of 
saving  mankind  as  such,  his  message  is  far  too  narrow,  too  unscientific, 
too  exclusive.  Only  as  the  far-off  deliverer  from  the  pains  of  reincarna- 
tion can  he  be  called  the  "Light"  of  Asia.^ 

Buddha  and  the  Grand  Lama 

Still  more  faded  is  the  devotion  to  Amitabha,  the  Buddha  of  the  sen- 
suous Sukavati  paradise.  He  is  the  emanation  of  the  so-called  Adhi- 
Buddha,  and  lord  of  the  sensuous  heaven  which  has  replaced  the  old  Nir- 
wana. This  deity  was  believed  until  recently  to  reside  in  the  Grand  Lama 
of  Thibet  and  to  have  the  faculty  of  continually  reappearing.  Here  also  it 
is  important  to  note  that  the  deity  is  not  incarnate,  but  re-incarnate, — a 
fundamental  distinction. 

'  General  sources  in  S.  B.  E.  VIII,  XII,  XV,  XXV,  XXVI-XXX,  XXXII,  XLVI,  and 
compare :  The  Dhamma  of  Gotama  the  Buddha  and  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  the  Christ,  by 
Charles  Francis  Aiken,  D.  D.   (Boston,  1900). 


298  REDEMPTION 

RECENT  ASIATIC  BELIEF 

Taoistic  Form 

What  Buddha  is  to  llie  Aryan  races,  Contucius  uiid  Laotse  are  to  the 
Mongolian,  religious  teachers  and  reformers,  but  nothing  more.  In  com- 
parison with  the  Brahministic  systems,  which  are  one  and  all  tinged  with 
a  ])antheistic  pessimism,  the  Chinese  development  is  somewhat  more  hope- 
ful; there  is  a  positive  side  to  happiness  in  which  filial  piety  and  ancestor- 
worship  are  regarded  as  all-powerful.  Here  is  it  Sui-Jen,  the  first  man. 
who  is  the  great  benefactor  of  humanity,  though  it  would  be  more  true 
to  say  that  the  emperor  himself  is  the  source  of  salvation, — he  is  the  ever- 
living  Ta,  which  in  its  cyclic  reappearance  represents  the  highest  evolu- 
tion of  the  wurld-monad. 

Western-Ary.\n  Form 

Turning  from  Persia  to  the  Aryan  West,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  the 
old  Tammuz-cult  of  the  Euphrates  reappearing  in  a  more  modern  and  dis- 
tinctively national  dress, — whether  as  the  Tammuz-Ashtaroth  of  the 
Ganaanites,  the  Adonis-Astarte  of  the  Syrians,  or  the  Attis-Cijbcle-c\\\i  of 
the  Phrygian  populations  of  .Asia  Minor.  The  two  first  are  Semitic  or 
mixed  forms,  while  the  latter  may  be  said  to  furnish  the  transition  from 
the  classic  Orient  to  the  Indo-European  Occident,  where  as  the  Adonis- 
Aphrodite  of  the  Greeks  or  the  Adonis-Venus  of  the  Romans  they  form 
the  background  of  the  popular  mythology.  Together  with  the  Egyptian 
Osiris  and  the  Persian  Mithras,  these  are  the  chief  "saviors"  of  the  pre- 
Christian  West,  to  which  may  be  added  the  figure  of  Prometheus,  the  cru- 
cified fire-winner  of  mankind.' 

The  H.4NGED  and  Murdered  God 

This  is  not  the  place  to  pursue  this  subject  at  further  length,  but  upon 
one  point  I  wish  to  call  the  attention  of  all  who  are  interested  and  perhaps 
disquieted  by  the  existence  of  hanged,  burnt,  and  crucified  "saviors"  before 
the  advent  of  tlie  one  Redeemer.  So  far  from  being  explicable  by  natural 
causes,  it  wouhl  indeed  be  a  miracle  if  the  old  theme  of  the  birth  and 
death  of  the  seasons  did  spontaneously  bring  forth  its  more  vivid  repre- 
sentation by  means  of  a  divine  tragedy,  in  which  the  deity  is  mocked, 
scourged,  and  finally  sacrificed  for  the  sins  of  humanity. — an  impossible 
development  from  the  idea  of  nature's  "death".  This  is  the  so-called 
"Sacaenic  Sacrifice",  of  which  so  much  has  been  written,  but  which  for 
us  is  simply  another  vestige  of  the  finger  of  God  in  human  history,  the 
revelation  of  a  human  yet  priceless  holocaust."  For  the  rest,  it  seems  cer- 
tain that  the  messianic  eclogue  of  Virgil  indicates  a  very  widespread  belief 
in  the  proximity  of  His  advent.'" 


»Comp.  Frazer,  .Adonis.  Attis.  and  Osiris,  (London,  1907),  Studies  in  the  History  of 
Oriental  Religion.  "  H.  Vollmer.  Jesus  und  das  Sacaeenopfer  (Giessen,  1905).  »»  Even  if 
remotely  derived  from  the  Sibvlline  Oracles. 


REDEMPTION  299 

RECENT  OCEANIC  BELIEF 

(N,  6)  (a)  Later  Indonesian  Form 

The  migration  of  these  ideas  to  the  far  East  is  only  to  be  expected  and 
to  some  extent  provable,  though  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  put  down  every 
superficial  resemblance  as  implying  an  historical  connexion.  Among  the 
late  neolithic  Sea-Dayaks  the  notion  of  a  mediator  between  Batara  and  the 
under-world  appears  in  the  figure  of  Pulang  Gana,  who  is  the  tutelary 
deity  of  the  soil  and  believed  to  be  of  superhuman  parentage.  Vestiges  of 
the  idea  of  martyrdom  are  revealed  in  the  story  which  represents  him  as 
being  cruelly  robbed  of  his  possessions, — the  whole  earth — ,  by  the  felling 
of  trees: — 

"Why  did  you  wrong  me  by  not  acknowledging  my  authority?",  he 
says  to  the  usurpers,  "/  am  Pulang  Gana,  your  elder  brother,  who  was 
throivn  into  the  earth,  and  now  hold  dominion  over  it.  Before  attempting 
to  cut  down  the  jungle,  why  did  you  not  borrow  the  land  from  me?". 
"How?",  they  asked.    "By  making  me  sacrifice  and  offering".^ 

And  from  that  time  onward  the  custom  of  sacrificing  to  Pulang  Gana 
the  fii'st  fruits  of  the  season  was  perpetuated,  he  became  the  main  object 
of  the  yearly  Seed-Festival.  Pulang  Gana  is,  in  the  words  of  Perham,  an 
important  power  in  Dayak  belief,  as  upon  his  good  will  is  supposed  to 
depend  in  great  measure  the  staff  of  life.  But  the  important  point  is  that 
reconciliation  with  the  divinity  is  offered  by  the  divinity  himself,  the  "son" 
of  Batara,  though  outraged,  is  willing  to  listen  to  man,  to  accept  his  sac- 
rifice. 

I  have  already  considered  the  possibility  of  Hindoo  influence  in  regard 
to  the  names,  if  not  the  functions,  of  some  of  these  Dayak  gods.  But 
although  there  are  Braministic  traits  in  the  cosmology,  and  a  few  vestiges 
of  Sanscrit  in  the  terminology,  it  is  altogether  unsafe  to  trace  Batara 
directly  to  the  Hindoo  Avatars,  or  Pulang  Gana  to  a  transplanted  Vishnu- 
cult.  As  far  as  I  know,  Batara  has  nothing  to  do  with  metempsychosis, 
and  his  accompanying  demiurge  is  as  far  removed  from  the  Indian  Light- 
god  as  can  well  be  imagined.  Perham  also  testifies  that  '"the  terms  are  an 
accretion  and  not  an  original  possession",  but  that  "Pulang  Gana,  (the 
idea),  is  all  their  own".  As  to  a  reconciling  god,  it  is  one  of  the  earliest 
persuasions  of  humanity,  as  we  have  seen,  and  need  have  no  connection 
with  a  western  savior. 

The  Klieng-Legend 

An  entirely  quixotic  phenomenon  is  that  of  Klieng  and  his  supposed 
"war-raid  to  the  skies".  Apart  from  his  role  as  a  helper  of  man,  he  is  too 
facetious  to  be  taken  seriously,  and  may  be  dismissed  as  of  no  religious 
importance. 


'  H.   Ling-Roth,   The   Natives  of   Sarawak  and  British    North-Borneo    (London.    1896), 
Vol.  I.  p.  177-178,  181.  (Pulang).  p.  311ff.  (Klieng). 


JOO  REDEMPTION 

REGENT  OCEANIC  BELIEF 

(N,  6)  (b)  Melanesian  Form 

A  similar  position  is  occupied  by  Quat-Marawa  in  the  folk-lore  of 
central  Melanesia,  though  here  we  have  a  somewhat  nearer  approach  to 
a  semi-divine  being,  who  was  formerly  a  real  Heaven-God,  but  was  later 
mixed  up  with  the  ancestor-cult.  In  the  more  recent  Quat,  there  is  little 
that  is  inspiring,  he  is  more  like  a  jack-of-all-trades  or  a  good-natured 
Santa  Glaus,  who  will  give  a  quid  pro  quo  for  any  mark  of  his  apprecia- 
tion. Relics  of  his  cult  as  a  savior-god  are  however  abundant.  "Quat- 
Marawa,  save  usi" — this  is  more  than  a  mere  figure,  as  the  earth,  the  winds, 
and  the  waters  are  believed  to  obey  him.  to  be  immediately  pacified  by  his 
presence. 

(N,  6)    (c)  Polynesian  Form 

Another  illustration  of  a  cosmic  triad,  but  one  which  is  strongly  sex- 
ualised,  is  revealed  in  the  Polynesian  pantheon.  Here  heaven  and  earth 
are  literally  married,  and  their  divine  child  is  Tangaroa,  the  moon, — a 
being  of  sad  and  sinister  influence.  Now  we  know  that  the  moon  with 
his  changing  phases  represents  the  human  and  mortal  side  of  divinity, 
and  hence  the  interpretation  of  Tangaroa  as  the  continually  dying  "son 
of  heaven"  is  simply  natural,  and  furnishes  a  good  instance  of  the  way  in 
which  a  purely  cosmic  divinity  supplies  the  foundation  for  a  dying  and 
martyred  god.  In  nearly  every  case  the  lunar  cult,  though  associated  with 
a  spinning  spider  or  with  the  eagle-hawk  and  crow,  has  produced  the 
figure  of  a  maimed  or  humiliated  divinity, — whether  as  the  one-legged 
Dara-mulun,  the  lizard-shaped  Puluga,  the  spider-headed  Amaka,  the 
stone-evolved  Quat-Marawa,  or  the  outraged  and  violated  Pulang  Gana 
above.  The  moon  is  thus  the  symbol  of  suffering,  whether  mental  or  phy- 
sical, though  his  continual  re-birth  gives  promise  of  a  periodic  brightness, 
of  a  monthly  resurrection  or  restoration. 

The  Dawn  of  a  Better  Age 

In  like  manner  Tangaroa,  though  essentially  sombre,  holds  out  to  his 
clients  an  ever-recurring  promise  of  rejuvenation,  and  to  this  extent  he  is 
an  inspiring  example  of  the  'triumph  of  failure",  a  teacher  of  moral  perse- 
verance. But  there  are  other  signs  that  the  full  redemption  is  yet  to  come. 
It  is  through  the  union  of  Tangaroa,  the  eternal  night,  with  Mutuhei,  the 
eternal  silence,  that  is  born  Atea  Tane,  the  eternal  light,  and  Rongo,  the 
eternal  sound,  and  through  the  conquest  of  night  and  silence  by  light  and 
sound,  there  breaks  forth  Atanua,  the  beautiful  "Dawn",  the  bringer  of  a 
new  era  of  peace  and  salvation.  Whatever  be  the  blessings  of  "lunar  sym- 
pathy", if  is  destined  to  be  dissolved  in  the  full  light  of  the  coming  day.' 


'A.  Bastian.  Die  heilige  Sage  der  Polynesier.  (Leipzig.  1881).  p   29ff. 


REDEMPTION  301 

RECENT  AMERICAN  BELIEF 

(N,  7)  (a)  North  American  Form 

In  the  North-American  highland  belt  we  meet  with  further  examples 
of  the  same  tendency  to  personify  the  forces  of  nature,  to  read  a  definite 
message  into  their  good  or  evil  influences.  Here  also  the  world  tends 
to  better  and  brighter  things  by  its  own  impetus,  there  is  a  graduation  of 
being  from  lower  to  higher  and  yet  higher  forms,  implying  the  ultimate 
triumph  of  the  All-Father-Sun  and  his  redeemed  children.  When,  how- 
ever, we  come  to  designate  any  particular  individual  as  the  bearer  of  that 
message  or  the  mediator  of  that  salvation,  we  find  ourselves  in  a  world  of 
inconsistencies,  of  half-digested  truths. 

Poshaiyankya  as  a  "redeeming"  god 

This  applies  more  especially  to  the  Poshaiyankya  of  the  Zunis,  who,  as  in 
so  many  other  cases,  is  partly  a  national  ancestor,  partly  a  divine  deliverer. 
Rising  out  of  the  ocean  as  the  "wisest  man",  the  most  perfect  of  beings,  he 
is  evidently  meant  to  be  human,  and  is  certainly  dependent  on  the  Sky- 
Father  above.  Yet  he  is  bedecked  with  semi-divine  qualities  and  is  at  least 
an  intercessor.  For  "he  came  among  men  and  the  living  things  and  pitied 
them",  (sic).  This  implies  that  humans  are  already  on  the  earth  and  that 
he  came  to  raise  them  to  a  higher  life.  For  "alone  then  did  Poshaiyankya 
come  from  one  cave  to  another  into  this  world,  then,  island-like,  lyingt 
amidst  the  world-waters,  vast,  wet,  and  unstable.  He  sought  and  found 
the  Sun-Father  and  besought  him  to  deliver  the  men  and  the  creatures 
from  that  nethermost  world".  From  this  it  is  fairly  safe  to  conclude  that 
he  is  one  of  those  mixed  characters  who  is  partly  an  ancestor,  partly  a 
deluge-hero,  partly  again  a  divine  being  who  has  an  intimate  relation  to 
the  Sun-Father.  Again,  as  the  morning-star  of  Hope  he  is  dimly  looking 
into  the  future.    More  than  this,  however,  we  have  no  warrant  to  afTirm.' 

THE  MYSTERY  OF  QuetzalCOOtl 

But  the  strangest  figure  in  all  the  pre-Columbian  past  is  that  of  the  Aztec 
••prophet",  who  under  the  name  of  Kukulcan  or  Quetzalcoatl  came  to  de- 
liver a  new  message  of  salvation,  and  this  in  astoundingly  Christian  terms. 
Want  of  space  will  forbid  the  discussion  of  this  unique  personality  except 
to  barely  indicate  the  present  state  of  the  problem. 

It  seems  to  be  fairly  certain  that  this  was  an  hisorical  character  who 
appeared  in  the  Aztec  empire  as  late  as  the  tenth  or  eleventh  century  of 
the  Christian  era.  Before  that  time  the  records  are  silent  in  regard  to  him, 
though  this  of  course  is  only  negative  evidence,  not  in  itself  conclusive. 


»F.  H.  Gushing,  Zuni  Creation-Myths,  (B.  A.  E.  13th  Rep.  Washington,  1891),  p.  379ff. 
The  above  is  a  condensed,  not  a  complete  or  literal  version  of  the  report. 


302  REDEMPTION 

RECENT  AMERICAN  BELIEF 

Father  Crivelli,  S.  J.  thus  wiiles  yf  him:  "He  was  said  to  have  come 
from  the  province  of  Panuco.  a  white  man,  of  great  stature,  broad  brow, 
large  eyes,  long  black  hair,  rounded  beard,  and  dressed  in  a  tunic  covered 
with  black  and  red  crosses.  Chaste,  intelligent,  and  just,  a  lover  of  peace, 
versed  in  the  sciences  and  arts,  he  preached  by  his  example  and  doctrine  a 
new  religion  which  inculcated  fasting  and  penance,  love  and  reverence  for 
the  divinity,  practice  of  virtue  and  hatred  of  vice.  He  predicted  that  in 
the  course  of  time  white  men  with  beards  like  himself  would  come  from 
the  east,  would  take  possession  of  their  country,  overthrow  their  idols,  and 
establish  a  new  religion.  Expelled  from  the  central  provinces,  he  sought 
refuge  in  Yucatan,  where  he  repeated  the  prediction,  introduced  the  ven- 
eration of  the  Cross,  and  preached  Christian  doctrine.  Later  he  set  sail 
from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  going  towards  the  east,  to  his  own  land,  as  he 
himself  said".  As  a  result  the  high-priest  of  Tixtacayon  is  said  to  have 
uttered  the  following  prophecy :  "There  shall  come  the  sign  of  a  god  who 
dwells  on  high,  and  the  cross  which  illumined  the  world  shall  be  made 
manifest,  the  ivorship  of  false  gods  shall  cease.  Your  father  comes,  0 
Itzalanos!  Y'our  brother  comes,  0  Itzalanos!  Receive  your  bearded  guests 
from  the  East,  who  come  to  bring  the  sign  of  God.  God  it  is  who  comes 
to  us,  meek  and  holy!" 

According  to  the  above  author  these  and  many  similar  traditions  were 
the  result,  most  probably,  of  the  evangelical  labors  of  some  Icelandic  or 
Norse  priest  of  the  eleventh  century,  who  accidentally  drifted  or  got  ship- 
wrecked off  the  coast  of  Panuco.  This  is  on  the  face  of  it  very  probable, 
as  the  advent  of  the  Norsemen  synchronises  with  the  historical  appearance 
of  Quefzalcoatl.  But  on  the  other  hand  we  must  not  ignore  the  possibility 
of  their  pre-Christian  origin.  This  idi^ntificaton  of  Quetzalcoatl  wth  one  of 
the  Mayan  demiurges  and  the  well  known  pre-Christian  expectation  of  a 
savior,  in  some  cases  martyred  and  humiliated,  are  as  we  have  seen  a 
sufficient  basis  for  explaining  their  appearance  in  the  New  World,  at  least 
in  substance.  Except  for  the  predicted  advent  of  the  Christian  invaders, 
there  is  nothing  strikingly  new  in  any  of  these  beliefs;  the  main  current  is 
Asiatic. 

(b)  South  America 

For  similar  ideas  associated  with  the  Peruvian  Pachacamac  and  other 
world-mediators,  see  the  data  furnished  in  the  preceding  chapters,  and 
consult  the  sources.    The  subject  cannot  here  be  further  discussed. 


♦Camillus  Crivelli,  S.  J.  .^rticle  "Mexico"  (Cath.  Encycl.  Vol.  X.  pp.  252flf.)  giving  a 
bibliography  of  sources  up  to  1910.— fairly  recent.  Comp.  Brinton.  American  Hero-Myths 
(Phila.  1882),  Idein,  Religions  of  Primitive  Peoples  (1897).  Also  Habler.  Religion  Mittel- 
Amerikas,  (Munster,  1899). 


REDEMPTION  303 

GENERAL  SUMMARY 

This  completes  the  cycle  of  prehistoric  beliefs  on  the  subject  of  redemp- 
tion. If  in  tracing  their  development  we  have  wandered  far  into  the  metal 
ages,  it  is  because  it  is  impossible  to  explain  the  existence  of  many  of  these 
latter-day  hopes  without  taking  cognisance  of  their  prehistoric  con- 
nexions, so  true  is  it  that  the  great  majority  strike  their  roots  far  into  the 
twilight  ages  of  humanity.  And  so  it  has  been  necessary  to  cover  an 
unusually  large  area  in  order  to  appreciate  this  genetic  development  at  its 
proper  value,  in  order  to  realise  that  many  of  these  ideas,  though  late  in 
their  appearance,  have  been  forestalled  in  part  at  least  by  the  common 
prophetic  hopes  of  the  human  race, — a  truth  which  is  not  generally  real- 
ised. To  carry  home  to  our  minds  the  importance  of  this  fact,  we  cannot 
ido  better  than  make  a  general  survey  of  the  ground  covered,  with  a  view 
to  ascertaining  how  far  the  redemptive  ideal  has  de  facto  advanced  during 
each  of  the  successive  periods  of  its  manifestation. 

I.     PRIMITIVE  BELIEF 

It  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  for  the  earliest  period  of  man  as  known 
to  us  the  material  on  this  head  should  be  voluminous.  We  are  dealing 
with  an  age  which  is  immeasurably  remote,  and  which  in  many  cases  has 
been  overlarded  with  later  and  often  with  corrupted  phases  of  belief. 
However,  in  the  purest  and  least  advanced  section  of  the  far  East  we  note 
that  the  divinity  is  condescending,  that  some  form  of  salvation  is  held  out 
to  man  : 

(A)  In  Malakka  Pie,  Lanyut,  and  To-Entah  are  one  and  all  saving 
demiurges  or  intercessors,  and  there  is  a  hint  at  least  of  a  Father-Mother- 
Son  relation. 

(B,  1)  In  tlie  Andaman  Islands  it  is  Pijclior  who  is  Puluga's  archangel 
or  son,  but  redemption  is  promised  independently,  there  is  a  distant  hope. 

(B,  2)  In  Ceylon  Bilindi  Yaka  is  the  first  intimation  of  martyred  god. 

(C)  In  the  Philippines  Anita  listens  to  the  cry  for  help,  he  cures  dis- 
I'uses, 

(D)  In  Borneo  Ball  PeinjalaiKj  Iriumphs  over  Ihe  crocodile  and  brings 
relief. 

There  is  also  a  female  mediator,  an  omen-bird,  and  a  demiurge, — Do/i 
Pe)iyalong,  Bali-Flaki,  and  Laki  Neho — ,  all  of  whom  save  by  the  power 
of  Aba-lingo  Aina-ka.  In  Celebes  and  the  Molukkas  Batara-Samoa-Amaka 
fulfil  the  same  purpose. 

(E)  In  New  Guinea  and  Melanesia  Wonekau  and  Quat-Marawa  answer 
all  prayers. 

(F)  In  Australia  Gregovnlltj,  Binbeal,  Breiobi,  and  Tundun,  are  all  sup- 
posed "sons",  who  either  promise  or  procure  salvation  from  their  "father", 
Baiame,  Bundjil,  etc. 

(G)  In  Africa  Waka-Kaang  reveal  the  same  desire  to  deliver  mankind. 
(K)    In  South  America  Kamushini-Monan   are  evidently  benevolent 

though  rigorous.    In  every  case  there  is  a  promise  that  some  at  least  may 
escape  destruction. 


304  REX)EMPTION 

GENERAL  SUMMARY 

Now  in  combining  the  above  data  there  are  three  points  to  be  con- 
sidered from  our  present  point  of  view, — the  nature  of  redemption,  the 
motive  of  redemption,  and  the  lime  and  extent  of  redemption. 

(1)  The  Natire  of  Redemption 

Although  the  Fatlier-God  is  very  generally  the  source  of  salvation,  a 
semi-divine  sonship  as  the  mediator  of  that  salvation  is  too  frequent  to  be 
overlooked.  There  is  evidently  a  vague  consciousness  that  the  redeeming 
act  requires  a  separate  hypostatisation  in  the  Godhead,  that  there  must  be 
some  humiliation  or  stripping  of  the  divine  glory  to  accomplish  the  act. 
Side  by  side  we  find  the  Mother-savior,  who  pleads  for  humanity,  and  thus 
we  get  the  triad, — Father-Mother-Child — ,  as  the  primitive  model  upon 
which  the  scheme  of  redemption  has  been  built. — originally  a  sexless 
relation.  In  other  words,  we  are  here  in  presence  of  a  supernatural  light, — 
//  is  God  who  is  to  save  by  his  "son",  and  with  (he  help  of  his  "mother", 
though  the  picture  is  anthropomorphic,  very  often  defective,  but  rarely 
debased. 

(2)  The  Motive  of  Redemption 

It  cannot  be  proved  that  the  salvific  act  is  strictly  juridical,  that  it  is  in 
mathematical  proportion  to  the  sins  of  humanity,  that  it  is  a  legal  bargain, 
a  kind  of  "blood-money".  Rather  does  the  evidence  tend  to  show  that  the 
divinity  saves  man  out  of  his  own  infinite  mercy  and  love,  and  that  when 
he  "suffers",  he  does  so  by  his  own  free  will,  it  is  a  spontaneous  oblation. 
It  is  mercy  and  not  justice  that  appears  to  be  uppermost.  This  is  proved 
by  the  repeated  failures  of  humanity  to  live  up  to  the  appointed  mi'ans. 
and  yet  the  "redemption"  is  never  withdrawn,  there  is  always  hope. 

(3)  The  Time  .and  Extent  op  Redemption 

A  more  ditricull  question  is  that  which  concerns  the  time  in  which  the 
redemptive  act  is  believed  to  be  consummated.  Is  there  anything  like  an 
intimation  or  hint  of  a  future  redemption?  It  cannot  be  denied  that  most 
of  our  sources  seem  to  indicate  that  salvation  is  already  at  hand,  the 
demiurges  are  already  "saving"  the  world.  It  should  be  noted,  however, 
that  in  many  cases  they  are  to  return,  there  is  no  guarantee  that  the 
redemption  is  final,  and  the  picture  of  the  Sky-Father  who  is  continually 
sending  new  "sons"  and  devising  new  means  for  the  saving  of  man  shows 
very  clearly  that  so  far  from  being  unique  or  all-suffxcient,  they  are  mere 
shadows  7vho  are  paving  the  way  for  the  real  Savior  that  is  yet  to  appear. 
They  seem  to  be  looking  into  the  future,  expecting  a  greater  and  better 
salvation.  And  as  to  its  extent,  it  is  theoretically  universal,  but  practically 
limited.  For  in  all  times,  "many  are  called,  but  few  are  chosen",  and  the 
dark  side  of  the  picture  reveals  its  essential  limitations. 


REDEMPTION  305 

GENERAL  SUMMARY 
II.     TOTEMIC  BELIEF 

But  if  the  early  ideas  on  this  subject  are  simple  and  crude,  they  have 
the  merit  of  being  distinct,  there  can  be  no  question  that  the  agents  of  the 
redemption  are  exalted  or  semi-divine  persons,  that  they  appear  on  earth 
from  time  to  time  with  a  definite  message,  and  that  they  are  vaguely  grop- 
ing out  into  the  future  when  the  divine  plan  shall  at  length  be  realised. 
With  the  growth  of  the  totem-cult  these  ideas  are  gradually  obscured,  in- 
stead of  persons  we  have  powers,  and  although  the  savior-god  is  still  in 
the  background,  he  gradually  yields  to  the  more  visible  attractions  of 
nature,  it  is  the  magical  formula  that  is  now  all-important. 

(M,  1)  Among  the  Mundas  of  Central  India  the  ancient  ideas  are  still 
preserved,  but  with  less  attention  to  moral  aspects.  It  is  Sin-Bonga-Misi, 
the  compassionate  "Lady",  the  sister  of  the  Sun-god,  that  carries  off  the 
human  pair,  that  saves  the  race  from  extinction,  that  pleads  with  her 
brother  for  the  salvation  of  man.  It  is  through  her  intercession  that  the 
divine  sentence  is  commuted, — two-thirds  of  humanity  will  be  saved. 
There  is  no  intimation  of  a  redeeming  son,  unless  it  be  Lutkum  Haram, 
the  first  ancestor  or  one  of  the  Ashurs,  which  in  view  of  parallel  cases,  is 
indeed  quite  probable. 

(M,  2)  In  Bantu  Africa  it  is  Mulungu  himself  that  contains  the  power 
of  pardon,  but  more  frequently  this  power  is  transferred  to  the  lower 
creation,  it  is  mulungu,  the  totem,  more  especially  the  hyaena,  that  is 
regarded  as  all  saving.  It  is  from  the  dispositions  of  this  animal,  whether 
propitious  or  malignant,  that  the  fate  of  humanity  often  depends.  He  is 
its  mediator. 

(M,  3)  In  Central  Australia,  again,  we  have  seen  that  the  quondam 
heavenly  One  Altjira  has  lost  his  control  over  human  life,  the  totems  are 
now  omnipotent.  Sun,  moon,  and  stars,  emus,  lizards,  and  snakes,  are 
here  recognised  as  all-powerful,  they  are  the  source  of  salvation,  which 
has  dwindled  down  to  a  mere  magical  ceremony  for  the  multiplication  of 
food,  the  control  of  the  weather. 

(M,  4)  Finally  in  the  North- American  prairies  we  have  the  Wakandn, 
who  as  the  "Great  Medicine",  is  undeniably  condescending, — only  tco 
much  so,  as  he  is  identified,  or  at  least  confused,  with  nearly  every  living 
or  shining  thing  in  the  universe.  Sun,  sacred  corn,  buffalo,  or  morning- 
star,  tliese  are  his  manifestations,  if  not  his  own  substance,  and  as  to  a 
personal  deliverer,  there  is  no  need  for  any  such  deliverer  when  the  powers 
of  nature  can  be  made  to  give  every  assistance  to  man.  Though  we  have 
made  due  allowance  for  religious  symbolism,  there  can  be  no  doubt  from 
the  practices  of  these  people  and  their  eschatology,  that  the  idea  of 
"redemption"  has  faded. 


306  REDEMPTION 

GENERAL  SUMMARY 

And  yet  it  would  not  be  safe  to  say  that  it  has  vanished.  Taking  the 
toleni-area  as  a  whole  the  following  statement  will  be  found,  I  think,  to 
represent  the  actual  state  of  affairs  as  nearly  as  possible: — 

(1)  Nature  of  the  Deliverance  Promised 

While  a  saving  triad  is  here  and  there  to  be  found,  more  especially  in 
India,  with  its  "queen  of  heaven",  it  will  readily  be  admitted  tliat  in  the 
more  advanced  regions  the  notion  of  a  saving  personality  has  been  largely 
eclipsed,  though  never  entirely  so.  No  doubt  the  W'akanda  is  the  remote 
source  of  salvation,  and  as  the  pitying  Sun-Father  a  dim  personality  may 
still  be  recognised.  But  in  practice  the  source  of  redemption  hoi  been 
transferred  to  the  totem,  it  is  nature  herself  that  will  save  man,  and  the 
divinity,  only  in  so  far  as  he  is  recognised  as  still  operating  under  the 
totem, — a  condition  which,  as  we  have  seen,  is  very  rare  and  e.xceptional. 
This  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  for  the  great  majority  of  mankind  there  is 
no  deliverance  from  nature,  it  is  only  the  favored  few  who  by  extra- 
ordinary penances  are  able  to  avoid  the  pains  of  reincarnation. 

(2)  Its  Motive  Has  Been  Naturalised 

With  tliis  important  fact  staring  us  in  the  face,  it  is  clearly  impossible 
to  speak  of  a  "motive"  of  redemption  in  any  proper  supernatural  sense, 
except,  as  I  say,  for  the  increasing  minority,  who  still  cling  to  tlie  Sun- 
Father  as  a  transcendent  Person.  For  them  indeed  He  is  a  unique 
Medicine,  whose  attributes  of  love  and  mercy  are  not  difTicult  to  demon- 
strate. But  for  the  rest  the  motive  has  been  secularised,  humanity  desires 
redemption  from  physical  not  from  moral  evils.  Examine  any  of  the 
fertilisation-rites  of  these  peoples,  and  you  will  be  convinced  that  their 
primary  object  is  utilitarian,  there  are  few  that  desire  the  blessing  of 
heaven  for  its  own  sake.  "God  helps  those  who  help  themselves",— this 
seems  to  be  their  motto. 

(3)   Its  Time  and  Extent  are  Entirely  Indefinite 

Still  mori'  hazy  is  the  notion  of  any  definite  time  or  era  when  the  sup- 
posed redemption  is  believed  to  be  operated.  There  is  no  definite  individ- 
ual cither  of  past  or  future  age  to  whom  they  are  looking  for  help, — the 
redemption  is  continuous  and  cyclic,  it  i.«  going  on  all  the  time, — and  the 
only  hint  of  its  future  consummation  on  a  higher  plane  is  the  devotion  to 
the  Morning-Star,  which  is  holding  out  a  feeble  hope  of  a  more  perfect 
age  to  come.  Moreover  if  two-thirds  of  humanity  are  saved  in  India,  the 
great  majority  return  as  bufl'alos  elsewhere,  and  this  is  a  clear  proof  that 
the  beatific  vision  is  outside  the  reach  of  humanity  as  such. 


REDEMPTION  307 

GENERAL  SUMMARY 

III.     REGENT  BELIEF 

In  the  more  recent  period,  known  as  the  second  stone  age,  the  old  triad 
reappears,  but  with  a  more  definite  cosmic  setting.  Heaven,  earth,  and 
ocean  are  now  definitely  hypostatised,  they  are  once  more  persons,  but 
with  a  strong  astronomical  background.  At  first  these  powers  are  hardly 
more  than  symbols,  the  mere  outer  shell  of  the  divinity,  but  in  time  the 
heavens  become  all-absorbing,  the  mind  of  the  deity  can  now  be  read  in 
the  stars,  and  finally  the  whole  machinery  of  creation  has  been  so  elab- 
orately studied  that  there  can  be  no  longer  any  doubt  that  a  unique  redemp- 
tion is  at  hand.  Taking  these  ideas  in  their  chronological  order  they 
appear  as  follows : 

(N,  1)  In  the  early  Babylonian  belief  it  is  Bel-Marduk  {Enlil-Bel),  who 
as  the  Lord  of  the  Air  triumphs  over  the  world-serpent,  Tiamat,  and  brings 
salvation.  Side  by  side  we  have  the  condescending  Ami,  the  supplicating 
Ea,  and  merciful  Bau,  surely  sufficient  evidence  of  benignity.  In  later 
times  all  eyes  are  turned  to  the  heavens,  it  is  Marduk- Jupiter  that  will 
inaugurate  a  new  age,  the  new  group  will  be  portentous  of  world-changes. 
(N,  2)  In  Egypt  it  is  Osiris  that  dies,  his  that  bears,  and  Horus  that 
delivers,  while  Nephtys  is  the  lady  in  waiting,  the  mother  of  the  house- 
hold. For  if  Ra  is  victorious  over  the  serpent  Apophis,  it  requires  a 
martyred  god  to  completely  effect  the  redemption,  and  Horus  is  his  tri- 
umphant son. 

(N,  3)  In  Assyria  the  personality  of  Ishtar  becomes  all-important, 
quite  independently  of  Ashur  and  Adad.  Like  the  Egyptian  Isis,  she  is 
the  mother-earth  or  the  corn-sheaf,  who  is  married  to  the  sun-god,  here 
the  old-Babylonian  Tammuz  {-Osiris),  and  brings  forth  the  latter(!). 
Here  sex-relations  have  been  confused.  Tammuz  is  husband,  brother,  and 
son  all  combined! 

(N,  4)  In  Palestine  there  is  hardly  a  trace  of  the  sexual  or  astrological 
among  the  early  Hebrews.  The  seed  of  the  woman  is  to  triumph  over  the 
serpent  from  the  days  of  Eden,  and  by  degrees  it  is  unfolded  that  her  son 
is  to  be  of  Semitic  blood,  of  Hebrew  race,  of  the  tribe  of  Juda,  of  the  house 
of  David,  of  supernatural  birth,  of  universal  dominion,  of  humble  yet 
royal  origin,  to  be  born  at  Bethlehem,  to  suffer  and  die,  a  victorious  yet 
martyred  King.  Only  in  the  Midrashim  is  the  "Star  of  Jacob"  the  sign  of 
his  near  advent. 

(N,  5)  In  Persia  it  is  Jupiter-Mithras,  the  angel  of  Light  and  Truth, 
that  is  to  be  the  bearer  of  a  unique  salvation,  but  the  story  of  the  magi 
shows  very  clearly  that  the  "Light  of  the  World"  was  found  in  the  "land 
of  the  west". 

(N,  6-7)  The  common  Indo-European  Adonis-cuU  is  paralleled  by  the 
Oceanic  Pulang-Gana-Tangaroa,  and  the  American  Poshaiyankya  and 
Quetzalcoatl. 


308  REDEMPTION 

GENERAL  SUMMARY 

To  focus  these  ideas  into  a  single  picture,  it  will  be  found  that  the 
main  points  for  which  we  are  contending  are  sulTiciently  well-established 
to  admit  of  the  following  summary. 

(1)  Nature  of  the  New  Redemption 

It  is  quite  clear  that  a  semi-divine  sonship.  whether  personal  or  cosmic 
is  the  main  theme  in  the  restored  pantheon.  All-Father-Heaven  is  mar- 
ried, either  mystically  or  sexually,  with  All-Mother-Earth,  and  either  with 
or  without  the  help  of  All-Father-Ocean,  they  bring  forth  All-Lands- 
Redeemer,  the  prophet  of  the  new  era, — the  universal  Bel.  But  although 
the  idea  of  personality  is  prominent,  it  has  been  confused  if  not  identified 
with  the  powers  of  nature,  it  is  God  as  a  personified  force,  not  as  an 
absolute  Person,  that  is  to  save  mankind,  and  herein  lies  the  weakness  of 
the  entire  system.  God  saves  by  his  "merciful  mother"  and  his  "incarnate 
son",  but  father,  mother,  and  son  are  world-powers,  not  pure  personal- 
ities, much  less  trinities.  This  is  proved  by  the  close  alliance  between 
deity  and  natural,  sometimes  sexual  force,  by  the  dominance  of  the  phallic 
cult  over  wide  regions,  and  above  all  by  its  continual  re-incarnation,  which 
shows  that  the  heaven  promised  is  indeed  a  'land  of  shades",  which  is 
still  to  be  conquered  by  the  All-Holy.  If  there  are  a  few  brighter  visions, 
Iranian,  Jewish,  these  are  precisely  the  exceptions. 

(2)  The  Motive  is  Physico-Ethical 

In  harmony  with  this  principle  the  motive  of  this  deliverance  is 
decidedly  mixed.  While  there  can  be  no  question  that  many  a  heart  was 
striving  for  spiritual  favors  of  the  highest  kind,  it  is  too  often  coupled 
with  the  useful,  the  sordid,  the  trivial,  the  mean,  and  even  the  sexual,  to 
be  regarded  as  unadulterated.  Humanity  tcants  redemption  for  moral  but 
primarily  for  physical  reasons, — it  pays  to  be  on  good  terms  with  Murduk- 
Osiris,  "the  land  will  prosper".  Here  also  the  spiritual  and  the  secular  are 
intertwined,  though  in  Palestine  and  Persia  we  note  the  dawn  of  a  purer 
ideal. 

(3)  The  Time  and  Extent  are  Pointing  in  Part  to  the  Fitire 

On  the  other  hand  there  are  indications,  that  although  humanity  is  in 
part  saved  or  saveable.  the  universal  redemption  is  yet  to  come.  This,  at 
first  vague,  gradually  develops  into  the  messianic  system,  which,  prophetic 
among  the  Ji'ws.  is  largely  astrological  among  the  gentiles.  The  Messiah 
is  to  be  known  partly  by  his  fulfilment  of  spoken  prophecy,  partly  by  his 
sign  in  the  hoavens, — and  both  combined  draw  the  Wise  Men  from  the 
East.  It  is  the  con%-ergence  of  all  the  sources,  whether  written  or  heavenly, 
whether  Jewish  or  Pagan,  that  leads  the  simple-hearted  of  all  nations  to 
the  Savior  of  the  World. 


REDEMPTION  30g 

RECONSTRUCTION 

Such  in  outline  is  the  scheme  of  redemption  as  it  appears  to  unfold 
itself  m  the  ever-brightening  pages  of  human  history.  It  is  as  much  a 
growth  as  the  "grain  of  mustard  seed",  the  evangelical  analogue  to  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  and  as  the  nature  of  a  thing  is  known  by  its  causes 
so  do  we  gain  a  more  vivid  realisation  of  its  meaning  and  its  final  con- 
summation now  that  we  are  able  to  trace  its  roots  far  into  the  infant 
ages  of  mankind.  Will  it  be  possible  to  obtain  a  "composite"  from  the 
numerous  pictures  that  are  here  represented,  to  read  a  definite  meaning 
and  content  into  their  combined  messages  in  such  sense  that  a  messianic 
promise  will  seem  to  be  postulated,  even  for  the  earliest  days  of  man's 
innocence?  We  must  be  careful  not  to  desire  to  prove  too  much,  to  pre- 
tend that  a  full  revelation  has  been  given  to  mankind  on  a  subject  which 
from  every  point  of  view,— whether  theological  or  historico-mythological— . 
was  to  be  gradual  and  germinal  rather  than  once  for  all  delivered  in  all 
its  fulness.  "First  the  sheaf,  then  the  corn,  then  the  full  ear  in  the  corn",— 
this  applies  with  equal  force  to  the  promise  of  a  divine  Deliverer,  which 
we  know  from  the  revealed  data  to  have  been  in  the  first  instance  typical 
and  adumbrative,  not  an  explicit  manifestation,  there  and  then,  as  to  pre- 
cisely who  He  was  to  be.  how  He  was  to  be  born,  and  in  what  manner  He 
was  to  triumph. 

The  Primitive  Promise  is  Vague  but  Reassuring 

Thus  it  cannot  be  proved,  and  it  is  vain  to  attempt  such  a  proof,  that 
primitive  man  had  a  clear  consciousness  of  a  divine  Savior  that  was  to 
come,  that  He  was  to  be  born  of  a  virgin,  that  He  was  to  live,  suffer,  and 
die  for  the  sins  of  humanity,  and  even,  as  some  have  asserted,  that  He  was 
to  rise  from  the  dead,  by  analogy  with  the  continual  re-birth  of  nature. 
Such  an  idea  stands  condemned  at  the  bar  of  theology  and  history  alike, 
the  triumph  of  the  seed  of  the  woman  over  the  serpent  is  typically  mes- 
sianic,—hut  it  is  nothing  more.  It  simply  means  that  a  great  deliverance 
is  promised,  that  He  shall  crush  the  serpent's  head,  and  that  He  and  His 
Mother  shall  be  victorious  over  sin,— all  the  details  were  reserved  for  a 
far  later  age,  man  was  not  to  know  the  entire  secret  at  once,  he  was  to  be 
patient  and  wait.  Now  this  is  in  harmony  with  the  earliest  gropings  of 
man  as  we  actually  find  them.  The  triumph  of  Amaka  over  the  evil  power, 
whether  as  serpent,  crocodile,  or  cobra,  implies  a  promise  of  redemption, 
though  its  exact  channels  are  as  yet  obscure.  There  is  a  hint,  but  only  a 
hint,  that  a  "Mother  of  God"  shall  in  some  way  co-operate  with  a  "Divine 
Son"  to  effect  the  redemption,  and  to  this  extent  it  is  a  Catholic  revelation. 
It  is  truly  consoling  to  think  that,  however  overgrown  by  mythology,  such 
a  message  should  be  dimly  readable  in  the  earliest  annals  of  the  human 
race. 


310  REDEMPTION 

RECONSTRUCTION 

Its  Subsequent  Development  is  Disappointing 

Here  we  have  the  germs  of  a  divine  promise  to  which  the  totem-cult 
of  the  succeeding  ages  adds  nothing  that  is  strikingly  new,  and  much  that 
is  trival  and  commonplace.  While  there  is  a  desire  to  expand  the  notion 
in  a  more  universal  and  cosmic  sense  by  making  the  deity  the  "Great 
Medicine",  the  great  healing  power  of  nature,  it  has  obscured  the  original 
picture  to  such  an  extent,  that  so  far  from  seeking  help  from  divine  per- 
sons, the  great  majority  are  now  turning  to  nature  in  her  lower  manifes- 
tations,— it  is  the  very  serpent,  formerly  the  object  of  horror,  that  is  now 
tiie  bringer  of  a  better  age,  that  will  procure  every  desired  benefit.  But 
this  is  an  extreme  development  which  cannot  be  called  normal.  The  all- 
seeing  buffalo  holds  out  a  slightly  higher  ideal,  and  in  the  Morning-Star 
of  Promise  we  note  the  first  intimation  that  the  all-pitying  Wakanda  will 
in  his  due  lime  bring  about  a  more  perfect  deliverance, — there  will  come 
a  time,  perhaps,  when  the  Sun-Father  will  be  nearer  and  dearer  to  his 
children,  He  will  be  the  immediate  source  of  their  happiness,  and  in  India 
the  Father-Mother  God  has  never  been  forgotten,  it  is  pitying  "queen  of 
heaven"  that  will  rescue  mankind. 

Its  Recent  Phase  is  Again  More  Hopeful 

The  divine  promise,  never  entirely  obscured,  now  gathers  additional 
momentum  by  its  alliance  with  the  study  of  the  heavens.  In  its  more 
modern  form  the  old  triad  becomes  more  and  more  astronomical,  the  All- 
Father  is  the  resplendent  Sun,  the  "King  of  the  Skies",  his  co-operating 
Mother  is  Istar-Venus,  the  "Queen  of  Heaven",  the  "beautiful  Lady",  the 
"Star  of  the  Sea",  the  boundless  Ocean  is  the  "Spirit  of  Wisdom"  out  of 
wliom  the  perfect  man  rises,  and  the  "divine"  child  is  Jupiler-Marduk,  the 
"Lord  of  the  Lands",  who  once  more  slays  the  eternal  dragon.  Here  we 
have  all  the  essentials  of  the  earlier  legends,  phis  the  star-cult,  and  it  can- 
not be  denied  that  the  framework  is  bi'auliful.  the  main  ideas  are  certainly 
inspiring. 

Its  Culmination  is  Only  too  Clear 

But  we  have  already  seen  how  theoretical  and  utterly  inadequate  is  the 
salvation  promised.  The  collapse  of  pagan  empires  through  internal  cor- 
ruption, and  with  it  of  the  national  hopes,  was  convincing  enough  that 
the  real  Star  of  Salvation  was  yet  to  rise,  the  Queen-Mother  was  yet  to 
come.  And  so  we  see  the  final  expectation  crystalised  upon  one  definite 
point.  It  was  upon  the  Land  of  the  West  that  the  eyes  of  the  world  were 
gradually  turned,  and  the  fact  that  the  divine  Child  was  recognised  by 
Jew  and  Gentile  alike,  is  a  clear  proof  that  the  main  current  of  the  expec- 
tation is  prehistoric. 


REDEMPTION  311 

APPLICATION 

Continuity  with  Expansion 

Thus  we  see  that  what  has  been  found  is  after  all  nothing  but  what  is  to 
be  expected, — a  gradual  unfolding  of  the  divine  plan,  in  which  the  whole 
world  is  by  degrees  prepared  for  the  great  event  of  the  ages, — the  coining 
in  flesh  and  blood  of  Him  who  in  some  form  or  other  had  always  been 
desired, — a  unique  and  universal  Deliverer.  Had  the  entire  scheme  been 
explicitly  revealed  from  the  commencement,  there  would  have  been  none 
of  those  grand  cycles  in  its  development,  which  we  hail  as  the  pedagogical 
method  by  which  the  Heavenly  Father  has  seen  fit  to  elevate  the  human 
race  by  a  gradual  process  of  enlightenment,  not  by  a  sudden  flare  of  his 
glory.  It  was  through  a  continual  moral  struggle  that  mankind  was  to 
merit  the  higher  light. 

A  Possible  Jarring  Note 

But  is  it  not  temerarious,  not  to  stay  blasphemous,  to  speak  of  saviors, 
divine  sons,  and  compassionate  mothers  as  even  faintly  sharing  the  attri- 
butes and  even  the  names  of  those  whom  they  are  supposed  to  typify? 
Does  it  not  detract  from  the  uniqueness  of  Christ  and  His  spotless  Mother 
to  find  that  their  titles  if  not  their  functions  have  been  in  part  anticipated, 
and  this  among  peoples  whom  we  can  hardly  consider  worthy  of  such  a 
message,  and  some  of  whom  we  have  found  to  be  notoriously  degenerate? 

A  Timely  Answer 

It  is  time  that  this  all-important  matter  were  finally  and  definitely 
cleared  up.  It  is  part  of  the  Catholic  Faith  that  God  has  given  a  revela- 
tion to  man  in  the  earliest  ages,  and  though  the  content  of  that  revelation 
is  of  the  broadest,  it  can  hardly  include  less  than  a  clear  knowledge  of  the 
divine  nature,  and  at  least  a  vague  adumbration  of  the  mystery  of  the 
Trinity  and  the  Incarnation.  On  this  all  the  best  and  most  conservative 
theologians  have  been  agreed.  Moreover,  if  the  Trinity  was  explicitly 
revealed, — as  some  will  hold — ,  and  if  salvific  grace  is  at  least  potentially 
universal,— as  all  must  hold,— it  will  stand  to  reason  that  unless  we  accept 
the  Lutheran  doctrine  of  the  utter  corruption  of  man,  there  must  be  some 
vestiges  at  least  of  a  belief  i7i  these  dogmas,  it  is  inconceivable  that  human- 
ity as  such  should  have  lost  the  entire  deposit.  This  would  mean  the  dam- 
nation of  practically  the  whole  of  the  human  race,  as  the  new  "children 
of  light"  are  only  a  fragment,  and  such  a  preposterous  doctrine  has  never 
been  approved  by  the  Church.  On  the  contrary  it  was  Alexander  VIII. 
who  strongly  condemned  the  proposition  of  Jansenius,— that  "Pagans. 
Jews,  heretics,  and  the  like,  rereivp  »o  influx  at  all  from  Jesus  Christ" 
/Deer.  S.  Off.  Dec.  1690). 


312  REDEMPTION 

The  Only  Possible  Interpretation 

Now  if  such  an  "influx"  be  admitted  into  the  heart  of  the  gentile,  and 
the  gentile  is  otherwise  blamelessly  ignorant  of  the  higher  message,  does 
it  not  follow  that  there  must  be  something  in  his  soul  to  prepare  him  for 
that  higher  light,  or  rather,  does  not  the  higher  light  diffuse  its  rays  into 
his  soul  in  such  manner  that  his  "pagan  superstitions"'  become  trans- 
formed, as  it  were,  into  a  higher  supernatural  illumination?  The  extent 
of  this  influx  is  of  course  problematical,  we  know  nothing  whatever  about 
it,  but  in  the  mean  time  it  is  quite  certain  that  "God  is  no  respecter  of 
persons,  but  in  every  nation  he  that  feareth  Him,  and  worketh  righteous- 
ness, is  accepted  of  Him"  (Act  10,  34). 

"Woe  unto  thee,  Chorazin!  Woe  unto  thee,  Bethsaida!  For  if  the 
mighty  works  which  were  done  in  you  had  been  done  in  Tyre  and  Sidon, 
they  would  have  repented  long  ago  in  sackcloth  and  ashes.  But  I  say 
unto  you.  It  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom  in  the  day  of 
judgment  than  for  thee  (Mat.  H,  21,  24).  These  terrible  words  from  the 
mouth  of  Christ  are  about  as  strong  evidence  as  can  be  desired  that  what- 
ever be  the  conditions  for  entering  the  New  Kingdom,  the  possibility  of 
salvation  is  held  out  to  the  pre-Christian  gentile  even  when  corrupted, 
though  this  does  not  excuse  him  of  course  from  following  the  higher  light 
when  sufTiciently  evidenced.  "He  that  believeth  not  shall  be  condemned" 
(Mk.  16,  16). 

The  Solution  op  a  Long-Standing  Difficulty 

I  have  already  referred  to  this  subject  in  previous  pages,  (p.  241  ff). 
Here  I  would  only  add  as  a  final  word,  that  the  possibility  of  pre-Christian 
redemption  through  the  merits  of  Christ  anticipated  is  not  a  private 
opinion,  but  a  necessity  flowing  from  the  Catholic  doctrine  of  the  univer- 
sality of  grace.  So  far  from  being  disquieted  by  finding  so  many  "pagan 
analogies",  we  should  thank  God  on  our  knees  that  He  has  never  "left 
Himself  without  witness",  that  the  light  has  never  entirely  vanished. 
"Why  was  Christianity  so  late  in  coming?" — this  is  a  difficulty  only  for 
those  who  cannot  see  the  Divine  Being  constantly  demanding  a  sacrifice  in 
the  numerous  savior-gods  of  humanity,  but  never  with  confusion,  never 
with  identification.  They  are  but  shadows  that  tell  of  the  coming  sub- 
stance,— broken  or  partial  lights.  A  soul  can  save  itself  by  this  shimmer 
only  in  so  far  as  it  is  a  refieclion  of  the  Light  of  the  World.  Far  from  de- 
tracting frim  tlif"  divinity  of  Christ,  wo  are  only  just  beginning  to  under- 
stand what  a  universal  Redeemer  really  means, — one  who  came  to  save  the 
whole  world,  and  not  the  one-hundredth  part  of  it! 


REDEMPTION  313 

Only  One  Light  of  the  Wofild 

And  thi3  leads  us  to  the  final  consideration  of  the  enormous  distance 
which  separates  the  incarnate  Son  of  God  from  any  of  His  so-called  fore- 
runners.   For  while  the  idea  of  a  semi-divine  filiation  to  the  Father  in 
heaven  is  common  enough,— being  suggested  by  the  natural  relation  of 
father  and  child  as  one  of  the  greatest  intimacy—,  the  title  "Son  of  God"  in 
the  Jewish-Messianic  and  Christian  sense  is  one  that  we  look  for  in  vain  in 
the  united  annals  of  the  past.  Of  not  one  of  these  demiurges  has  it  ever  been 
said  that  they  enjoyed  this  sonship  in  more  than  a  moral  and  transitory, 
sometimes  even  in  a  lower,  sexual,  and  decidedly  degenerate  sense.  We  have 
only  to  recall  the  sad  story  of  the  Horus-worshippers  of  Heliopolis,  of  the 
priests  of  Attis  in  Cappadocia,  nay,  even  of  the  Mithraic  initiates  of  the 
later  Roman  empire,  to  see  to  what  a  miserable  end  these  "sons  of  heaven" 
could  lead  their  clients,— they  could  bring  them  to  seek  salvation  in  the 
purely  sensible,  and  finally  in  unnatural  vice.    Even  the  great  Buddha  is 
on  his  own  confession  a  child  of  the  times,  a  mere  portion  of  the  machinery 
of  creation.    On  the  other  hand  the  brighter  side  of  the  picture  should  not 
be  ignored,  and  we  know  from  the  very  lips  of  the  Redeemer  that  Abraham 
indeed  "rejoiced  to  see  my  day,  he  saw  it  and  was  glad",  but  that  "before 
Abraham  was  made,  I  am".  (John,  8,  56).    All  this  implies  a  prehistoric 
mission  of  the  Messiah  to  humanity  at  large,  from  which  the  artificial  role 
of  a  purely  human  "mediator"  must  be  carefully  distinguished.    If  then 
we  find  a  few  faint  glimpses  of  supernatural  light  shining  through  the 
corrupted  folklore  of  the  ages,  if  the  carriers  of  this  light,  though  earth- 
born,  do  unquestionably  raise  humanity  to  a  higher  degree  of  spiritual  and 
moral  endeavor,  it  is  only  in  the  line  of  a  theological  conclusion  to  infer, 
that  such  illuminations  must  be  ultimately  traced  to  a  single  supernatural 
source,— it  is  Christ,  the  Light  of  the  World,  that  is  dimly  operating 
through  them.    In  this  way  the  idea  of  a  divine  sonship,  vaguely  reflected 
in  the  earliest  mythologies,  appears  in  such  persistent  and  strangely 
abrupt  form  that  we  are  almost  compelled  to  seek  some  extra-terrestrial 
or  superhuman  origin  for  its  ultimate  source.   And  this  is  in  harmony  with 
the  supernatural  character  of  the  Messiah.    If  Christ  were  a  mere  man,  the 
prophet  of  a  new  era,  could  he  speak  in  such  emphatic  tones  of  a  universal 
judgment  of  which  He  is  the  center,  the  only  source  of  appeal?    Gould 
He  judge  Babylon  and  Niniveh  and  Solomon  and  the  Queen  of  Sheba  with- 
out knowing  their  exact  position  in  the  scale  of  the  divine  mercy?    The 
fact  is,  this  knowledge  presupposes  His  divinity,  and  thus  the  prehistoric 
data  bear  witness  to  the  Godhead  of  Christ  as  a  super-omniscient  Person. 


M4  REDEMPTION 

Only  one  Mother  op  Humanity 

In  like  manner  the  position  of  the  Mother  of  God  in  the  scheme  of 
redemption  must  be  once  and  for  all  disconnected  from  any  female  cults, 
whether  contemporary  or  prehistoric.  For  the  same  act  which  has  made 
Christ  our  "Brother",  has  made  His  Father  "Our  Father",  and  His  Mother 
"Our  Mother".  If  we  find  spotlessness  in  the  one,  we  are  apt  to  look  for 
immaculateness  in  the  other,  the  whole  act  of  the  incarnation  must  be 
looked  upon  as  a  single,  tremendous,  world-transcending  process.  Hence 
the  derivation  of  the  Virgin-cult  and  the  Holy  Rosary  from  a  supposed 
Astarte-worship  of  the  early  Christians  cannot  but  provoke  a  smile.  After 
St.  Paul's  sermon  on  Diana  of  the  Ephesians  such  an  interconnexion 
would  have  broken  up  the  whole  of  the  Christian  community,  it  would 
have  spelt  death  to  the  Angelic  Salutation.  But  here  again  we  must 
enlsrge  our  horizon  if  we  would  estimate  the  true  import  of  these  phe- 
nomena. We  have  seen  that  from  the  very  dawn  of  the  human  race  there 
has  been  the  belief  in  a  female  "savior"  who  was  in  some  manner  to  co- 
operate in  the  scheme  of  redemption,  and  bring  forth  a  unique,  an  all- 
conquering  Deliverer.  Whether  as  the  simple  mother-god  of  Malaysia,  the 
queen  of  heaven  of  India,  or  as  the  stupendous  figures  of  the  Assyrian 
Ishtar  or  the  Egyptian  Isis,  these  facts  are  too  numerous  and  deep-rooted 
to  be  explained  on  purely  naturalistic  lines.  They  seem  to  be  crystallised 
into  one  definite  yearning,  "Mother  of  heaven,  help  us!"  Now  although  the 
idea  of  sympathising  womanhood  is  indeed  natural  enough,  it  seems  quite 
impossible  to  account  for  such  a  continuous  and  all-absorbing  devotion 
unless  we  admit  that  here  also  we  are  face  to  face  with  a  heavenly  and 
prophetical  adumbration.  For  just  as  the  Savior  of  mankind  was  "be- 
gotten before  all  worlds",  so  the  Divine  Maternity  is  dimly  forshadowed  in 
the  literature  and  the  prayers  of  humanity,  it  is  the  heavenly  Mother  that 
exists  in  the  divine  Mind  side  by  side  with  the  only-begotten  Son.  "For  be- 
hold from  henceforth  all  generations  shall  call  me  blessed!"  The  univer- 
sality of  this  cult  is  here  plainly  indicated,  and  thus  the  prehistoric  folk- 
lore on  this  subject  acquires  an  entirely  new  and  supernatural  interest;  it 
is  a  record  which  can  only  be  interpreted  in  the  words  of  Solomon  when 
speaking  of  the  divine  wisdom : — 

"The  Lord  hath  possessed  me  from  the  beoinning  of  his  ways,  before 
he  had  made  anytliing  from  the  beginning.  From  eternity  was  I 
appointed,  before  the  earth  existed.  The  depths  were  not  yet  made,  and  I 
was  already  conceived".  (Prov.  8,  22). 


CHAPTF.R  THE  FIFTH 


DE    DEO    S  ANCTIFIC  ANTE 


The  Origin  and  Development  of  the  Sacrificial  Rite  and  of  its  Accom- 
panying Sacramental  Observances 


PRIMITIVE  SACRIFICE 

rHE  "SADAKA" 


OK    TIIK     CAIN-AIIKI.     Ul'I'ElUNCi     AS    TIIK     ORK.INAI.     MODKI.     Ol       \l.l.     MA(  KIIKK     IN     IT!) 
l>OI  BI.E    ASI'KCT.— TIIK    ITRST    l-Rl  ITS    OK    THK     KAKIII.     AM)     IIIK     III<sri.lN(,>.     (l|       IHK 

IXOCK 


TIIK  SIMri.K  TIIKOWIM.  Ol  OIUKCTS  INTO  TIIK  ITKK  CONSTITI  TKS  TIIK  MOST  Rl  l>I- 
MKNTAKV  H>ltM  Ol  TIIK  IIOI.OI  At  ST.  ANI>  IS  STII.I.  IM<A(  Tl(  Kl>  RV  I'KIMITIVK  I'KOI'I.KS 
IN  IIIK  tMI  II  SIAIK  ll>  IIOI  IIIK  OII.IKl  I  -^  Mll(ll.|s|  V(,  |||K  lAfOI  111,11  I>I\ISION  Ol'  TIIK 
l-KIMIIMK  (  I  \S-«.^  SI  |;m,_|  UK  (  OUN  AMI  INK  ■.hikI'.  <iII  I  III  ^»  II  II  \\M'  ANIt  TIIK 
'III  I  I  AMI.'  -l.l.  MI.K.  \.  I  i:  Hlt\  .  I  A  KKI.II.KIN  IIKs  rillMIITIs.  i|-\l(ls.  mill  IT.  :<06-32i. 
«.    stIIMIIll.    I   lOI-KI   \(.    IIKK    <iOI  IKslllKK,     iMINSlKK.    ItfTil,    IT.    in3-in». 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS  315 


"Sacrifice  is  the  navel  of  the  world".  The  old  Hindoo  proverb 
expresses  the  supreme  act  of  religion  in  a  few  short  but  emphatic  words. 
However  much  a  man  may  feel  his  dependence  upon  a  Creator  of  all  by 
the  common  channels  of  prayer  and  of  mental  aspiration,  there  is  an 
instinctive  persuasion,  that  a  supreme  act  of  love  requires  some  form  of 
dedication, — some  giving,  immolating,  or  "offering  up"  of  a  creature — , 
through  which  that  love  may  be  brought  vividly  and  sensibly  to  the  sur- 
face. Such  a  dedication  may  be  considered  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  worshipper  or  the  substance  dedicated,  frequently  from  both  com- 
bined. In  so  far  as  the  object  itself  is  "sacrificed",  in  so  far  as  it  is  burnt, 
consumed  or  destroyed  with  a  view  of  propitiating  the  deity  or  imploring 
His  mercy  and  protection,  it  is  a  distant  forerunner  of  the  one  great  Holo- 
caust to  come,  it  is  destined  to  dissolve  in  the  One  all-sufficient  Sacrifice. 
In  so  far,  however,  as  the  entire  action  is  intended  for  the  personal  succor 
and  sanctification  of  man,  it  acquires  also  a  subjective  terminus,  in  which 
the  fruits  of  the  sacrifice  are  applied  to  the  personal  and  spiritual  needs  of 
the  individual,  a  consecrating  act  to  be  performed  here  and  now  with  a 
definite  and  divinely  established  ritual.  This  is  the  legal,  positive,  and 
ceremonial  side  of  the  action,  which,  though  essentially  the  same  as  the 
redemptive,  emphasises  more  especially  its  institutional  aspect, — the  exact 
forms  and  ceremonies  under  which  the  great  healing  action  of  the  deity  is 
believed  to  take  place,  to  be  in  some  sense  perpetuated.  It  is  because  the 
entire  ritual  brings  this  action  vividly  before  the  mind  and  senses  of  man, 
that  it  may  be  fittingly  called  the  subject  redemption,  and  this  is  applied 
adequately  only  in  the  Seven  Sacraments  of  the  New  Law. 

What  is  the  Essence  op  Sacrifice? 

At  the  very  outset  we  are  confronted  with  the  time-honored  difficulty 
which  concerns  the  nature  and  essence  of  the  sacrificial  act.  Is  it  a 
sacri-ficium,  a  mere  making  holy,  a  setting  apart,  a  taboo,  an  abstention. — 
or  does  it  include  some  notion  of  destruction,  consumption,  or  elemental 
change  in  the  thing  offered  to  constitute  what  we  call  a  real  holocaust?' 

In  other  words,  there  is  the  gift-theory  and  the  destruction-theory  of 
sacrifice;  and  some  light  in  this  direction  cannot  fail  to  be  welcome,  if 
only  to  show  how  the  greater  part  of  humanity  has  felt  on  a  subject 
which  is  so  intimately  bound  up  with  its  religious  and  even  its  secular  life. 


*  Recent  light  on  this  subject  in  Fr.  Renz,  Die  Geschichte  des  Messopferbegriffs.  2 
Vols.  (Freising,  1901).  Pohle,  Art.  "Sacrifice",  Cath.  Encyclopaedia.  Comp.  V.  Thalhofer, 
Das  Opfer  des  alten  u.  des  neuen  Bundes,  (Ratisbon,  1870).  an  old  but  very  clear  work 
(Scholastic  sources. — see  below') , 


316  SACRIFICE   A^fD   SACRAMENTALS 

A  Question  of  Definitions 

Now  whatever  may  be  the  popular  or  etymological  meaning  that  may 
be  attached  to  the  term,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  by  the  unanimous  con- 
sont  of  antiquity,  whether  Pagan.  Jewish,  ur  Christian,  a  sacrifice  is  more 
Ihuii  a  mere  oblation  or  olTering  up  of  tin-  gift,  but  requires  in  addition 
I  he  destruction,  consumption,  or  burning  of  that  gift  in  such  manner  that 
a  substantial  or  accidental  change  can  be  truly  said  to  affect  it,  that  it 
obtains  in  some  sense  a  new  mode  of  existence. 

The  Accepted  Definition 

Hence  the  accepted  scholastic  definition  is  worded  as  follows: — 
"The  oblation  of  a  innienal  gift  to  the  Deity,  and  its  partial  or  total 
destruction  or  mutation  at  the  hands  of  a  lawfully  appointed  minister,  in 
order  to  acknowledge  His  supreme  dominion  and  to  placate  His  justice".^ 
The  only  reason  why  this  definition  was  ever  called  in  question  and 
even  rejected,  was  because  on  tlie  one  hand  there  were  those  who  rejected 
the  notion  of  an  external  immolation  in  toto, — the  standpoint  of  early 
Buddhism  and  of  primitive  Mohammedanism — ,  or  at  least  in  part. — the 
position  of  modern  Protestanism  with  its  purely  symbolic  sacrifice — .  or 
because  on  the  other  hand  there  were  those  in  the  Cathlic  Church  who  felt 
it  difficult  to  conceive  how  the  glorified  and  unsutTering  Christ  could  be 
said  to  be  in  any  real  sense  "immolated"  on  the  altar,  how  the  eternal  and 
ever-living  God  could  be  described  as  still  further  stripping  Himself  of 
his  divine  attributes  by  living  a  "sutTering"  life  under  the  species.  It 
will  thus  be  seen  that  our  definitions  hang  together  with  our  theology. 
If  our  theology  is  physical  and  realistic,  our  sacrifice  will  be  so  also, 
if  Christ  was  really  slain  on  the  Cross,  He  is  at  least  mystically  slain  in  the 
Eucharist,  and  the  only  difTicult  point  will  be  to  determine  the  exact 
extent  to  which  this  martyred  life  can  be  described  as  a  '"kenosis",  as  a 
further  emptying  of  the  life  of  glory, — as  a  mystical  death. 

Its  Prehistoric  Verification 

It  is  part  of  our  present  purpose  to  investigate  the  notions  of  primi- 
ive  man  on  this  subject,  with  a  view  to  determining  how  far  the 
above  formula  is  verified  in  the  sacrificial  ideas  and  practices  as  we  act- 
ually find  them,  how  far  the  offering  up  of  the  gift  involves  a  consump- 
tion of  the  gift,  and  in  what  sense  this  consumption  is  to  be  understood. 
Does  it  necessitate  a  burning  of  the  victim,  or  is  a  simple  "transformation" 
sufTlcient?  .\s  it  is  common  to  base  our  definitions  upon  what  we  actually 
find,  a  preponderance  of  practice  in  this  regard  ought  to  furnisli  a  valuable 
supplement  to  the  traditional  doctrine.  II  will  show,  as  we  shall  presently 
see,  that  some  form  of  external  immolation  is  practically  universal. 


'  Compare  S.  Thomas,  2,  2,  q.  85,     Suarez.  de  Euchar.  disp.  73.     DeLugo,  de  Euch    diip. 
19,  1.    Thalhofer.  op.  cit.  p.  5  for  th*  main  points  of  thi«  definition 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS  317 

Two  Important  Matters  at  Issue 

This,  however,  is  the  least  vital  of  the  problems  that  are  hereby  opened 
out.  A  far  more  searching  and  important  question  is  that  which  concerns 
the  material  object  of  sacrifice,  the  question,  namely,  whether  in  the  offer- 
ing of  this  gift  there  is  the  remotest  consciousness  that  the  divinity  is  in 
any  sense  in  the  gift,  that  He  suffers  and  dies  with  the  victim  offered. 
Closely  allied  with  this  is  the  equally  interesting  problem  as  to  how  far 
there  is  any  correspondence  whatever  between  the  purely  natural  actions 
by  which  the  savage  consecrates  the  various  periods  of  his  life  by  more  or 
less  appropriate  ceremonies  and  those  higher  channels  of  supernatural 
power  that  are  in  the  exclusive  gift  of  the  Seven  Sacraments. 

(1)   IS  THE  HOLOCAUST  AN  IMMOLATION  OF  GOD? 

As  to  the  first  question,  it  is  sufficiently  startling  even  in  its  bare  pre- 
sentment to  merit  a  careful  and  critical  consideration.  In  these  days  when 
men  are  seeking  for  so  many  precursors  to  Christian  dogma,  so  many 
anticipations  of  the  Cross  of  Calvary,  it  is  a  matter  of  life  and  death  to 
obtain  a  clear  understanding  of  the  meaning  and  content  of  these  sup- 
posed "immolations"  of  the  divine,  and  not  play  fast  and  loose  with  a 
question  which  is  too  serious  to  be  dismissed  in  a  few  sentences.  If 
God  has  already  been  sacrificed  in  the  pre-Christian  ages  of  man,  it  is  clear 
that  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Cross  loses  all  of  its  absolute  value,  it  becomes  a 
mere  climax  to  a  series  of  similar  sacrifices  throughout  the  cycles  of  time, 
a  mere  "culmination."  This  is  the  standpoint  of  a  great  deal  of  our 
modern  pantheism  and  mystical  zoolatry,  and  it  is  surely  worth  while  to 
face  this  problem  in  serious  earnest,  to  look  into  these  "divine"  victims 
with  a  view  to  ascertaining  to  what  extent  such  a  preposterous  claim  has 
any  title  whatever  to  our  consideration. 

The  Answer  Gives  Birth  to  a  Wonderful  Implication 

Now,  in  handling  this  subject,  there  are  two  methods  that  have  guided 
our  analysis  of  the  situation.— the  one  negative,  by  repudiating  an  equa- 
tion, the  other  positive,  by  revealing  an  "adumbration."  And  by  this  I 
mean  that  all  the  so-called  immolations  of  the  deity  will  be  found  to  col- 
lapse in  a  heap  of  mysticism  which  entirely  destroys  the  pure  notion  of 
a  God  actually  dying  and  sacrificed,— there  is  in  fact  )io  pre-Christian 
immolation  of  God  in  any  sense  whatsoever.  On  the  other  hand,  the  idea 
of  a  suffering  and  dying  god.  being  undoubtedly  found  in  some  of  the 
rituals,  is  so  tarnished  with  the  sensual,  the  imperfect,  and  even  the  crimi- 
nal, that,  so  far  from  detracting  from  the  value  of  the  One  Unique  Sacrifice, 
they  are  on  the  contrary  the  strongest  proofs  that  no  theistic  immolation 
has  ever  been  conceived;  they  make  the  Cross  of  Christ  shine  with  renewed 
splendor  in  that  they  show  that  in  the  Jewish  sacrifices  alone  have  we  a 
distinct  type  of  the  future  deliverance,  the  "suffering"  god  of  Paganism 
being  merely  the  result  of  excessive  anthropomorphism,— a  diseased 
concept. 


318  SACRIFICE   AND   SACRAMENTALS 

(2)     Can  the  "Medicines"  be  compared  with  the  Seven  Sacraments? 

But  as  the  objective  sacrifice  is  but  the  type  and  model  of  5e//-sacririce, 
it  is  both  preceded  and  followed  by  other  practices  which  together  with  it 
constitute  the 

Primitive  Ceremonial  Observances 

These  are  partly  of  individual,  partly  of  social  import,  and  are  designed 
to  prepare  or  dispose  the  worshipper  for  the  full  realisation  of  the  sacrifice 
as  such,  to  apply  the  fruits  of  the  sacrifice  to  his  own  personal  and 
domestic  needs.  I  have  arranged  them  under  the  following  heads: — 
Birth-ceremonies,  hiitiation,  Immolation  {or  Sacrifice  as  such),  Expia- 
tion, Priesthood,  Matrimony,  Burial.  Such  an  arrangement  is  not  an  arti- 
ficial contrivance,  but  is  based  on  the  natural  order  or  succession  of 
primitive  ritualistic  practices  as  they  will  and  must  follow  one  anotiier 
from  birth  to  death.  From  the  washing  of  the  infant  to  the  funeral  of 
the  priest  or  headman,  there  is  bound  to  be  a  vague  similarity  of  thought 
and  practice  in  all  religions,  and  if  the  general  scheme  reminds  us  at  first 
sight  of  the  Christian  mysteries,  it  should  be  understood  they  have  been 
purposely  selected  and  placed  in  this  order,  not  to  establish  a  parallel,  but 
because  they  are  undoubtedly  founded  on  the  natural  law,  and  must  as 
such  find  some  counterpart,  though  only  the  slenderest,  with  the  revealed 
supernatural  system. 

The  Comparisons  Fade  Away  on  Closer  Inspection 

For,  in  the  first  place,  the  number  "seven"  cannot  be  forced  upon  the 
pre-Ciiristian  rites  as  in  any  way  essential,  but  must  be  looked  upon  as 
Christian  impress.  In  the  second  place  the  order  of  the  medicines  is  no/ 
the  order  of  the  sacraments  except  in  a  few  instances, — it  is  often  reversed. 
In  the  third  place,  the  power  conveyed  in  the  medicine  difi'ers  from  that 
in  the  sacrament  by  mountains  of  immeasurable  magnitude.— in  the  first 
case  we  are  dealing  with  natural,  in  the  second  with  supernatural  power.' 

The  "Order  op  Melchisedech"  Reveals  the  Messl\h 

Finally,  as  the  objective  and  subjective  redemption  find  their  only 
source  in  the  Redeemer,  it  will  be  correspondingly  important  tu  separate 
not  only  the  Crucifixion  from  the  criminal  execution,  but  in  an  equally 
direct  sense,  the  Mass  from  the  Mincha,  the  Eucharist  from  the  Passover. 
Here  also  it  will  be  found  that  while  certain  similarities  are  founded  on 
certain  divine  and  prophetic  analogies,  more  especially  on  that  of 
Melchisedech,  the  new  Mystery  of  Love  stands  on  an  entirely  original  fool- 
ing, and  the  prehistoric  data  serve  only  to  bring  out  the  antiquity  and 
dignity  of  the  unbloody  sacrifice. 

Let  us  now  make  tiie  rounds  with  primitive  man  on  this  subject,  be- 
ginning again  with  the  far  East.  It  is  only  by  amassing  a  large  body  of 
material  that  any  definite  light  on  these  questions  can  be  hoped  for. 

•  On  the  origin  and  fitness  of  the  number  "seven"  as  supplying  seven  spiritual  needs  in 
the  life  of  man,  see  Pourrat,  Theology  of  the  Sacraments,  (St.  Louis,  1910),  pp.  277-283. 
Tanqucrey.  Syiiop.  Theol.  Dogm.  (N.  Y.,  1908).  Vol.  III.  p.  166.  S.  Thorn.  III.  q.  65. 
art.  I,  (comparison  with  the  natural  order). 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS  319 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 

(A)  Malakkan  Rite 

The  following  practices  are  common  to  all  three  sections  of  aboriginals 
except  where  otherwise  stated : — 

(1)  Birth-ceremonies:— The  soul  is  believed  to  come  from  the  Paradise- 
Tree  and  to  be  carried  by  the  Soul-bird  to  the  expectant  mother.  This  is 
commonly  the  small  Argus-Pheasant  which  brings  the  soul  to  the  nearest 
tree,  known  as  the  Birth  or  Name-Tree.  As  a  rule  the  future  mother 
abstains  from  all  food  except  that  derived  from  the  bird  and  the  tree.  The 
bird  is  caught  in  the  Birth-Bamboo,  (Tahong),  and  finally  eaten.  The 
mother  decorates  the  tree  with  fragant  leaves  and  blossoms.  At  the 
moment  of  birth  the  child's  name  is  solemnly  pronounced  by  the  midwife, 
(or  medicine-man),  the  name  being  taken  from  the  Birth-Tree,— thus 
Nipong,  Palm,  Pishang,  Banana,  Durian,  Rambutan,  etc.  luscious  fruits. 
From  that  time  the  tree  is  taboo  for  the  child,  though  not  for  the  mother. 
At  the  same  time  the  child  is  washed  or  purified  with  merrian-water  which 
is  kept  in  the  chit-nat  or  water-bamboo,  the  latter  being  decorated  with 
religious  emblems,— crosses,  zigzags,  etc.  representing  the  Sky-Father's 
breath,  finger-prints,  etc.  (benediction  signs?)  Purification  with  merrian- 
water  lasts  one  month  for  the  mother  and  ten  days  for  the  infant.  The 
average  number  of  children  is  said  to  be  four,  and  infanticide  rare. 
Child-bearing  continues  up  to  40  or  50  years  of  age.  (Main  features  are 
common  to  all  the  tribes,  but  the  Soul-bird  is  more  conspicuous  among 
the  negritos,  while  the  Jakuns  have  special  charms  against  birth-demons). ^ 

(2)  Initiation: — Maturity-rites  are  not  strongly  developed  in  the  penin- 
sula. The  most  common  ceremony  is  that  of  anointing  the  candidate  ivith 
coconut  oil  or  turmeric  as  a  sign  that  he  is  admitted  to  full  membership 
of  the  clan.  Body-paint  is  freely  used  by  the  Senoi,  and  shaving  the  head, 
tooth-filing,  nose  and  ear-boring,  are  likewise  represented,  as  well  as  the 
custom  of  sprinkling  the  neophyte  with  the  juice  of  the  mystic  fern.  The 
designs  on  the  face  and  body  are  often  duplicates  of  the  bamboo-patterns, — 
which  suggests  a  religious  meaning,  (consecration  to  the  Sky-Father,  etc.) 
The  ceremony  is  performed  by  the  blian  or  headman,  frequently  at  night, 
with  lighted  fires,  and  in  the  presence  of  women  and  children.  The 
Mantras  frequently  assume  the  parental  title  of  Pa  and  Ma  at  initiation. 
It  is  to  be  noted  that  neither  circumcision  nor  the  full  perforation-tattoo 
is  practiced  by  any  of  the  tribes  in  the  wild  state,  and  that  initiation-rites 
tend  to  become  more  simple  the  more  isolated  the  people  who  practice 
them.=  These  are  a  few  of  the  practices  by  which  the  youth  becomes  as  it 
were  "graduated"  into  the  community.  While  many  of  these  ordeals  bor- 
der on  the  funny  and  the  phantastic  they  are  peculiarly  free  from  the  cruel 
and  the  unnatural.  They  are  simply  suggested  by  the  universal  instinct  of 
human  nature, — "You  are  now  a  man!" 


'  Skeat,  Pagan  Races.  II.  1-27.    =  Idem.  II.  28-54     Compare  also  II.  16-17. 


320  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 

Malakkan  Rite 

(3,  a)  Unbloody  Sacrifice: — According  to  Skeat,  "the  only  common 
form  of  offering,  which  consists  in  the  burning  of  incense,  (benzoin),  is 
found  among  all  branches  of  these  tribes,  other  forms  of  offering  being 
comparatively  rare".  But  the  sacrifice  does  not  terminate  in  the  incense. 
This  is  but  the  symbol  for  a  mystical  dedication  of  a  far  different  kind, — 
the  ofTering  up  to  the  Deity  of  the  first  fruits  of  the  earth.  They  take  two 
bamboo  cylinders,  and  in  one  they  place  the  blossom,  in  the  other  the  juice 
of  the  mystic  Palm,  these  being  the  supposed  "body"  and  the  "blood"  of 
the  divinity.  The  Putto  then  raises  the  tubes,  exposes  the  sacred  blossom, 
and  with  the  wafting  of  lights  and  incense,  either  lifts  or  throws  the  con- 
tents into  the  air,  using  such  words  as — 

"Ye  ma-loi  putek  pe  met  katopl"  "Blossom,  I  offer  you  to  Heaven!" 

"Ye  ma-loi  putek  pe  met  katop!"  "Fruit,  I  lift  you  to  the  sky!" 

That  this  a  genuine  invocation  to  the  Sky-Father  is  proved  by  the  fol- 
lowing:— 

(1)  Kari-Ple  literally  means  "Thunder-Fruit"  and  though  He  is  an  all- 
ruling  Master  above,  this  postulates  an  essential  connexion  between  deity 
and  object, — it  is  "fruit"  that  is  here  offered  to  "thunder." 

(2)  Pie  especially  has  the  power  of  self-transformation,  by  which 
appears  under  the  fruit-form,  all  magic  trees  etc.  becoming  ipso  facto  his 
"body," — a  false  and  decidedly  empty  anthropomorphism. 

(3)  The  secret  remedies  thrown  by  the  Puttos  into  the  air,  and  pre- 
served in  bamboo  cases,  are  partly  solid,  partly  liquid  in  nature, — "magic 
flower",  "mystic  fern-juice".  This  implies  a  twofold  lifting  of  the  con- 
tents. 

(4)  If  then  the  above  formula  is  attested  for  the  throwing  of  human 
blood,  a  similar  setting  of  words  must  surely  be  found  for  the  unbloody 
rite.  In  this  case  the  llesh  of  the  fruit  is  expressed  by  putek  (blossom), 
and  the  juice  by  rnahum  (blood),  pe  met  katop  being  a  general  expres- 
sion for  "upwards"  (heaven,  sun,  daylight),  the  abode  of  the  supreme 
Thunder-God.  It  is  therefore  certain  that  this  is  tlie  gist  of  the  invocation, 
its  approximate  wording. 

More  in  the  line  of  a  charm,  though  originally  serving  no  doubt  the 
same  purpose,  is  the  Chinduai,  or  "Love-Plant",  and  the  Biduli  Perindu, 
or  "Yearning  Bamboo".  In  both  cases  the  sacred  herb  or  splinter  is 
offered  up  with  very  similar  practices, — exposition  of  the  blossom,  burn- 
ing of  incense  in  a  coconut  shell,  ligliling  of  beeswax  tapers  or  "point- 
ings" to  scare  away  demons,  and  the  fasting  condition  of  tlie  worshipper. 
All  this  shows  that  the  ceremony  is  no  mere  form,  but  a  solemn  function 
whoso  sacriligeous  violation  is  punishable  with  death.  It  is  the  All- 
Father's  means  of  making  his  children  "supernaturaily  beautiful  and 
invulnerable",  of  imparting  to  them  His  heavenly  gifts,— it  is  the  so-called 
Sorfa/fo-sacrifice  of  the  "Magic  Flower". "n 

•aSkeal,  II.  199  (offerings),  205-215  (Kari-Ple  legends).  (Palm-taboo),  737  (formula), 
608   (putek),  232.  261,  310  (Love-Plant.  Yearning-Baraboo.  Pointings). 


PRIMITIVE  SACRIFICE 
(MALAKKAN  RITE) 

THE  FIRST-FRUIT  OFFERING 

<TB    MA-LOI    PtI-TKK    PK-MET    KATOPl" 


^  Off eK  voQ  r^ 


•  ^  Uft  you  "^^ 


THE  PUTTO  RAISES  THE  MAGIC  FLOWER 

-TO  MAKE  MEN  SVPEBNATrB^LJ  BEArXITl^  AP.U  x«  BAMBOO    CB088, 

raOWINO    PALMS.    BAMBOOS     BEESWAX^T-^ERS^^O^^  ^^^^^  ^^^ 

THBOWING-CBV8TAL8    AND  PO^TING-STICKS    B^E  O^  ^^^^^  ^  ^^  OIL-BAMBOO  ANP 

M^OIC  «»'B-^„^=i^^^,^'=xkK  PATENT    (9KKAT.  IX>0.  OIX.  TSTUA.) 


PRIMITIVE  SACRIFICE 
(MALAKKAN  RITE) 

THE  'BLOOD'  OFFERING 

TX   ILILOI    MA-Hm    PE-MTT    K^TOPr 


"^ROW  VOU^ 


THE  PLTTO  THROWS  THE  MYSTIC  BLOOD    INTO  THE  AIR 

rUKMOXT  OF  THX  K0R-LO1-KXU.0I.  TN  WHICH  PAUf-JTirB  OB  HTMAN   BLOOD  D  MTCKD 

WITH     \    QIAVTITT    OF    WATER    AND    THKOWX    D»    A    BAMBOO    CYLI>T)tB    VP    TO    THI    SKT 

MTTH  THE  OBJXCT  OF  ArKSTI>G  TUX  LiCUTXTNU. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS  321 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 

Malakkan  Rite 

(3b)  Bloody  Sacrifice: — The  only  sanguinary  ofTering  so  far  reported 
is  the  comparatively  harmless  one  known  as  the  Kor-loi-melloi  or  blood- 
throwing  ceremony.  "In  order  to  appease  the  angry  deity",  says  Vaughan- 
Stevens,  "men  and  women  of  all  ages  are  in  the  habit  of  cutting  the  skin 
covering  the  shins  to  obtain  a  few  drops  of  blood.  One  cut  is  usually 
sufficient,  so  that  on  the  whole  very  little  blood  is  drawn.  The  cuts  are 
made  diagonally  across  the  leg,  are  from  6  to  10  mm.  in  length,  and  are 
said  to  have  been  formerly  made  with  a  stone  (or  bamboo?)  knife,  though 
now  with  the  ordinary  jungle-knife  or  parang,  which  was  knocked  with 
a  piece  of  wood  until  blood  was  drawn.  The  blood, — it  need  only  be  a 
drop — ,  is  either  sucked  or  dropped  into  a  long  bamboo  receptacle,  and  a 
quantity  of  water  (sufficient  to  half  fill  the  bamboo)  is  poured  in  with  it. 
The  Semang  then  turns  in  the  direction  of  the  setting  sun,  and  doling 
out  the  liquid  with  a  special  bamboo  spatula,  throws  it  straight  up  into 
the  air,  calling  out  with  a  loud  voice. 

"Ye  ma-loi  m/ihum  pe  met  katop!"  "Blood,  I  throw  you  up  to  Heaven!" 
"Ye     tarek     mahum,     ya     tarek     "/    draw    blood!    I    draw    curdled 

mahum!"  blood!" 

"Ye  ma-loi  mahum  pe  met  katop!"     "Blood,   I    throw    you    up    to    the 

Sun!" 

or  words  to  that  effect,  the  invocation  being  repeated  each  time  that  the 
liquid  is  thrown  up,  until  all  is  finished". 

As  to  the  moral  purpose  of  the  sacrifice,  "Kari  himself  makes  no  use 
of  the  blood  thus  sacrificed,  but  is  pacified  by  this  sign  of  his  children's 
repentance,  and  ceases  to  hurl  thunderbolts  and  to  continue  his  com- 
plaints of  their  misdeeds  to  their  creator  (demiurge)  Pie,  at  least  until 
they  again  give  him  occasion  to  do  so.  Pie,  however,  employs  the  blood 
thus  obtained  in  order  to  create  certain  red  jungle-fruits  which  serve  as 
food  for  man,  as  for  instance  the  well-known  rambutan".  "The  Puttos 
themselves  did  not  cut  themselves,  but  instead  of  doing  so,  threw  their 
secret  remedies  (which  they  preserved  in  bamboo  cases)  into  the  air. 
From  these  Pie  created  certain  white  jungle-fruits"  (Love-plants,  etc.  see 
above). 

This  ceremony  is  confirmed  by  Skeat,  who  found  it  very  widely  dis- 
tributed, and  it  is  one  of  the  most  distinctive  and  interesting  rites  in  all 
prehistoric  antiquity,  symbolising  the  first  consciousness  of  sin  as  requir- 
ing more  than  a  mere  fruit-oblation.  In  its  more  common  practice  the 
performer  takes  any  suitable  bamboo,  and  throws  the  mixture  into  the  air 
directly,  the  whole  being  regarded  as  an  atonement  sacrifice  for  the  sins 
of  man, — an  undoubtedly  ethical  and  noble  concept.*" 


»b  Vaughan-Stevens.  apud  Skeat,  II.  204-205.    Comp.  II.  297  (for  the  Blanda-rite).  737 
(formula). 


322  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 
Malakkan  Rite 

(4)  Expiation: — But  if  the  preceding  rites  are  for  the  most  part  latreutic 
or  propitiatory,  there  are  others  which,  like  the  birth-ceremonies,  are 
essentially  purgative, — they  are  designed  to  expel  the  demons,  to  reconcile 
the  fallen  sinner  with  the  Father  on  high.  For  there  exists  a  general  per- 
suasion among  these  peoples  that  si7i  and  evil  are  of  demoniacal  origin, 
that  "they  must  have  done  something  wrong  before  any  demon  gets  per- 
mission from  Peng  {or  Tuhan)  to  attack  them".  Consequently  a  large  part 
of  their  ritual  consists  in  the  expulsion  of  demons  in  the  form  of  diseases, 
which  are  exorcised  by  practices  which  are  severely  penitential.  The  fol- 
lowing is  the  Sawai  ceremony  for  casting  out  devils  as  practiced  by  the 
Senoi : — 

"The  patient  is  laid  with  the  head  towards  the  west  under  cover  of  a 
roof  or  screen  made  from  the  fresh  leaves  of  a  palm,  which  resembles  the 
Areca-Palm,  and  is  called  "Dampong".  This  is  the  "medicine-hut"  which 
is  universal  among  these  tribes  and  which  originally  stood  in  the  depths 
of  the  forest  and  into  which  none  but  the  magician  or  medicine-man 
might  enter.  It  is  hung  with  a  medley  of  bones,  leaves,  and  flowers,  and 
bamboos  of  all  sizes  are  scattered  about  in  every  corner,  inscribed  with 
mystical  patterns.  An  opening  is  left  through  which  the  penglima  or 
pawan  (priest)  enters.  "This  entrance  can  be  closed  so  as  to  conceal  both 
patient  and  magician  from  observation.  The  latter  takes  a  censer  (sang- 
kwi)  with  him,  which  consists  of  a  half  coconut-shell  containing  burnt 
rezin  (benzoin).  He  then  squats  down  at  the  feet  of  the  invalid,  and  rais- 
ing himself  breast-high  swings  the  censer  seven  times  over  the  patient's 
couch.  Next  he  seizes  a  leaf  of  the  Dampong-Palm,  and  therewith  belabors 
the  invalid,  or  rather  the  demon  by  which  he  is  possessed,  with  the  object 
of  driving  it  into  the  network  of  loops  or  a  cage  which  hangs  over  the 
head  of  the  patient".  During  this  ceremony  the  Blandas  pronounce  the 
following  prayer  or  invocation: — 

"0  Spirit-guides,  both  all  and  sundry, 
Both  large  and  small,  and  old  and  young, 
I  crave  your  help  in  healing  him, 
Whose  soul  is  sick,  ivhose  body  stricken!" 

Now  it  is  quite  true  that  there  is  a  magical  side  to  these  functions 
which  makes  them  hardly  more  than  therapeutic  spells.  But  when  we 
consider  that  an  accusation  of  guilt  is  frequently  demanded  by  the  clan 
chieftain  who  was  originally  identified  with  the  exorcising  minister,  and 
that  their  object  is  ultimately  moral, — they  take  on  a  semi-religious 
aspect,  soiled  though  they  are  by  their  largely  utilitarian  character.* 


«Skeat,  II.  229,  242,  252,  257  (Sawti-exorcism),  295-296  (Blanda-rite).  Cp.  I.  4Mff. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  323 

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Malakkan  Rite 

(5)  Priesthood.-And  this  leads  to  the  subject  of  the  officiating  head- 
man There  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  the  earliest  times  this  office  was 
identined  with  that  of  the  family  father,  it  was  the  paterfamilias  who  was 
himself  the  family-priest,  and  only  by  degrees  was  a  separate  caste  or 
professional  ministry  instituted.  Here  in  MalakJia  this  evolution  may  be 
clear  y  traced,  though  nearly  all  these  tribes  have  advanced  beyond  the 
simple  family  patriarchate.  Its  stages  may  be  indicated  as  follows-— 
Peng  Penglima  Pengulu  (Father),  Sna-Hut,  Batin,  Blian,  (medicine  man) 
Putto,  (great  chief),  Raja  (great  ruler,  priest-king,  etc).  In  this  way  the 
priesthood  is  derived  from  God.-the  first  "Peng".  Skeat  thus  writes  of 
their  character  and  functions  : 

"In  the  Semang  tribes  the  office  of  chief  medicine-man  appears  to  be 
genera  ly  combined  with  that  of  the  chief,  (family  or  tribal),  but  amongst 
the  Sakai  (Senoi)  and  the  Jakun  these  offices  are  sometimes  separated 
and  although  the  chief  is  almost  always  a  medicine-man  of  some  repute' 
he  IS  not  necessarily  the  chief  medicine-man,  any  more  than  the  chief 
medicine-man  is  necessarily  the  administrative  head  of  the  tribe  In  both 
cases  there  is  an  unfailing  supply  of  aspirants  to  the  office  .  and  his 
priestly  duties  form  an  important  portion  of  a  chief's  work". 

"The  medicine-man  is,  as  might  be  expected,  duly  credited  with  super- 
natural powers.  His  tasks  are  to  preside  as  chief  medium  at  all  the  tribal 
ceremonies,  to  instruct  the  youth  of  the  tribe,  to  ward  off  as  well  as  heal 
all  forms  of  sickness  and  trouble,  to  foretell  the  future,  to  avert  when 
necessary  the  wrath  of  heaven,  and  even  when  re-embodied  after  death  in 
the  shape  of  a  wild  beast,  to  extend  a  benign  protection  to  his  devoted 
descendents".  (This  appearance  is  only  temporary,  there  is  no  permanent 
metempsychosis). 

The  only  priestly  insignia  consist  of  the  emblematic  stafT,  the  charm- 
bamboo,  and  the  oil  or  turmeric  which  raises  him  to  the  sacerdotal  state 
None  can  practice  but  those  who  have  been  anointed  by  the  chief  Batin  • 
(6)  Matrimony:— T\\&  conditions  required  for  marriage  are  generally 
very  few.  There  is  no  age-limit,  but  local,  if  not  tribal  exogamy  is  the 
general  rule.  The  free  consent  of  the  woman  as  well  as  the  father  ia 
always  required. 

"Are  you  clever  with  the  blowpipe?  Can  you  fell  trees?  Are  you  a 
good  climber?"  etc.  The  man  presents  the  woman  with  a  small  marriage- 
gift  and  a  birth-bamboo,  and  after  being  sprinkled  with  fern-seed  they 
are  pronounced  married  by  the  respective  parents:  "Mano  klamin  che 
doM!"  "May  you  he  blest  with  offspring/''  Descent  is  patrilineal 
Divorce  and  infidelity  are  rare.* 


II  'A^^T^'}-v^%^T^t^'  ???•  2'*^•'27•    "Idem,  II.  55ff.    Rule  of  Descent  (patrilineal) 
II.  63.  (matrilineal).  II.  87.  (Orang  Laut.  Sea-Gipsies).  (,P«riiineaw. 


324  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS 

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Malakkan  Rite 

(7)  Burial: — In  the  matter  of  death-ceremonies  the  greatest  variety 
prevails.  The  simplest  and  probably  the  oldest  form  consists  in  placing 
the  deceased  on  a  bamboo  stretcher,  when  the  Pengulu  or  Sna-hut  places 
the  so-called  burial-bamboo  in  his  girdle  which  is  a  token  from  God's 
representative  that  the  man  is  worthy  of  paradise.  Mourners  accompany 
the  body  to  the  simple  earth-grave,  and  the  deceased  is  laid  to  rest  with 
few  if  any  trinkets  to  accompany  him.  Only  great  chiefs  are  buried  in 
trees. 

The  most  interesting  report  (if  correct)  is  given  to  us  of  the  Senoi: — 

"A  dying  man  lies  with  head  toward  the  west.  The  magician  (or 
priest)  holding  a  censer  (sungkun)  in  his  hand,  takes  up  the  usual  crouch- 
ing position  at  the  feet  of  the  patient,  a  little  to  the  right  side,  and  raises 
himself  slowly  till  he  is  'breast-high'.  He  then  waves  the  censer  seven 
times  horizontally  over  the  body,  and  placing  the  coconut-shell  at  his  feet, 
bends  down  and  says  softly  in  his  ear:  '0  dying  one!  Do  not  remember 
any  more  your  father,  mother,  children,  or  relations.  Think  only  of  your 
ancestors,  already  dead  and  gone  to  another  place.  Your  living  friends 
will  find  food' ". 

Though  the  survivors  are  admonished  to  "think"  and  to  pray(?)  for 
the  departed,  it  is  only  among  the  more  advanced  tribes  that  foods  are 
offered  to  the  deceased,  which  shows  that  spirit  "feeding"  is  not  primitive. 
The  body  is  frequently  washed  or  anointed,  but  never  cremated.'' 


To  sum  up,  it  is  impossible  to  read  these  reports  without  being  im- 
pressed by  their  strikingly  suggestive  character.  We  seem  to  have  a  com- 
plete cycle  of  "medicines",  of  apparently  moral  import,  and  accompanied 
by  ritualistic  observances  and  formulae,  which  certainly  sound  familiar. 
But  are  they  native  or  borrowed?    Are  they  magical  or  religious? 

It  is  too  early  as  yet  to  decide  this  question  from  the  examination  of  a 
single  area  without  regard  to  the  combined  evidence  of  the  entire  belt. 
But  for  the  present  the  following  points  should  be  borne  in  mind:^ 

(1)  The  native  origin  of  the  deity  and  his  personal  and  transcendent 
character  have  already  been  established,  and  He  is  the  author  of  the  rites. 

(2)  The  comparatively  high  morality  of  the  natives,  among  whom 
theft,  murder,  infanticide,  lying,  divorce  and  desertion  are  extremely  rare, 
shows  that  we  are  dealing  with  an  ethical  God,  not  a  mere  nature-power. 
And  this  suggfsts  that  a  supreme  Person  is  in  some  sense  the  guardian 
of  the  moral  law,  which  finds  its  expression  in  certain  crude,  though  fairly 
dignified  ceremonies. 


'Skeat,  II.  89flf.  9Sff,  (Senoi-ritual). 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS  325 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 

(B,  1)  Andamanese  Ritb 

For  the  Mincopis  of  the  Andaman  Islands  our  sources  are  not  so  ex- 
plicit, but  the  following  practices  seem  to  be  well  authenticated: — 

(1)  Birth: — The  ceremonies  so  far  reported  include  those  of  Purifica- 
tion, Naming,  and  Anointing.  As  to  the  "lustration"  with  cold  water, 
there  is  no  evidence  that  it  is  more  than  a  purely  medical  rite,  a  physical 
ablution.  The  "naming"  on  the  other  hand  seems  to  be  a  more  solemn 
occasion.  "When  there  is  reason  to  expect  an  increase  in  the  family,  the 
parents  decide  what  name  the  child  shall  bear.  As  a  compliment  they  not 
unfrequently  select  one  which  is  borne  by  a  relative,  friend,  or  chief,  and 
since  all  their  proper  names  are  common  to  both  sexes,  no  difTiculty  arises 
on  this  score".  The  cherishing  of  the  birth-  or  family-name  as  sacred 
points  at  least  to  a  parental  or  family  feeling.  At  the  same  time  the 
infant's  head  is  shaved  and  its  face  and  body  anointed  with  white  clay, 
and  though  infant  mortality  is  high,  it  is  said  to  be  due  to  excessive  caress- 
ing,— infanticide  being  apparently  unknown.' 

(2)  Initiation: — The  fasting  period  forms  a  moral  endurance-test  dur- 
ing which  delicacies  only  are  taboo.  It  lasts  from  one  to  five  years  during 
puberty,  and  is  divided  into  three  periods:  (1)  Turtle-fast,  (2)  Honey-fast, 
(3)  Pork-fast.  It  is  obligatory  for  boys  and  girls  alike.  At  the  "break- 
ing" of  these  fasts  the  headman  restores  the  foods  to  the  candidate,  and 
anoints  him  with  the  grease,  the  honey,  or  the  fat  respectively.  His 
female  relatives  then  visit  him,  shed  tears  because  he  has  now  become  a 
"man",  and  after  a  wild  dance  with  his  comrades,  the  boy  is  declared 
initiated.  For  girls  the  ceremony  is  in  all  respects  similar,  except  that 
on  this  occasion  she  receives  her  "flower-name".  Silence  is  strictly 
observed  during  the  fasts,  which  are  followed  by  sanitary  ablutions.' 

(3)  Fruit-Sacrifice: — This  is  one  of  the  few  regions  where  the  pure, 
unbloody  offering  is  exclusively  in  vogue,  and  demonstrably  of  divine 
origin.  The  "Great  Abstinence"  was  instituted  by  Puluga  in  the  Garden 
of  Eden,  and  consists  in  the  offering  up  of  certain  fruits,  seeds,  and  yams 
during  the  first  half  of  the  rainy-season,  in  default  of  which  Puluga  will 
send  another  deluge (!).  As  the  Thunder-God  is  said  to  live  off  these 
fruits  during  the  same  period,  they  acquire  a  sacred  if  not  a  semi-divine 
character.  We  have  no  clear  information  as  to  the  nature  and  species  of 
these  trees,  but  as  the  entire  practice  is  so  closely  analogous  to  the 
Malakkan  Love-Plant  and  Coconut  taboos,  we  may  conjecture  that  hero 
too  they  have  similar  powers.  In  any  case,  it  is  worth  noting  that  no  form 
of  animal  or  human  sacrifice  are  known  to  the  natives,  and  that  their  high- 
est religious  action  consists  in  giving  back  to  the  Creator  that  which  they 
deem  most  precious, — the  first  and  best  products  of  nature, — these  being 
finally  consumed  as  an  act  of  thanksgiving.'' 


'Man,  Andaman  Islands.   18.  60.  114.     'Idem.  61-67.    'Idem.  85.  96. 


i26  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 
Anoamanesb  RiTl 

(4)  Medicine: — The  sick,  whether  physical  or  moral,  are  treated  with 
great  attention.  A  bed  of  leaves  is  made,  and  the  patient  is  rubbed  with 
the  leaves,  and  then  anointed  with  liquid  clay  and  red  ochre,  the  former 
being  also  administered  as  a  potion.  When  the  pains  are  particularly 
severe,  the  chauga-ta  or  "Bone  Necklace"  is  applied.  "Every  attention 
is  paid  to  the  wants  and  wishes  of  the  sick,  and  friends  do  all  in  their 
power  to  effect  recovery,  but  no  other  charms  are  employed  in  the  hope 
of  averting  or  curing  illness.  After  recovery  no  ceremonies  of  purifica- 
tion lake  place".* 

(5)  Priesthood :—Tvihiii  headman  and  medicine-man  are  for  the  most 
part  identical  ofTices,  the  dignity  generally  passing  from  father  to  son. 
Though  justice  is  commonly  administered  by  the  aggrieved  parties  them- 
selves, he  is  the  normal  center  of  authority,  and  conducts  the  principal 
religious  functions.  Except  for  a  special  form  of  body  paint,  he  wears  no 
distinctive  dress.  As  to  the  so-called  "dreamers",  they  are  a  professional 
body  of  fortune-tellers,  who  are  credited  with  "second  sight"  and  other 
praeternatural  powers,  but.  though  much  sought  after,  their  ofllce  is  tran- 
sitory.' 

(6)  Matrimony: — Parents  have  the  power  of  betrothing  their  children 
in  infancy,  and  the  contract  is  regarded  as  binding.  Premarital  con- 
tinence appears  to  be  rare,  but  when  once  married  the  union  is  regarded 
as  permanent,  divorce  and  infidelity  being  almost  unknown.  There  is  no 
strong  rule  of  exogamy.  All  marriages  must  be  contracted  in  presence  of 
the  ofTiciating  headman  with  lighted  torches,  who  pronounces  them  duly 
married, — all  other  unions  being  regarded  as  irregular  and  to  some  extent 
shameful.  Second  marriages  are  allowed,  but  chaste  single  life  is  looked 
up  to.* 

(7)  Burial: — At  death  the  body  is  painted,  shaved,  or  anointed  with 
clay,  and  the  limbs  are  folded.  After  blowing  on  the  face  three  times  as 
a  last  "farewell",  the  relatives  consign  the  body  to  the  grave  in  a  sitting 
posture,  (the  foetal  state),  and  facing  the  fmst,  (paradise).  Sometimes  a 
platform  is  used,  but  very  few  trinkets  are  supplied.  The  mourning  and 
aJbstinence  period  lasts  three  months,  after  which  the  skeleton  is  exhumed, 
cleaned  with  water,  and  the  bones  converted  into  a  "necklace"  as  a  family 
relic' 

Taking  them  all  together,  these  rites  are  both  dignified  and  suggestive. 
It  is  a  point  in  favor  of  their  religious  character  that  most  of  these  prac- 
tices are  believed  to  have  been  instituted  by  Piiluga  himself  in  the  days  of 
man's  innocence,  •ven  the  paint  coming  from  his  "oeleBtia!"  hand*.' 


«  Man.  1.  c.  16-20.     » Idem,  28.  40.    •  Idem,  58-73  (Relationship)      Mdem.  73-7P.     •  Idw, 
113. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS  327 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 
(B,  2)  Sinhalese- Vedda  Ritb 

(1)  Birth:— "The  pains  and  danger  of  childbirth  are  so  well  recognised 
by  the  Veddas  that  a  special  ceremony  is  performed  by  the  wilder  Veddas, 
and  a  prayer  offered  for  the  safety  of  the  young  mother.  We  were 
assured  at  Sitala  Wanniya  that  if  this  ceremony  were  omitted,  the  mother 
and  child  would  die".  After  a  ceremonial  dance  around  a  bunch  of  tree- 
bast,  the  shaman  takes  the  bast  which  has  become  possessed  by  the  yaku, 
and  brushes  it  over  the  face  and  body  of  the  mother,  uttering  the  follow- 
ing prayer: — 

"Ane!  maye  daruwata  kisi  antar-     "Anel  May  no  harm  happen  to  my 
awak    wenda    apa    me    wara.  child  this  time.    May  you  per- 

Goda  yanta  denda  onae".  mit  her  to  escape". 

This  invocation  is  addressed  to  the  Pata  Yaku,  or  Tree-Bark  spirit, 
which  under  the  great  Yaka  watches  over  the  birth  of  the  child.  At  the 
same  time  rice  and  coconut  are  offered  to  the  yaku,  and  then  eaten  by  the 
community.  Apart  from  the  naming  of  the  child  as  tuta  or  tuti,  "boy"  or 
"girl",  and  the  usual  (sanitary)  ablutions,  no  further  ceremony  is  prac- 
ticed.^ 

(2)  Initiation: — We  have  no  information  of  puberty-rites  beyond  the 
probable  assumption  of  the  full  name,  and  the  moral  instruction  of  the 
parents.  Some  have  a  river-ablution,  but  painting  and  tattoing  are  un- 
known.' 

(3)  Unbloody  Sacrifice :~The  Kirikoraha  ceremony  is  thus  per- 
formed : — 

(a)  Cooked  foods  are  offered  to  Kande  Yaka  and  Bilindi  Yaka,  during 
which  the  shaman  prays  to  the  Great  Yaka  as  follows :— ' 
•'Kandaka    sita    kandakata    yanna     "King  of  the  hills,  who  continues 
yana      kandu      nirindu      waesi        to  go  from  hill  to  hill,  Cause  rain! 
wasinnaw.    Me  kanda  pita  yanna     It  is  the  Great  Master,  on  the  crest 
yanna  me  kande  mul  pola  Wan-  of  the  hill,  ivho  comes  unto  this 

niyayi".  hill". 

"Ayibohowa,  ayibohowa!  Kande  "Long  life!  Long  life!  to  the  Great 
Wanniyata!  Adat  man  me  oppu  Master!  Today,  grant  your 
karadena  ru  adukkawata  tamun-  divine  favor  to  this  beautifully 
nansela  .  .  .  Atin  alia  di  imun-  cooked  offering  .  .  .  May  it  seem 
eta  wedimune  awu  karawa  denda  good  to  you  to  arrange  them  at 
yahapoti.  the  point  of  the  arrow,  and  to 

Ayibohowa,  Ayibohowa!  give  them  to  us. 

Long  Life!  Long  Life! 
(b)  The  saoriflcial  bowl,  kirikoraha,  is  then  placed  on  a  tripod,  and  the 
shaman  raises  the  sacred  coconut  with  the  arrow,  during  which  they  are 
incensed  with  a  resin-stick,  at  the  same  time  repeating  the  above  formula. 
"For  thus  would  Kande-Yaka  smell  the  incense,  and  be  pleased." 


'Seligman,  The  Veddas,  102,  251.    'Idem,  94.    'Idem,  218-223,  284-286,   (with  plates). 


328  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 
Sinhalese- Vedda  Rite 

(c)  After  a  ceremonial  dance  the  shaman  intones  the  prayer  to  Bilindi- 
Yaka,  the  martyred  "brother"  of  the  Great  Spirit,  accompanied  by  a  similar 
dance : — 

"Tandana,  tanina,  tana,  tandenal 
"Tandana,  tanina,  tana,  tandenal  Tanana,  tanina,  tanina!  (exclama- 

Tanana,  tanina,  tanina!  tions). 

Appuga  wayasat  boso  awiridi  "The  age  of  the  Chief's  son  was  not 
naeti,  sat  awuruddayi  pasu  une.  many  years,  seven  years  had  gone 
Sat  awuruddetta  edde  wela  gos  e  by.  Seven  years  had  gone,  and  he 
ran  Bandara,  Samine!  (Tandana,  became  the  Forest  Chief,  0  Lord!" 
etcj.  (Tandana,  etcj 

"Appusamita  wiyapu  kacciya  pi-  "There  ivere  a  thousand  flowers  on 
yun  dasayi,  Samine.  Appusamita  the  cloth  icoven  for  the  chief's  son, 
wiyapu  putuwe  piyun  dasayi,  Sa-  0  Lord!  There  icere  a  thousand 
mine  ....  (Tandana,  etc).  flowers  on  the  seat  plaited  for  the 

chief's  son,  0  Lord!  ....  (Tan- 
dana, etc.) 

The  hymn  goes  on  to  ask  the  question:  "Through  what  fear  of  solitude 
did  you  kill  your  own  younger  brother  born  of  the  same  mother,  you  great 
Artificer?"  This  is  taken  to  refer  to  the  legend  that  Kande  Yaka  had  killed 
his  younger  brother  Bilindi  because  he  felt  lonely  as  a  yaka  and  yearned 
for  his  company  ( !).  The  moral  is  not  clear,  but  a  martyred  god  seems  to 
be  referred  to. 

(d)  The  shaman  now  becomes  possessed  with  the  divine  spirit,  he 
strikes  the  coconut  witli  the  ceremonial  arrow,  and  breaks  it  in  half,  letting 
the  water  fall  into  the  kirikoraha.  The  attendants  then  scrapie  the  meat  of 
the  coconut  with  the  arrow  to  make  the  milk,  which,  with  a  few  leaves 
from  the  betel  palm,  arc  likewise  placed  in  the  kirikoraha.  The  shaman 
now  inspects  the  milk,  lets  it  run  through  his  fingers,  and  then  sprinkles  it 
over  the  worshippers,  either  singly  or  collectively. 

(p)  After  another  mimic  dance,  with  bow  and  arrovi',  he  places  the 
milk-bowl  on  the  ground,  and  spins  it,  the  final  position  of  the  bowl  being 
prophetic,  its  dip  indicating  the  region  of  good  hunting.  All  then  partake 
of  the  coconut-milk, — men,  women,  and  children — ,  and  the  ceremony  is 
concluded. 

In  the  interprefation  of  this  rife,  it  is  important  to  distinguish  the 
theistic  from  the  shaministic  and  magical  elements.  We  have  already  inti- 
mated that  there  are  traits  in  the  character  and  in  the  cult  of  the  supreme 
Yaka,  which  seem  to  be  the  relics  of  a  former  age  of  All-Father  worship. 
But  though  the  Great  Yaka  is  believed  to  be  actually  operating  in  the  sacred 
coconut,  it  is  only  the  surprisingly  high  morality  of  the  natives  and  their 
dependence  on  Him,  that  can  save  ceremony  from  being  a  mere 
•'hunt-charm." 


PRIMITIVE  SACRIFICE 
(SINHALESE  RITE) 

THE  COCONUT-OFFERING 

KANBAKA  SITA  KANDAKATA  TANNA  YANNA 

KANDU    NIRINDII    WAESI   WASINNAW 

A\1BOHOW-A!   AYIBOHOWA!   KANOE   WANNITATA) 


^r»xnNUES7Dg^ 


^. 


"^•'^NauFEiTO-Ot^^* 


THE  DUGGANAVA  RAISES  THE  COCONUT,  WHILE  THE  ASSISTANT 
CENSES  THE  OFFERING  WITH  THE  RESIN-STICK.  "FOR  THUS 
WOULD  KANDE-YAKA  SMELL  THE  INCENSE  AND  BE  PLEASED" 

8E»n.SHAJnNlSTIC  CEREMONY  OF  THE  HENNEBEDDA  TRIBES  INTENDED  PRIM ARIl.V  FOB 
A  81  CCESSriL  HUNT.  NOTICE  THE  TRIPOD,  WITH  THE  ilTLK-BOWL,— KIRIKORAHA— . 
THE  AIDE.  OB  CEREMONIAL  ARROW.  THE  <-OCONliT  .■IND  RE8IN-8TICK,  THE  ACCOM- 
PAVilNG    BETEL-POUCH    OF   MONKEY    SKIN,   THE    HONEY-BA8KET.    THE    MIMIC    BOW    AND 

ARROW,   THE   BONE-BEADS,   AND   THE   HIEROGLYPH   FOR   THE   'CELE8TIA1    ARCHER- 
MATERIALS    FOUNDED    ON    C.    G.    8ELIGMAN,    THE    VEDDAS,    (CAMBRIDGE,    1011),    PL.    XXIX. 
LVn,  LXV,  LXVn,  and  fig.  IO.     invocations,  IBID.  PP.   !84.  «86. 


PRIMITIVE  SACRIFICE 
(SINHALESE  RITE) 

THE  DEER  SACRIFICE 


ADAT  MAN  ME  OPPV  KABADENA 

BC  ADUKKAWATA  T.AMUNMASELA. 

AYIBOHOWA !    AYIBOHOWA ! 


4 


0'v5~[^^iT-t^<=' 


\>^ 


THE  DUGGANAVA  OFFERS  THE  COOKED  FOOD  OF  5AMBAR 
DEER  AND  BOILED  RICE 

THANKBGITTNO-CEBEMONT    OF    THI    FOBEST-VXDDAS    FOB    FBOFITIATWO    THI    "•BEAT 

•riBIT,"— KANBE  TAKA— .FBEQUENTLY  COMBnfED  WITH  THE  FOREOOINO.  BCT  IN  ITSELF 

AN    INDEPENDENT    BTTEL 

COMFA&B  C.  O.  SBUOMAN,  THE  VEDDA8,  (CAMBBIDOE.  1911),  PP.  t«0.  t»«.  FOB  DEDICATIONS. 
INVOCATIONS,  AND  BITl  ALIBTIC  ACTS. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  329 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 
Sinhalese- Vedda  Rite 

(3,  b)  Bloody  Sacrifice: — Compared  with  the  coconut-offerings  the 
animal  rites  are  of  secondary  importance.  Sambar  Deer  is  the  chief  com- 
modity of  this  character,  and  portions  of  the  flesh  are  occasionally  mixed 
with  the  other  ingredients  to  make  up  the  "cooked  foods"  that  are  offered 
to  the  yaku  at  the  commencement.  This  is  really  a  separate  ceremony, 
though  frequently  combined  with  the  preceding.  (See  3,  a). 

It  should  also  be  added  that  nearly  all  the  sacrificial  observances  are 
accompanied  by  an  abstinence  from  flesh-meat  until  the  ceremony  is  over, 
more  rigorous  taboos  being  observed  on  special  occasions. 

(4)  Exoixism:— Sickness  is  universally  attributed  to  the  influence  of 
evil  spirits,  as  "Kande  Yaka  would  never  be  suspected  of  sending  sickness," 
for  which  purpose  they  have  the  following  invocation  for  the  "discernment 
of  spirits"  which  is  addressed  to  Him  as  the  author  of  truth : — 

"Kande  Wanniya  born  pena  at-  7;'^«'  ^{f!  ^«"^"^  ^«^^  ''''^' 
haera  leda  kala  yaka  mataada  ahu  f^^'\  soothsaying,  you  must  cause 
karawandu  onae."  "^'  ^"^  seize  today  the  yaka  who 

caused  the  sickness. 

It  is  significant  that  these  yakas  are  mostly  foreign  spirits,  generally 
Sinhalese  demons,  Raru,  Riri,  Pata-Yaku,  which  tends  to  show  that  their 
demonology  is  for  the  most  part  imported.  It  is  the  shaman  who  conducts 
the  exorcism  by  brushing  the  patient  with  bunches  of  tree-bast  and  pro- 
pitiating the  demon  with  an  offering  of  rice  and  coconut,  as  stated,  (1).* 

(5)  Priesthood: — Although  we  have  used  the  word  "shaman"  to 
designate  the  officiating  headman  at  these  functions,  it  is  clear  that  the 
Hindoo  term  cannot  be  applied  with  full  propriety  to  the  simple  family 
"doctor"  who  figures  as  the  mouthpiece  of  the  Great  Yaka.  He  does  not 
belong  to  a  professional  caste,  but  is  commonly  the  father  of  some  talented 
family,  who  frequently  trains  his  own  son  to  succeed  him,  offering  the 
following  prayer: — 

"Ayu  bowal  Mama  ada  sita  man  "^^V  V^""'  '^{^  ^^'«"^^    ^/^  ^^; 

■     „,      .     .                   .       ...  day  I  am  training  a  scholar  of 

golayek    hadanawa    eyin    kisx  ,,         •   j     r>         ...       ^ 

,..^^„^^„i.     ^^^j       ^^^     nf  ^o  '"^  mind.    Do  not  take  offence 

warandak     ganda     epa.    Mage  ,   ■.     ,                ,  ■   ■       ! 

golayata  man  kiya  denawa  me  «^  '[■   /  «"t  '^^'f'^T/.  '\"^^ 

pudatopatadenL-.  fT'  ''""'  '"  "^^"^  '^"  ''^''^ 

ing  . 

This  is  evidently  a  friendly  yaka  who  is  invoked  as  the  family  pro- 
tector. From  the  intimate  relations  of  father  and  son,  it  is  clear  that  this 
dugganava,  as  he  is  called,  is  also  the  guardian  of  the  moral  conscience, 
the  center  of  spiritual  authority,  a  kind  of  adviser.  Fowl  and  pigs  flesh 
are  forbidden  to  him,  and  his  long  locks  of  hair  must  never  be  cut.' 


*  Seligman,  290.    •  Idem,  128-130. 


330 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALb 


EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 
Sinhalese-Vedda  Rite 

(6)  Matrimony: — Children  are  frequently  betrothed  in  infancy  by  their 
parents,  the  rule  of  exogamy  obliging  them  no  further  than  to  marry  as  a 
rule  their  first  cousins,  a  somewhat  close  relation.  Marriage  takes  place 
at  an  early  age,  sometimes  before  puberty,  but  prenuptial  connexions  are 
"strongly  disapproved",  the  guilty  parties  risking  their  lives.  The  man 
presents  his  bride  with  honey  and  other  delicacies,  and  in  presence  of  her 
father  (whose  approval  must  be  secured)  she  places  a  cord  around  the 
waist  of  her  intonded  husband,  gives  him  at  times  a  lock  of  her  hair, — and 
they  are  declared  man  and  wife.  This  contract  is  binding  for  life,  "any- 
thing like  a  formal  divorce  is  unknown".  "Their  constancy  to  their  wives 
is  a  very  remarkable  trait  in  their  character  .  .  .  and  infidelity  whether  in 
the  husband  or  the  wife,  appears  to  be  unknown,  and  I  was  very  careful 
in  my  inquiries  on  this  subject"  (Bailey).  Contrary  to  the  ideas  of  the 
Sinhalese,  women  are  not  regarded  as  unclean,  they  are  in  every  respect 
the  equals  of  the  men,  though  descent  is  for  the  most  part  patrilineal.' 

(7)  Burifl/.-— Death-ceremonies  are  of  the  simplest.  The  body  is  left  in 
the  cave  or  rockshelter  in  which  death  took  place,  and  without  any  further 
ceremony  is  reverently  covered  with  leaves  and  branches,  the  grave  being 
after  a  time  revisited.  In  no  other  region  is  there  such  a  "cult  of  the  dead", 
or  such  a  strong  feeling  of  intercommunion: — ' 


'Ayu  botva!  Ayu  bowa!  Nae  kot- 
taewe  nae  senawa.  Hudu  hamba 
tcetata  adagaha  dunna  kaewa 
bunna.  Kisi  waradak  sitanna 
epa,  apit  kanawa  bonaiva". 

'E  Iowa  giya  ape  appa  me  Iowa 
waro!  Depalullan  ano  kalapin! 
Hilda  mangacapawu!  Ammalaye 
aetto  hudata  mangaccapawul" 


"Salutation!  Salutation!  Our  rela- 
tives! Our  relatives!  Calling  you 
at  the  light  time,  u-e  gave  you 
samba  rice  to  eat  and  drink.  Do 
not  think  evil.  We  also  eat  and 
drink".  "Our  father  ivho  icent  to 
that  world.  Come  to  this  world! 
Take  the  rice!  Come  quickly, 
come  very  quickly,  come  to  my 
mother's  people!" 


To  repeat,— the  religious  interpretation  of  these  prayers  and  ceremonies 
must  depend  upon  the  estimate  we  form  of  the  quondam  Father-God.  The 
fact  that  he  is  now  little  more  than  a  "Mighty  Hunter"  must  be  counter- 
balanced by  the  intense  consciousness  of  a  benignant  Power  in  their  midst 
who  is  the  source  of  their  ritual  and  their  morality.  Spirit-worship  fades 
away  where,  according  our  best  authorities,  "magic  plays  such  a  slight  part 
in  their  lives".* 


•  Seligman.  33.  76,  87,  96.  334.     '  Idem,  122,  275-276     •  Idem,  190 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS  331 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 

(C)  Philippine  Rite 

The  following  practices  are  reported  for  the  Zambal-Aetas,  though  they 
may  doubtless  be  verified  over  a  larger  area: — 

(1)  Birth: — According  to  Montano,  immediately  after  the  birth  of  a 
child  the  mother  rushes  to  a  river  with  it  and  plunges  it  into  cold  water. 
This  is  partly  verified  by  Reed,  who  states  however  that  several  days 
usually  elapse  before  the  ablution  (or  purification?)  takes  place.  The 
naming  is  done  by  the  parents,  or  by  the  elders  or  headmen  of  the  com- 
munity, the  name  being  taken  from  any  conspicuous  object,  such  as 
"Guijo-Tree",  but  more  commonly  the  child  inherits  the  father's  name, 
which  is  rarely  changed,  unless  the  child  gives  indications,  by  repeated 
screams,  that  he  is  possessed  by  the  evil  spirit.  The  prefix  Pan-distin- 
guishes father  from  son  or  daughter." 

(2)  Initiation: — Little  is  known  of  manhood-ceremonies,  but  clearly 
some  such  rite  is  implied  in  the  custom  of  filing  the  teeth  and  the  use  of 
the  magic  comb  and  other  amulets,  which  are  hardly  infant  practices. 
Scarification,  partly  for  sanitary  purposes,  is  also  in  vogue,  but  in  no  case 
has  any  form  of  painting  or  tattooing  been  reported.' 

(3)  Fruit-Sacrifice: — It  is  worth  noting  that  the  only  unbloody  oblation 
of  any  importance  is  that  tendered  to  the  supreme  Anita,  when  a  banana, 
coconut,  camote,  or  some  other  article  of  vegetable  food  is  placed  upon  the 
sacred  rock,  with  the  hope  of  obtaining  his  aid  and  blessing.  Unless  this 
is  done,  misfortune  or  accident  is  believed  to  follow  as  a  consequence. 
The  rock  serves  as  a  primitive  altar,  upon  which  the  oblation  is  made,  and 
though  we  have  no  information  of  any  formula  used  by  the  Zambales 
tribes,  such  a  formula  is  found  among  the  negritos  of  N.  Luzon,  when  they 
exclaim : — 

"Nisi  ba-awak!"        "This  for  Thee!" 
That  this  is  a  special,  not  to  say  unique  occasion,  is  proved  by  the  firm 
persuasion  which  they  have,  that  "the  spirits  of  all  who  die  enter  this  one 
spirit  or  "Anito",  who  has  its  abiding  place  in  this  rock,  and  that  those 
who  tamper  with  the  rock  or  the  banana  will  surely  come  to  grief. 

(3,  b)  Animal  Sacrifice: — Minor  spirits  on  the  other  hand  receive  a 
bloody  offering.  At  the  end  of  the  deer-hunt,  the  headman  takes  a  small 
part  of  the  heart  or  entrails,  and  scatters  them  abroad  with  the  following 
chant: — 

"Anite,    beri    ba-awak    ma-buru        "Spirits,  we  thank  you  for  a  sue- 
baikl  cessful    hunt.    Here    is    your 

Nisi  keping  ba-awaki"  share  of  the  spoils". 

These  spirits  are  not  demons  but  deceased  ancestors,  which  are  believed 
to  inhabit  all  places,  and  are  evidently  helpful  or  protecting  genii.' 


'  Reed,  Negritos  of  Zambales,  55,    '  Idem,  36.    '  Idem,  48,  65.    Comp.  p.  21  supra. 


332  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 
Philippine  Rite 

(4)  Exorcism: — "Disease  is  usually  considered  the  punishment  for 
wrong-doing,  the  more  serious  diseases  coming  from  the  supreme  Anito, 
the  lesser  ones  from  the  lesser  anitos".  This  is  a  variation  from  the  usual 
assignment  of  sickness  to  the  evil  spirits.  Exorcism  is  accomplished  by 
"magic"  dances,  hand-manipulations,  etc.  during  which  the  afflicting 
spirit  passes  from  the  patient  to  the  medicine  man,  which  is  in  turn  ex- 
pelled by  "rubbing".  Bamboos,  berry-necklaces,  and  magic  combs  are  also 
applied,  and  for  the  more  serious  diseases  the  sufferer  is  laid  on  a  bed  of 
leaves,  and  the  leaves  bound  to  the  affected  parts,  which  are  thus  believed 
to  "cool"  the  fever.  Bleeding  or  blistering  the  body  will  also  expel  the 
sickness.  Small-pox  cases  are  isolated,  but  the  patient  is  supplied  with 
water  and  food  for  recovery.  This  disease  is  sent  directly  by  the  great 
Anito  as  a  corrective.* 

(5)  Priesthood: — The  healer  is  known  as  the  manga-anito,  or  "spirit- 
eater",  from  the  fact  that  he  expels  the  evil  spirits  or  placates  the  good  ones 
by  the  consumption  of  the  foods  in  which  they  are  believed  to  reside.  Here 
also  it  is  commonly  the  father  of  the  family  who  acts  as  the  doctor,  though 
there  are  others  that  seem  to  belong  to  a  medical  "class"  and  to  exact  high 
fees  for  their  services.  The  profession  is  respected  but  dangerous,  a3 
mangos  have  been  known  to  be  killed  for  failing  to  effect  a  cure.' 

(6)  Matrimony: — A  man  may  take  any  woman  to  wife,  except  that 
"marriage  between  blood-relatives  is  forbidden".  The  free  consent  of  the 
parties  as  well  as  the  parents  is  required.  Bridal  purchase  exists  only 
among  the  more  advanced  tribus,  the  Zambales  and  Bataan  Negritos  con- 
tenting themselves  with  simple  love-presents.  After  a  rice-ceremony, 
during  which  the  couple  administer  small  quantities  of  boiled  rice  to  each 
other,  they  are  regarded  as  married.  Though  polygamy  is  allowed  in 
negrito  territory,  a  single  union  is  the  more  common,  and  divorce  and 
desertion  appear  to  be  rare.  Death  or  a  heavy  fine  is  the  penalty  for  theft, 
murder  and  adultery. 

"Eno  haye  hay  ie!"         "Praise  to  the  Supreme  Being,  our  Makerl" 
Such  is  the  prayer  chanted  by  the  Alabat  Aetas  at  weddings.' 

(7)  Burial: — In  the  disposal  of  the  dead  we  meet  with  the  same  sim- 
plicity and  dignity  as  in  the  preceding  instances.  The  body  is  wrapt  in  a 
mat,  and  either  consigned  to  the  earth,  or  placed  in  the  hollow  of  a  tree. 
According  to  some  authorities,  the  relatives  gather  around  the  grave  of 
the  deceased,  and  sing  a  mournful  dirge.  In  no  case  are  the  ancestor- 
spirits  forgotten.' 


'Reed.  1.  c.  65-67.    •  Idem,  66     "Idem,  56,  60-63.     Comp.  p.  21  supr*.    'Idem,  61. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  333 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 
(D)  BoRNEAN  Rite 

The  practices  here  reported  refer  primarily  to  the  Bakatan  Dayaks 
(Orang  Ukit),  and  to  the  Kenyahs,  Kayans.  and  Kalamantans,  etc.  when- 
ever stated: — 

II)  Birth: — According  to  Schwaner  the  Orang-Ott  women  (Bakatans) 
have  an  easy  and  quick  confinement.  As  soon  as  the  child  is  born  the 
mother  is  placed  over  a  bed  of  burning  embers  to  dry  up  the  humors  and 
arrest  the  flooding, — a  primitive  medical  treatment.  The  following  day 
she  is  already  earring  about  her  child,  wrapt  in  a  piece  of  tree-bark! 
Apart  from  the  usual  ablutions,  no  other  ceremony  is  reported.  "They 
have  large  families,  from  7  to  10  children",  says  Dr.  Hose,  which  argues 
against  the  practice  of  infanticide.  Low  also  testifies  that  "among  the 
Dayaks  (in  general)  wilful  miscarriage  is  never  resorted  to",  and  a  high 
government  official  says  that  "the  practice  of  infanticide  is  rarely  heard  of, 
but  the  contact  with  the  Malays  has  much  increased  it  in  some  tribes" 
(sic).    All  agree  that  children  are  well  treated. 

It  is  here  that  we  meet  for  the  first  time  the  institution  known  as  the 
"Couvade".  "If  a  Land-Dayak's  wife  be  with  child,  he  must  strike  noth- 
ing, never  tie  things  tight,  nor  do  any  household  work  with  his  parang, 
or  some  deadly  harm  will  happen  to  his  unborn  offspring.  At  birth  the 
husband  is  confined  to  his  house  for  eight  days,  and  obliged  to  stay  his 
appetite  with  rice  and  salt  only.  For  a  month,  moreover,  he  may  not  go 
out  at  night,  unless  he  wishes  his  infant  to  cry  continually  during  his 
absence".  (Chalmers).  This  practice  is  attested  by  Brooke,  Leggatt,  and 
St.  John,  and  seems  to  be  fairly  widespread,  as  Prof.  Kiikenthal  observed 
the  same  custom  among  other  wild  men.  St.  John  says  that  in  addition  "a 
fowl  is  killed,  rice  provided,  and  for  two  nights  they  howl  and  chant,  dur- 
ing which  the  apartment  is  pamali,  or  "interdicted".  This  taboo  or  mali 
is  carried  to  such  an  extreme  that  the  husband  is  not  allowed  to  look  at 
the  sun,  or  even  to  bathe,  for  four  days.  In  case  of  danger  the  manang 
or  medicine-man  is  called  in,  and  he  manipulates  the  mother  with  a  loin- 
cloth, while  the  Kayans  make  use  of  a  "birth-ring". 

When  the  child  is  born,  a  fowl  is  sometimes  killed  and  given  to  the 
parents  and  friends  of  the  child  to  be  eaten, — evidently  as  a  thank-offer- 
ing. The  same  bird  is  sacrificed  when  the  child  after  three  days  receives 
its  "baptism"  of  water  in  the  river,  that  the  antu  or  "spirit  may  protect 
him". 

"Antu  mahappa!  Seramai!"  "May  Heaven  save  you!" 

Shaving  the  head  and  "naming", — endun,  anggat,  "boy"  or  "girl" — , 
are  also  practiced.  As  a  purification-ceremony  the  mother  and  child  are 
lifted  up  on  a  platform,  while  the  manangs  chant  a  hymn  of  thanksgiving 
to  the  antu.^ 


1  Sources  in  H.  Ling-Roth,  (Borneo),  Vol.  I,  pp.  i6,  97-107.  Vol.  II.  p.  CXCVI,  CCX, 

Nieuwenhuis,  Quer  durch  Borneo,  Vol.  I.  p.  71,   (.for  Kayan  customs).     Hose-McDougall, 
The  Pagan  Tribes  of  Borneo.  Vol.  II.  25,  18Sff.  (for  Punan-Bakatan  rites). 


334  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 
BoRNEAN  Rite 

(2)  Initiation: — We  have  no  information  as  yet  of  any  puberty-rites 
as  practiced  by  the  wilder  tribes.  It  is  next  to  certain,  however,  that  some 
initiation  to  manhood  in  the  shape  of  a  moral  instruction,  with  or  with- 
out an  ear-boring  ceremony,  must,  in  view  of  the  close  relation  of  father 
and  child  and  the  comparatively  high  ethical  code,  be  admitted  tn  occur 
among  them.    This  might  be  expressed  by  three  promises, — 

"Laki,  lashi,  lanaki!"  "Be  brave,  be  generous,  be  true!" 

Very  probably  some  external  mark  or  unguent  is  administered  to  the 
neophyte  by  analogy  with  other  primitive  tribes,  but  neither  scarification 
nor  tattooing  in  any  form  has  so  far  been  noticed  among  them,  the  few 
cases  reported  being  undoubted  exceptions,  due  to  foreign  contact. 

For  it  is  precisely  among  the  more  advanced  Kayans  and  Sea-Dayaks, 
that  the  body-paint  and  the  full  needle-tattoo,  sometimes  beautifully 
executed,  are  more  or  less  universal.  Moreover  the  Kayans  practice  a  kind 
of  circumcision-rite,  with  perforation  of  the  urethra,  hair-shaving,  etc. 
which,  with  their  sculptured  poles,  platform-graves,  etc.  reveals  some  con- 
tact with  the  totem-culture.  Ordeals  with  wax-tapers,  boiling  water,  burn- 
ing resin,  are  also  to  be  found,  accompanied  by  such  words  as, — 
"Berasap!  Legajah!"  "Courage!  Be  strong!"  ■ 

(3,  a)  Fruit-Oblation: — The  most  primitive  sacrificial  rite  is  undoubt- 
edly that  of  the  Punans  or  Bakatans,  when  the  fruit  or  blossom  of  the 
Betel-palm  is  offered  to  the  Sky-Father,  or  exposed  in  high  places. 

"A-Balingo-Ama-ka- Bali-Penya-        "Father    above,    Spirit-Father    in 
long.    Bali  Dayong  usun  lasan  Heaven!    0  holy  Dayong,  thou 

Urip   ulun    kam   kelunan   Nini  loho  lovest  mankind,  Bring  back 

ketai  natong  tawang  Leman" .  thy  servant  from   Leman,   The 

land  between  life  and  death!" 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  invocations  by  which  the  supreme  Being  is 
addressed  in  these  regions,  the  form  Bali-Penya-long  being  certified  for 
the  Bakatans  precisely  on  this  occasion,  while  the  expression  Bali-Dayong 
shows,  accoridng  to  Dr.  Hose,  "that  the  whole  is  addressed  to  some  supe- 
rior power,  for  no  human  dayong,  and  indeed  no  human  being,  is 
addressed  or  spoken  of  under  the  title  Bali".  The  use  of  palms,  bamboos, 
and  resin-sticks  shows  that  the  ceremony  is  a  solemn  moment,  it  is  the 
heavenly  dayong  or  "medicine-man"  that  is  here  asked  to  "call  back  the 
wandering  soril  of  the  sufferer",  to  deliver  them  from  the  snares  of  the 
crocodile,  an  animal  which  they  detest,  and  to  operate  His  cures  by  means 
of  His  sacred  "flower", — evidently  in  part  an  exorcism-rite,  symbolising 
the  triumph  of  life  over  death, — a  singularly  beautiful  and  suggestive 
ritual.  I  give  a  reconstruction  of  this  rite,  based  upon  the  combined  prac- 
tices of  all  the  aborigines  rather  than  upon  the  fragmentary  reports  that 
have  reached  us  of  this  or  that  individual  area." 

'  Ling-Roth,  II.  90,  CXCVI.  Nieuwenhuis,  1.  c.  I.  78-79.  Hose-McDougall,  Pagan  Tribes. 
I.  245.  II.  168.  IBS,  >  Hose-McDougall,  in  J.  A.  I,  XXXI,  196.  Pagan  Tribes,  II.  113,  120, 
131,    184-190.        (Plant   taboos,    Bayoh-ceremonies,    Charm-bamboos,   Flower-magic,   etc) 


PRIMITIVE  SACRIFICE 
(BORNEAN  RITE) 

THE  PALM-OFFERING 

BAIA  OAYONG  USrN  LASAN  IRIP  IXVN  KAM  KELUNAN 
NINI  KETAI   NATONO  TAWAXG    LEMANt 

^.^s-^°^ -  -^ 


^  Between  ur^  ^ 

THE  PENGLIMA  RAISES  THE  MYSTIC  BLOSSOM 

OBLATION  AND  EXORCISM-RITE  OF  THE  TKITS  OB  BAKATANS  TO  "CALL-BACK  THB 
WANDERING  SOIL  OF  THE  SIFFERER".  SHOWING  PALMS,  BAMBOOS,  MAGIC  CRYSTALS, 
AND  RESIN-STICKS,  BAMBOO  CROSS,  OIL  AND  WATER-CBCETS,  AND  WOODEN  CROCODILE, 
BAMBOO  HARP,  BEED-  OR  RATTAN-DLADEM,  AND  SHELL-NECKLACE.  (SEE  HOSE-Mc- 
DOUGALL,  THE  PAGAN  TRIBES  OF  BORN'EO  (1912).  VOL.  U.  PP.  113.  120,  ISl.  184-190,  FOB 
"BAYOH"    CEREMONIE.S.    FLOWER- MAGIC.    ETC.) 


PRIMITIVE  SACRIFICE 
(BORNEAN  RITE) 

THE  BIRD-SACRIFICE 

AJJE!    BAU-FXAKJ:    jnNTA     BAI.I    PE>Y.*-LONO    A3IBII. 
MAM-ITA       LEM-FRAH.       AMBIL       M.\.N-TTA       LIM-PANTAMO : 


Pi 


-,p.»T  OF  THjg, 


^^^  us   FT*-OM  ^^ 
THE  TAMA-BULAN  OFFERS  THE  OMEN-BIRD 

ftACBIFICIAL    CEREMONV    OF    THE    KEMTAHS.    KAYANS.    AND    OTHERS.     U-Ll  STRATDiO    THE 
81PRE>L\CY    OF    THE    ALI-FATHER   NOTION    tN    THE    MINDS    OF    THE    NATIVES.    THE    BIRD 

BEINU    A    SniPLE    MEDLATOB    BETWEEN    HE.AVEN    .\ND    EARTH. 
<SEE    HOSE-.McDOl  GALL,    THE    PAO.VN    TRIBES    OF    BORNEO     (1»>S(.    VOL.    U.    P.    »l-M.    AXD 
COMP.VBE    IDEM.    IN    THE    JOI'RNAL    OF    THE    .ANTHROPOLOGICAL    IN8TITVTK.    VOL.    XXXI 

(IMl),   P.    11»ff). 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  335 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 
BoRNEAN  Rite 

(3b)  Blood-Sacrifice:— Amnilies  with  Malakka  are  brought  into  still 
bolder  relief  by  the  Blood-throwing  ceremony,  which  is  thus  performed 
by  the  Kenyas,  and  possibly  in  simpler  form  by  the  Bakatans  :— 

Tama  Bulan,  (the  "high  priest"  of  the  Kenyas),  takes  his  stand  before 
two  sculptured  "totem"-poles,  representing  the  Sky-Father,— fia//i-Pen?/a- 
long.  He  holds  a  small  bamboo  vessel  in  his  left  hand,  and  with  a  frayed 
stick  in  his  right  hand  sprinkles  some  of  the  water  on  the  poles,  all  the 
time  looking  up  into  the  face  of  the  deity  and  rapidly  repeating  a  set  form 
of  words.  Presently  he  takes  a  fowl,  snips  off  its  head,  and  sprinkles  its 
blood  upon  the  pole,  repeating  the  ceremony  several  times.  He  does  the 
same  with  a  young  pig,  and  with  the  same  formula.  Finally  he  takes  the 
Omen-bird,— here  the  Hawk—,  offers  it  up,  and  sprinkles  the  worship- 
pers with  the  blood  of  the  bird,  chanting  the  following  prayer:— 

"Ane!    Bali    Flaki!    Minta    Bali-         "O   spirit   of   this    bird!   Ask   the 

Penyalong   ambil   man-ita   Mm-  Heavenly  Father  to  take  away  all 

prah.  Ambil  man-ita  lim  pant-  sickness  from  us  ay\d  to  keep  us 

<ing!"  from  all  harm!" 

The  purpose  of  the  ritual  fires  is  here  explained.    "The  Kenyas  seem  to 

feel  that  the  purpose  of  fire  is  to  carry  up  the  prayer  to  heaven  by  means 

of  ascending  flame  and  smoke,  in  somewhat  the  same  way  as  the  tall  pole 

facilitates  communion  with  Bali  Penyalong,   for  they  conceive  him  as 

dwelling  somewhere  above  the  earth".    As  to  the  omen  bird,  he  is  a  mere 

"messenger  or  mediator"  between  themselves  and  the  Sky-Father. 

Members  of  the  "Blood  Brotherhood"  commonly  draw  a  little  of  each 
others  blood  with  a  bamboo  knife,  and  either  drink  or  smoke  it  in  a  cig- 
arette as  a  mark  of  friendship  or  self-sacrifice.  This  may  originally  have 
been  a  blood-throwing  ceremony,  though  there  is  no  direct  proof. 

The  Kayan  ritual  is  complicated,  but  essentially  the  same  in  meaning. 
Here  "Father  Neho",  the  Hawk,  is  the  messenger  of  "Grandfather 
Tenangan",  a  hen  or  a  pig  is  slaughtered,  and  an  egg  offered  to  him  as 
follows : — 

■Ina     ta-ika     koman!     Kna-ang         "This  is  for  thee  to  eat!    Carry  my 
mitang   kigan   Laki    Tenangan,  message  directly  to  Grandfather 

noli  murip  sayang,  noti  malaka  Tenangan,  that  I  may  become 

anaki  pa-halan  murip  marong!"  well,  and  may  train  my  children 

in  the  path  of  right  living". 
It  should  be  added  that  portions  of  these  olTerings  are  quite  often  con- 
sumed, but  that  cannibalism  and  human  sacrifice  are  unknown  to  the 
"wild  men",  the  evidence  on  this  subject  being  fairly  strong.  -We  affirm 
with  some  confidence  that  none  of  the  peoples  of  Borneo  ever  consume 
human  flesh  as  food"  (Hose) ;  "the  Bakatans  are  not  cannibals"  (Brooke). 
This,  however,  cannot  apply  to  the  more  advanced  tribes,  among  whom 
such  practices,  however  rare  and  exceptional,  have  undoubtedly  occurred.' 


217'fein/'  ^ •■^-  XXXI    17Sff    Pagan  Tribes,  II.  6-18,  I.  175.     Ling-Roth,  I.  16-17.  II. 

^1/.   (bMdence  against  cannibalism).  o  . 


336  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 
BoRNEAN  Rite 

(3,  c)  Mixed  Sacrifice: — Cases  in  which  animal  and  vegetable  products 
are  offered  simultaneously  may  be  found  in  the  Kayan  custom  of  wrap- 
ping these  foodstuffs,— maize,  rice,  pigsflesh,  etc.— in  banana-leaves,  and 
offering  them  to  the  To  Antu,  or  "Great  Spirit",  who  as  Amei,  Tamei, 
Amaka,  is  clearly  designated  as  the  universal  "Father"  above.  For  liquid 
ofTerings  bamboo  cylinders  are  used,  into  which  the  blood  or  water  are 
poured  and  then  thrown  up  or  sprinkled  over  the  worshippers  with  the 
same  or  very  similar  ceremonies  as  those  described  above. 

As  to  the  type  of  sacrifice  recorded  on  the  magic  "Palanka",  I  have  not 
been  able  to  identify  the  tribe  known  as  Oloh  Ngadjo  among  whom  it  is 
said  to  be  practiced  unless  it  is  a  branch  of  the  numerous  Vluh-Ayer,  or 
"River  Head  Men",  which  I  take  it  to  be.  In  any  case  I  have  ventured  the 
following  interpretation  of  the  pictographs  as  they  appear  on  the  tablet:— 

"Asha!  Tabu!  Abu!  Tabu!  Asha!  "Light    and    blessing    from    the 

Aka!  -  Beri  -  Semba  -  Beri  -  Aka  !  Father  above.  May  he  accept  our 

Antu-Asha-Bruwa-Asha  -  Antu  !  offerings!  May  he  cure  us  by  his 

Ta-buah  ampak,  kapala,  balang-  fire-spirits!  May  he  bring  salva- 

long,  etc".  tion  upon  our  household!" 

Grabowsky  says  in  a  general  way  that  these  votive  tablets  are  hung  up 
in  high  places,  e.  g.  the  roof  of  the  house,  in  order  to  placate  the  Air  or 
Wind  Spirit,  (Luftgeist),  one  of  the  numerous  antus  which  are  under  the 
Great-Spirit,  and  to  procure  relief  from  mental  troubles  (Geisteskrank- 
heiten).  But  he  interprets  the  gifts  as  referring  to  knives,  drums,  ear- 
rings, and  head-ornaments,  while  the  mannikin  is  said  to  be  the  "soul"  of 
the  sufTerer.  That  these  are  secondary  and  not  primary  meanings,  is 
suggested  by  the  following  considerations : — 

(1)  The  alleged  knife-symbol  is  also  a  very  old  ideograph  for  palm- 
blossom,  magic  fruit,  fire-stick,  and  so  for  light  or  fire-spirit  in  general. 
Compare  the  Malakkan  light-symbol  and  the  tree  of  life  signs  throughout 
the  primitive  belt.  This  was  evidently  the  first  meaning,  before  the  glit- 
tering sword,  (of  far  later  ages),  had  been  used  to  express  the  same  idea. 

(2)  The  crossed  circles  were  originally  /aftu-signs,  the  diagrams  rep- 
resenting the  Mystic  Flower,  or  Love-Plant,  etc.  the  source  of  good  fortune, 
immortality.    The  magic  drum  of  later  times  stood  for  the  same  notion. 

(3)  The  chief  mannikin  is  clearly  a  development  of  the  All-Father  sign, 
admittedly  supreme.  With  these  corrections  the  tablet  will  speak  for 
itself,  though  the  interpretations  given  are  in  no  sense  final.' 

And  this  may  serve  as  the  occasion  for  calling  attention  to  the  essen- 
tially tentative  and  provisional  nature  of  much  of  our  paraphrase.  While 
most  of  liiesc  prayers  are  directly  attested,  some  in  the  vernacular,  Iheir 
Malayan  equivalents  are  often  supplied,  and  the  above  is  merely  an  ingen- 
ious attempt  to  read  a  more  definite  meaning  into  a  very  obscure  crypto- 
gram. 

»  Nieuwenhuis,  1.  c.  I.  116-119  (Kayans).  Grabowski,  Intern.  Archif  f.  Ethnogr.  Vol. 
I.  p.  130.  (Palanka  Sacrifice) 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  337 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 
BoBNEAN  Rite 

(4)  Expiation:— The  most  primitive  exorcism-rite  is  again  that  of  the 
Orang  Ukit,  in  which  the  Palm-blossom  is  believed  to  "call  back  the  wan- 
dering soul  of  the  sufferer"  by  its  very  presence,  with  the  invocation:— 
"Bali-Dayong  usun  lasan"  "0  holy  Dayong,  thou  who  lovest  mankind" 
Prof.  Kukenthal  also  mentions  a  kind  of  ointment  as  used  by  the  wilder 
tribes,  and  which  appears  to  consist  of  clay,  ape's  hair,  weeds,  etc.  while 
the  Punans  apply  the  palm-branch  and  the  magic  crystal  to  expel  the  dis- 
ease. It  is  to  be  remarked  that  more  than  one  writer  has  been  struck  by 
the  healthy  physique  of  the  aborigines,  who  "enjoy  a  complete  immunity 
from  skin-diseases",  which  goes  to  show  that  their  standard  of  living 
must  be  fairly  decent.  The  care  of  the  mother  during  confmement  tends 
in  the  same  direction. 

From  the  practices  of  the  Kenyas,  Kayans,  and  others,  we  may  also 
infer,  that  a  sprinkling  ivith  blood  and  water  is  part  of  the  rite,  as  it  is 
certain  that  the  ceremonies  under  (3)  are  in  part  purgative,  they  are 
intended  primarily  for  the  sick.  Here  however  the  Hawk  is  all-impor- 
tant :— 

•'Ane!  Bali  Flaki!"  etc.  0  spirit  of  this  bird!"  etc. 

This  applies  also  to  the  Palanka-rite  (3.  c),  though  no  details  are 
given : — 

"Asha,  Tabu,  Asha!"  "Light  and  Blessing",  etc.  (above) 

In  fact  we  cannot  but  be  struck  by  the  prominence  of  ceremonies  for 
physical  or  mental  healing,  which  in  view  of  the  comparatively  high 
morality  of  the  natives  and  their  apparently  strong  consciousness  of  a 
supernatural  power,  must  be  pronounced  as  a  sign  favorable  to  their 
religious  character.  Where  a  specific  works,  it  cannot  be  of  demoniacal 
origin.* 

(5)  Priesthood:— As  to  the  minister  at  these  functions,  we  have  the 
same  gradation  as  in  the  previous  instances.  Schwaner  testifies  that 
among  the  Orang  Ott  the  paterfamilias  is  at  the  same  time  the  family  chief, 
and  the  exceedingly  loose  nomadic  life  of  these  tribes  makes  it  equally 
probable  that  father  and  medicine-man  are  identical  terms,  {Peng, 
Pengulu,  Penya,  etc.) 
"Penglima-Dayong!  Shembayang!"  "Father-Master!  All  Hail!" 

With  the  more  advanced  tribes  it  is  different.  Among  the  Kayans 
headman  medicine-man  are  separate  offices,  these  manangs  belonging  to 
a  professional  class,  (Comp.  the  mangas  of  the  Philippines).  Finally  the 
Tama  Bulan,  or  "High  Priest"  clearly  supposes  an  elaborate  organisa- 
tion of  diviners,  sooth  sayers,  etc.  which  are  conspicuously  absent  in  the 
lowest  belt.  All  this  confirms  our  previous  findings  that  among  the  least 
civilised  peoples  the  paternal  authority  of  the  father  makes  him  ipso 
facto  the  "high  priest".' 


«CotTip  Lmg-Roth,  L  16.  II.  CCX.  Also  I.  2S9ff.  (for  general  Medicine).  Hose-Mc- 
&  TT  r^%"vT"''!^  '  ,'•  oS"nP''\^?''^  "•  ^^  ^^°'  P""*"  ■■''««)•  'Schwaner,  apud  Ling- 
II   190       ^^^^^     •^'^°  ^-  259.     Xieuwenhuis,  I.  59-60.     Hose-McDougall,  Pagan  Tribes, 


338  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 
BoRNEAN  Rite 

(6)  Matrimony: — As  a  reaction  against  the  reckless  assertions  of 
former  times,  it  is  now  generally  admitted  ttiat  monogamy  is  the  normal 
state  among  all  these  peoples,  that  multiple  marriages  and  irregular  unions 
are  alike  frowned  upon. 

We  have  little  information  of  marriage  rites  among  the  lowest  forest 
tribes  beyond  the  statement  that  they  have  "large  families"  and  are  "kind 
to  the  women  and  children", — two  points  that  tell  against  infanticide  and 
promiscuity.  Among  the  Punans  "marriage  is  for  life"  and  is  cemented 
by  a  religious  offering: — 
"Bali  Penya-lonrj!  Seramat!"  "May  Father  in  Heaven  protect  ris!" 

Among  the  Kayans  there  is  a  good  deal  of  freedom  before  nuptials,  but 
once  married  their  conduct  is  irreproachable.  There  is  an  equality  of  con- 
jugal rights,  and  the  position  of  women  is  high,  some  of  them  becoming 
priestesses.  It  is  only  by  a  few  of  the  headman  that  polygamy  is  occa- 
sionally practiced. 

For  the  Dayaks  in  general  it  may  be  said  that  local  exogamy  with  tribal 
endogamy  appears  to  be  the  rule.  Marriage  with  first  cousin  or  with 
deceased  wife's  sister  is  very  generally  prohibited.  As  with  other  primi- 
tive peoples,  they  marry  young,  and  betrothals  and  weddings  are  sur- 
rounded with  appropriate  ceremonies.  On  the  day  of  the  wedding  a  cigar 
and  a  betel-leaf  are  placed  in  the  hand.s  of  the  pair,  and  "one  of  the  priests 
then  waves  two  fowls  over  the  heads  of  the  couple,  and  in  a  long  addreax 
to  the  Supreme  Being,  calls  clown  the  blessing  upon  the  pair,  and  implores 
that  peace  and  happiness  may  attend  the  iinion"  (St.  John).  Though 
divorce  and  desertion  are  not  unknown,  adultery  is  a  capital  ofTence.  pun- 
ishable at  times  with  death.* 

(7)  Burial: — The  simplest  form  of  disposal  is  that  of  the  Bakatans,  who 
either  leave  the  body  in  the  sholter  or  consign  it  to  a  hollow  tree-stem, 
around  which  are  hung  mementos  of  all  kinds,  but  no  food-stuffs.  This 
may  be  called  a  "living  grave",  as  thi^  tree  continues  to  grow  and  to 
sprout, — a  beautiful  custom. 

"Saya  bukaiap,  tana  Leman!"  " floppy  journey  to  the  land  of  Leman!" 

With  tlie  more  civilised  tribes  we  have  everything  from  the  platform- 
burial  of  the  Kayans  to  the  full  cremation-rite  of  the  western  Land- 
Dayaks,  an  instructive  example  of  progressive  deterioration.  Elaborate 
tombs,  Soul-boats,  and  Jar-burial,  all  belong  to  a  later  wave  of  culture.' 


To  sum  up,  there  are  few  regions  where  the  belief  in  a  supernatural 
Being  or  in  supernatural  beings  appears  to  be  so  strong  as  here  in  Borneo. 
It  colors  the  whole  of  the  national  or  tribal  life,  and  is  vividly  expressed 
in  the  ritual.  But  if  our  knowledge  of  the  religious  practices  of  the  wild 
forest  men  is  still  disappointingly  meagre,  it  can  be  supplied  in  part  from 
the  peninsular  region,— for,  in  the  words  of  Brooke,  "many  of  tiieir  prac- 
tices are  like  those  of  the  Semangs  or  Jakuns  of  the  interior  or  Malakka". 

•Ling-Roth,   I.   16,   108ff.   Nieuwenhuis.   I.  8.V86.     Hose-McDougall,    Pagan   Tribes.   II. 
1R3-184.     '  Ling-Roth.  11   CXCVH    I    1.^5ff.    Hose-McDougall.  Pagan  Tribes.  II.  44.  45,  187. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  339 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 
(E)  Melanesian  Rite 

(1)  Birth:— The  Couvade  is  strictly  observed  by  most  of  the  islanders, 
though  with  different  degrees  of  completeness.  In  the  Banks  Islands  both 
parents  refrain  from  all  foods  that  would  endanger  the  life  of  the  infant, 
the  mother  abstains  from  fish,  and  the  father  from  heavy  work  for  a 
month  and  he  does  not  visit  the  sacred  places  for  fear  that  the  "chiM 
could  not  go  there  without  risk"(?).  In  San  Cristobal  there  is  a  regular 
"lying  in"  period  after  the  birth,  and  in  nearly  all  cases  severe  absti- 
nences are  enjoined.  Ablutions,  whether  medical  or  ceremonial,  are  very 
general.  In  some  cases  a  small  sacrifice  is  made  to  the  ancestor-spirit,  in 
others  there  are  prolonged  festivities,  with  dancing,  sham-fighting,  etc. 
No  naming  ceremony  has  so  far  been  reported.* 

(2)  Initiation:— Wiih  the  advent  of  puberty  the  boy  is  sent  to  the 
gamal,  or  club-house  to  sleep,  for  the  parents  say,  "He  is  a  boy,  it  is  time 
to  separate  him  from  the  girls".  The  nearest  approach  to  ari  initiation- 
ceremony  consists  of  a  fo?o-sacrifice  of  purification,  confinement  to  the 
men's  house,  instruction  in  the  art  of  catching  fish,  and  occasional  cir- 
cumcision with  a  sharp  bamboo.  It  is  preceded  by  a  short  moral  instruc- 
tion by  the  parents,— "he  must  not  go  under  the  vi'omen's  bedplace,  he 
must  not  consort  with  big  boys  who  will  teach  him  bad  ways,  he  must  be 
kept  apart,  lest  he  should  fall,  lest  he  should  become  low".  Initiation  to 
the  Tamate,  or  "Ghost  Society",  is  a  more  advanced  ritual,  in  which  the 
candidate  is  compelled  to  fast,  go  unwashed  for  a  month,  walk  through 
nettle-trees,  take  up  burning  embers,  wallow  in  dung,  and  is  finally 
adorned  with  the  sacred  lano  of  Quat,—&  long  conical  hat,  made  of  tree- 
bark,  and  inscribed  with  crosses,  zigzags,  and  other  emblems.  As  Quat 
is  the  quondam  "Lord",  this  rite  acquires  a  semi-religious  aspect.^ 

(3)  Sacrifice:— ''Hhe  simplest  and  most  common  form  of  sacrifice  is 
that  of  throwing  a  small  portion  of  food  to  the  dead.  This  is  probably  a 
universal  practice  in  Melanesia".  The  offering  may  be  anything  from  a 
yam  to  a  young  pig,  and  as  the  deity  is  invariably  represented  as  a 
departed  spirit,  it  is  clear  that  in  some  cases  this  amounts  to  a  quasi- 
religious  oblation.  First-fruit  offerings  are  common  in  Florida,  and  in 
the  Banks  Islands  food-stuffs  and  even  money  are  offered  to  the  Great  Vui, 
or  quondam  Universal  Spirit.  "This  is  for  thee  to  eat!"— such  is  the  com- 
mon formula  on  these  occasions,  and  although  the  offering  is  frequently 
consumed  in  the  fire  and  sometimes  attended  with  cruel  customs,  it  was 
only  in  the  Solomon  Islands  that  the  sacrifice  of  human  life  became  a 
regular  institution.' 

It  will  thus  be  sufficiently  clear  that  in  the  more  primitive  Oceanic  area 
the  Sacrifice  is  confined  to  the  offering  up  of  fruits  and  animals,  or  ex- 
tends at  most  to  the  feeding  of  the  dead,  the  killing  or  eating  of  human 
beings  being  a  practice  of  unquestionably  later  intrusion. 


'Codrington,  The  Melanesians.  228.    a  Ibid.  75ff.  231  ff.    'Ibid.  128ff. 


340  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 
Melanesian  Rite 

(4)  Medicine  — "Any  sickness  that  is  serious  is  believed  to  be  brought 
about  by  ghosts  or  spirits;  common  complaints,  such  as  fever  and  ague 
are  taken  as  coming  in  the  course  of  nature".  The  common  treatment  is 
to  rub  the  patient  with  magic  herbs,  blow  on  the  affected  spots,  apply 
fomentations  and  poultices  of  mallow  leaves,  and  give  him  "holy  water" 
to  drink, — that  is,  water  derived  from  the  hollow  of  a  sacred  stone,  which 
is  believed  to  be  endowed  with  mana  by  the  protecting  or  offending  vui. 
The  formula  on  these  occasions  is  simply,  "May  he  or  she  recover!"* 

(5)  Priesthood: — As  nearly  all  the  peoples  of  Melanesia  are  com- 
paratively advanced,  it  is  rare  indeed  to  find  the  office  of  headman  and 
medicine  man  united  in  the  same  person.  More  commonly  it  is  a  separate 
profession,  carrying  with  it  no  small  influence  and  revenue.  In  the  Banks 
Islands,  he  is  known  as  the  gismana,  and  there  are  female  doctors  who 
drive  away  diseases  by  "blowing  on  the  child's  eyes  and  calling  the  name 
of  the  attacking  ghost".  Indeed,  the  entire  religion  consists  of  little  else 
than  the  exorcism  of  evil  spirits,  which  makes  the  exerciser  a  very  promi- 
nent personality." 

(6)  Matrimony: — Totemism  and  the  Class-system  have  taken  a  firm 
hold  in  Melanesia,  though  there  are  isolated  sections  that  seems  to  reflect 
a  more  primitive  life.  This  means  that  in  the  majority  of  cases  the  hus- 
band is  bound  to  take  a  woman  of  a  difTerent  totem  and  of  a  different  class, 
and  this  under  the  gravest  penalties.  As  usual  bethrothals  and  marriages 
take  place  at  an  early  age,  and  bridal  gifts  are  not  only  t-xpected,  but  fre- 
quently demanded.  Once  married,  the  tie  is  generally  respected,  the  pun- 
ishment for  adultery  being  until  recently  the  death  sentence.  In  other 
respects,  however,  we  note  a  decided  degeneration.  Polygamy  and  divorce 
are  said  to  be  common,  and  wife-loaning  too  frequent  to  constitute  an 
exception.* 

(7)  Burial: — Death  ceremonies  vary  considerably,  from  the  simple 
earth  or  tent  grave  to  the  full  cremation.  In  the  Banks  Islands  the  body  of 
a  great  chief  is  wrapt  in  a  mat,  with  his  ceremonial  trinkets,  and  anointed 
with  red  earth.  An  address  is  then  made  to  the  "ghost"  of  the  deceased, 
and  the  body  consigned  to  the  grave,  around  which  a  bamboo  vessel  or 
water  with  a  coconut-shell  and  a  roasted  yam  is  placed,  to  "feed"  the 
departed.' 

Although  there  are  occasional  glimpses  of  a  purer  faith,  already  dis- 
cussed above,  it  does  not  take  long  to  discover  that  magic  and  spiritism 
are  of  the  essence  of  Melanesian  religion.  And  this  must  always  be  taken 
into  account  in  every  effort  to  interpret  the  ritual. 


'Codrington,  141,   194ff.    » Ibid    198.    "Ibid.  2.1.  ,12.  2.17ff.     ■  Ibid.  267. 


PRIMITIVE  SACRIFICE 
(AUSTRALIAN  RITE) 

THE  SPEAR-THROWING 

"BTAMEE  QCADOCN  UCNGEBH  WIBEEI 
BTAMEK   QCADOt'N    MX'NOEBH    WIBEEI" 


^^^eT^iSiiT^?^^ 


o^' 


THE  GOMMERAS  THROW  THEIR  WEAPONS  INTO  THE  FIRE 

CEREMONY     AT     THE     BORAH-INITIATION     OF     THE    KAMHABOI-TRIBES,     SHOWING     THE 

MAGIC  STONES  AND  Bl'I.L-ROAREBS,  THE  BITIAL  ITBE.  THE   FLINT-HEADED  SPEAR,  THE 

CBOSS-SHAPED    WADDY.    BONE-POINTERS,    THBOWINO-CRY8TALS.    BARK    WATEB-VESSEtS. 

TASUANIAN    SKILL-CAP,    AND    CBBEMONXAL    Gl'H-BKAOS    OB    SUKLL-NECKLACB. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS  341 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 

(F)  Australian  Rite 

(1)  Birth: — Among  the  Kurnai  the  infant  child  is  at  first  recognised 
merely  as  lit,  that  is  "child",  thoush  a  proper  name  is  also  applied,  taken 
from  some  object  or  circumstance  that  attended  its  birth.  For  the  Euah- 
layi  tribe  of  the  Kamilaroi  we  have  more  explicit  information.  Spirit- 
babies  are  despatched  by  the  moon,  Bahloo,  and  sent  by  her  to  the  Cool- 
abah-Tree,  until  some  woman  passes  under  the  tree,  when  they  will  seize 
a  mother  and  be  incarnated.  "This  resembles  the  Arunta  belief,  but  with 
the  Euahlayi  the  spirits  are  new  freshly  created  beings,  not  reincarnations 
or  ancestral  souls  as  among  the  Arunta".  When  a  baby  is  born,  the 
Coolabah-leaf  is  taken  out  of  its  mouth,  and  a  cold-water  ablution  admin- 
istered. A  white  crosslike  mark  is  made  on  their  foreheads  as  a  remem- 
brance{\).  This  cannot  but  remind  us  of  the  "Birth-Tree"  of  Malakka, 
and  the  Sex-bird  of  the  Kurnai  is  no  doubt  a  distant  echo  of  the  "Soul- 
Bird"  of  the  East  Indies,  (q.  v.).' 

(2)  Initiation: — All  initiations  partake  of  a  very  similar  character. 
The  candidate  is  smeared  over  with  charcoal  powder  or  red  ochre,  deprived 
of  food,  laid  down  to  sleep,  rolled  about  the  floor,  and  "hazed"  in  a 
variety  of  ways.  At  the  Kurnai  Jeraeil  the  Headman  finally  shows  them 
the  magic  Bull-Roarer,  tells  them  the  story  of  Mungan  ngaua,  the  "Our 
Father",  and  commands  them:  1.  To  listen  to  and  obey  the  old  men. 
2.  To  share  everything  with  their  friends.  3.  To  live  peaceably  with  their 
friends.  4.  Not  to  interfere  ivith  girls  and  married  women.  5.  To  obey 
the  food-restrictions.  Among  the  Yuin-Kuri  (or  Kulin)  similar  ceremonies 
take  place  in  connection  with  Dara-mulun  with  the  additional  knocking 
out  of  a  tooth,  and  at  the  Borah  initiation  of  the  Kamilaroi,  the  Creator 
is  solemnly  invoked  as  "Baiame,  Father  of  all,  whose  laws  the  tribes  are 
now  obeying!"  Neither  circumcision,  nor  the  ghastly  custom  of  sub- 
incision  are  practiced  by  the  more  primitive  tribes,  though  the  full  family 
name,  generally  paternal  (Kurnai),  is  now  as  a  rule  assumed.' 

(3)  Sacrifice: — The  throwing  of  objects  into  the  fire  is  here  to  be  seen 
in  one  of  its  most  rudimentary  forms,  a  simple  burning-up  of  things  as 
they  are,  without  any  elaborate  preparations.  At  the  Bora/i-ceremonies 
just  considered  the  headman  brandishes  the  gubberahs  or  magic  stones, 
while  the  assistant  wizards  whirl  the  gayandis  or  bull-roarers  and  throw 
their  spears  or  other  articles  into  the  fire,  thus  typifying  some  form  of 
self-immolation,  of  self-surrender.  Animal  sacrifice,  except  in  the  sense 
of  taboo,  is  not  to  be  found.  Only  among  the  Narrinyeri  of  South-Australia 
has  a  regular  wallaby-offering  been  recorded.^ 


1  Howitt,   South-East  Australia,   736.     Parker,   Euahlayi   Tribe,   50-53.    ^  Howitt,  616flE. 
516flF.     Parker,  70flF.    «  Howitt,  593-595.    Parker,  70-82,  and  compare  p.  42  above. 


342  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

EARLY  OCEANIC  FORM 
Australian  Rite 

(4)  Exorcism: — As  diseases  are  invariably  caused  or  allowed  by  super- 
natural beings,  good  or  evil,  it  will  follow  that  their  expulsion  is  to  some 
extent  a  religious  ceremony,  especially  where  the  tribal  All-Father  is 
recognised  as  the  ultimate  source  of  good,  whether  physical  or  moral. 
Hence  the  various  "sendings"  or  "pointings"  with  bone  needles,  the  expul- 
sion of  the  demon  with  quartz-crystals,  the  application  of  numerous  oint- 
ments and  the  whirring  of  the  sacred  "bull-roarer",  are  not  always  and 
necessarily  magical,  as  the  deity  is  believed  to  operate  through  them. 
Where  this  is  not  the  case,  however,  they  sink  to  the  level  of  purely  intimi- 
dating spells. 

(5)  Priesthood: — In  few  regions  is  there  such  a  variety  in  the  medical 
craft.  Doctor  competes  with  doctor,  wizard  with  wizard,  spirit-medium 
with  spirit-medium,  in  order  to  control  the  influences  that  are  believed  to 
be  evil,  in  order  to  counteract  the  power  of  the  opposite  medicine.  That 
he  is  occasionally  successful  is  only  to  be  expected,  and  some  wonderful 
"faith-cures"  are  said  to  be  on  record.  As  a  rule  the  ofTico  of  gommera 
runs  in  certain  families,  and  passes  from  father  to  son,  the  son  being 
trained  by  his  father  in  the  use  of  the  crystals,  magic  needles,  etc.  As  the 
presiding  minister  at  the  initiations,  his  moral  power  is  clearly  immense." 

(6)  Matrimony: — Equally  complicated  are  the  marriage  relations.  From 
the  simple  local  exogamy  of  the  Kurnai,  with  patrilineal  descent,  to  the 
elaborate  four-class  system  of  the  Kamilaroi,  with  its  occasional  "mother- 
right",  we  find  almost  every  conceivable  system.  Though  chastity  is 
highly  prized,  and  contrary  olTences  severely  punished,  polygamy  is  very 
generally  practiced  throughout  Australia,  though  in  many  cases  the  more 
simple,  less  sophisticated  folk  are  content  with  one  wife.  As  a  rule  the  tie 
is  fairly  constant,  and  many  touching  stories  are  told  of  conjugal  devo- 
tion." 

(7)  Burial: — Here  again  the  simple  earth  or  hut-grave  of  the  Kurnai 
precedes  the  platform  and  cremation  rite  of  the  more  advanced  tribes, 
though  there  is  no  uniformity  in  any  one  region.  A  sheet  of  bark  com- 
monly serves  as  a  cofiin,  and  wailing,  fasting,  and  even  self-laceration 
frequently  accompany  the  rite.  Trinkets  are  often  supplied,  but  appar- 
ently no  food-stufls.' 

Enough  has  been  said  in  previous  pages  to  show  that,  although  there 
are  many  primitive  beliefs  and  practices  still  lingering  in  this  part  of  the 
continent,  with  a  vivid  consciousness  of  a  divine  presence,  it  has  been  too 
much  overgrown  with  magical  and  totemic  ceremonies  to  reveal  the  earliest 
beliefs  in  their  purity.    But  such  as  they  are,  they  command  respect. 


♦Howitt.  3S5ff     'Idem,  ibidem     •  Idem,  173ff    Parker.  SO     '  Howin,  459 


PRIMITIVE  SACRIFICE 
(AFRICAN  RITE) 

THE  MODUMA  FRUIT-OFFERING 

"EKJENDA   NA'KENDO,  NDONDA  MONGIIMA   »10   NDJAMBE!" 


;    yrOFwWAT^j) 


THE  FUMUS  GATHER  THEIR  FOREST  OFFERINGS  AND  THROW 
THEM  ONE  BY  ONE  INTO  THE  FIRE 

THE  NEGRrLLO  SACRIFICE  OF  THE  MODIMA-NUT,  SHOWING  THE  FRt'lT-CLVSTERS 
AND  RITUAL-FIRES,  HORN-,  BAMBOO-,  OR  B^VRK-WALLETS,  MAGIC  STONES  OR  CRYSTALS. 
BONE-POINTERS,  HEAD-BAND,  AND  (OSTRICH)  EGG-SHELL  NECKLACE,    THE  LATTER  A  BVSII- 

MAN  ORNAMENT. 


PRIMITIVE  SACRIFICE 
(AFRICAN  RITE) 

THE  BUFFALO  SACRIFICE 


BEFBESENTING  OXE  OF  THE  COMMONEST  FORMS  OF  THE 
UOLOCA18T  TIIBOIGHOIT  tSDO-^lFRlCA 


THY    ^O^ 


THE  HEADMAN  AND  HIS  FAMILY  OFFER  THEIR  BEST  FOODS 
TO  THE  CREATOR 

SACRTFICIAL  CERAMONY   OF  THE  BON1-WATWA8  AND   OTHERS.   EMTllASISINO   THE   STRONO 
CONBCIOl'SNESS  OF  A  SITREME  POWER  AS  THE  Al  THOB  AND  GIVEB  OF  ALL  GOOD  TIUNGS. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  343 

EARLY  AFRICAN  FORM 

(G)  Negrillo-Bushman  Rite 

The  following  customs  are  reported  for  tlie  Congo-Zambesi  region : — 

(1)  Birth: — When  a  child  is  born,  the  Akkas  place  it  on  the  ground, 
on  the  leaf  of  a  red  banana,  to  symbolise  its  "lordship  over  the  earth". 
Then  the  parents  and  neighbors  bless  the  child  by  sprinkling  a  little  water 
over  it  and  wishing  it  all  prosperity, — health,  power,  agility,  long  life,  etc. 
The  child  is  then  returned  to  the  mother.  Though  parents  are  generally 
kind,  and  children  well  treated,  this  is  less  conspicuous  among  the  Bush- 
men, where  occasional  infanticide  is  known  to  occur.' 

(2)  Initiation: — Admission  to  manhood  is  accompanied  by  a  "blind 
man's  bluff".  The  candidate  is  fed  with  a  powerful  stimulant,  known  as 
iboga,  his  eyes  are  blindfolded,  and  he  is  left  to  wander  about  the  forest. 
If  he  returns  to  the  camp  with  his  hands  tied  behind  his  back,  he  is  worthy 
to  be  admitted.  "Who  tied  your  hands?"  he  is  asked.  If  his  description 
answers  to  the  person  who  performed  it, — his  words,  his  actions — ,  he  is 
declared  a  man,  restored  to  the  normal,  and  sobered  down  with  bananas. 
The  few  cases  of  circumcision  show  without  question  that  it  is  a  Bantu 
importation,  though  the  treatment  with  magic  herbs,  ointment,  etc.  may 
well  be  of  native  origin.^ 

(3a)  Fruit-Sacrifice:— \i  has  already  been  shown  that  the  Moduma  is 
the  sacred  tree  of  the  Negrillos,  that  it  possesses  the  properties  of  a  tree  of 
life.  At  the  proper  season  it  is  customary  to  form  a  long  procession 
through  the  forest  and  chant  the  following  refrain: — 

"Ekenda  na'kendo,  ndonda  "Forward!  Forward!  Forward!  Let 

Monguma  mo  Ndjambe!"  us   gather   the   present   of   the 

Lord!" 

This  is  evidently  a  western  Gaboon  rite,  though  similar  practices  are 
found  throughout  the  negrillo  territory.  Arrived  at  the  sacred  tree,  the 
best  climber  mounts  the  stem  with  marvellous  dexterity,  he  places  the  sac- 
rificial "nut"  between  his  teeth,  and  descends  with  it  head  downwards( !). 
Frequently  two  nuts  are  collected,  a  good  and  a  bad  one,  to  complete  the 
offering.  The  nuts  are  then  placed  under  some  fagots  of  wood,  the  fires 
are  lighted  and  the  nuts  consumed, — all  chanting  and  giving  thanks  to 
the  Deity — ,  each  worshipper  presenting  in  turn  his  forest-offering. 

The  eastern  Watwas  have  a  similar  rite  for  honey,  buffalo,  palm- 
wine;  the  father  of  the  family  ofTering  his  best  foods  to  the  Giver  of  all: — 

"Waka!  Thou  hast  given  me  this  buffalo,  this  honey,  this  wine.  Behold 
thy  portion.  Grant  me  strength  and  life,  and  that  no  harm  may  hap- 
pen to  my  children!"^ 

As  Waka  is  nothing  less  than  the  supreme  Being,  it  will  be  seen  that 
here  again,  as  in  the  East  Indies,  the  most  primitive  tribes  invariably  re- 
flect the  purest  and  most  biblical  concept  of  the  primitive  sacrifice. 


»  LeRoy,  Les  Pygmees,  193.    Stow,  The  native  Ezcts  of  South  Africa,  p.  SO-Sl.    *  LeRoy, 

194-1%,  Stow,  27.1     a  LeRoy,  187-192.     Also  176flt. 


344  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

EARLY  AFRICAN  FORM 

Negrillo-Bushman  Rite. 

(3b)  The  Dance  of  Blood: — This  ferocious  ordeal  is  confined  to  the 
Bushmen,  and  consists  of  an  all-night  dance  which  is  intended  to  produce 
a  swoon  and  to  effect  a  Mo'koma,  lit.  a  "nose-bleeding."  They  carry  about 
a  reed-cross,  and  eat  charm-medicine,  made  of  burnt  snake-powder,  until 
they  collapse  one  by  one  through  sheer  intoxication  and  loss  of  blood. 
This  was  originally  a  religious  rite,  ordained  by  Kaang  himself,  and  may 
be  called  a  self-sacrifice, — a  bloody  atonement.  For  although  men  and 
iwomen  both  take  part  in  it,  any  transgressions  of  sexual  propriety  are  be- 
lieved to  be  punished  by  Kaang  with  extraordinary  chastisements, — 
banishment  to  a  mysterious  region  under  the  water  and  transformation 
into  beasts.  It  should  be  added  that  neither  cannibalism  nor  human 
sacrifice  disfigure  the  ceremony,  though  it  is  savage  enough.'b 

(4)  Exorcism: — The  same  practices  have  also  a  medical  aspect,  in  that 
the  sap  or  leaves  of  the  Moduma,  the  juice  of  the  "red-fruit,"  the  magic 
snake-powder,  etc.,  are  applied  or  administered  to  the  patient  with  appro- 
priate formula?.  Even  the  Blood-Dance  has  a  sanitary  aspect,  inasmuch 
as  the  dancers  manipulate  the  sick  man,  and  when  he  coughs,  they 
"receive"  the  demon.  Moreover  "the  Cross,  singly,  or  in  groups  of  three, 
was  one  of  the  most  ancient  of  Bushman  symbols",  "exerting  a  salutary 
influence  over  the  sick  person".* 

(5)  Priesthood: — Among  the  negrillos,  "the  father  is  ruler,  the  father 
is  judge,  the  father  is  priest,  and  he  unites  all  these  attributes  in  one 
quality,  that  which  gives  him  paternity".  For  the  Bushmen  there  is  greater 
variety  of  custom,  and  headman  and  medicine-man  are  more  often 
separated." 

(6)  Matrimony: — We  note  the  same  dilTerence  in  the  marriage-rela- 
tions. For  if  the  Akkas  are  generally  content  with  one  wife,  whom  they 
select  from  the  neighboring  camp  and  court  with  a  "love-philtre"  and  a 
modest  gift,  the  Kalahari  man  is  more  often  a  polygamist,  and  an 
occasional  child-murderer,  though  there  is  evidence  to  show  that  he  too  is 
normally  moral,  self-respecting.* 

(7)  Burial: — The  simplest  funeral  is  again  that  of  the  forest-men  of 
the  Congo,  when  the  deceased  is  carried  to  the  nearest  river-bed,  and  con- 
signed to  a  grave  that  has  been  previously  dug  in  the  center.  Then  they  say 
"Ayendi  na  g'ebanda  g'Emanyana  "He  is  gone  with  his  raiment  of 
na  g'ekoto  ya  Nguya  .  .  .  Ayiri  na  reason,  and  his  clothing  of  forest- 
go  Bata  .  .  .  na  Tambil"  skinl    He  has  arrived  at  Bata,  the 

land  of  good." 

In  the  Kalahari  the  dead  are  anointed  with  red  powder  mixed  with 
melted  fat,  and  then  embalmed.  The  grave  is  covered  with  stones  for 
protection.'' 


•bStow,    iigff.      «LePoy,    i88.      Stow,    120.      » LeRoy,   221.      Stow,    125.      •  LeRoy, 
499.     Stow,  96.     '  LeRoy,  203      Stow,  126. 


PRIMITIVE  SACRIFICE 
(AMAZONIAN  RITE) 

THE  ARROW-SHOOTING 

•TUPAl*  TABU  TE  KCWOI 
IXPAN  TABC  TE  KAWANI** 


^'^^vTui^Fi^T^^ 


THE  TUPANS  BRANDISH  THE  MYSTIC  PALM  WHILE  THE 
BOTOKUDOS   SHOOT  ARROWS  INTO  THE  AIR 

THINDER-CEREMONY    OF  THE    I  PPEB   AMAZONIAN    TRIBES.    SnOHTNO    PALMS.    8EI.J.BOWS 

WITH    BONEPOINTRI>    ARR/IWR.    BONE   OB    BARK-VE8SEI.fl.    MAOIO    POINTKRS     NOSK-QI  lU.' 

AND    SHBLL-NECKJLACE. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  345 

EARLY  SOUTH-AMERICAN  FORM 
(K)  Amazonian  Rite. 

(1)  Birth: — The  Gouvade  is  very  generally  observed  in  Central  Brazil, 
its  neglect  being  punished  in  the  popular  belief  by  special  visitations  from 
heaven,— fire  and  brimstone,  and  laceration  by  wild  beasts.  Among  the 
Bakairi  the  ordeal  lasts  for  a  week,  during  which  the  father  is  forced  to 
abstain  from  all  but  infant-food,  and  to  remain  in  the  hammock.  In  the 
words  of  Von  den  Steinen,  "the  father  is  a  patient  in  so  far  as  he  feels  him- 
self one  with  his  new-born."  This  confinement  is  followed  by  a  general 
feasting.  Among  most  of  these  peoples  women  deliver  easily,  and  children 
are  well  cared  for,  though  abortion  and  infanticide  are  known  to  occur. 
The  child  is  commonly  named  after  the  father,  or  grandfather,  but  except 
for  the  usual  "washings"  no  other  ceremonies  are  reported.' 

(2)  Initiation:— We  have  little  or  no  information  of  puberty-rites, 
which  seems  strange  when  we  consider  that  the  Shingo  tribes  have  been 
fairly  well  studied.  But  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  decoration  with 
tooth-  or  shell-necklace,  with  nose  or  ear-ornament,  and  the  strange 
Bakairi  practices  connected  with  the  sexualia,  have  something  to  do  with 
a  manhood  ceremony.  Body-painting,  on  the  other  hand,  seems  to  be 
generally  absent.' 

(3)  Sacrifice:— Conlr&ry  to  what  might  be  expected,  the  sacrificial 
practices,— what  there  are  of  them,—  are  singularly  free  from  inhuman 
ordeals.  The  most  elementary  rite  is  the  simple  fruit-taboo,  in  which  this 
or  that  "magic"  herb  is  set  aside  as  sacred  to  the  deity,  and  then  consumed. 
This  is  common  enough  throughout  the  Amazonian  belt,  and  is  presup- 
posed in  every  religious  fast.  On  these  occasions  some  invocation  to  a 
supreme  power  is  only  natural,  and  among  the  Botokudos  such  an  invoca- 
tion has  been  certified. 

"Tupan  taru  te  kuwo!"  "The  Heavenly  Chief  is  angry!" 

It  is  true  that  this  invocation  is  connected  with  thunder-storms,  during 
which  arrows  are  shot  into  the  air,  with  the  evident  motive  of  divine  pro- 
tection. But  as  some  form  of  fruit-abstention  is  practically  universal,  and 
the  custom  of  "bleeding"  the  body  directly  certified  for  these  mountain 
tribes,  it  is  quite  probable  that  this  is  in  part  at  least  a  sacrificial  rite 
being  accompanied  by  palm-offerings  and  the  throwing  of  objects  into 
the  fire. 

In  the  Shingo  region  food-ahstentions  are  part  and  parcel  of  the 
national  life,  they  bind  under  severe  penalties.  It  is  the  Tukum-^BXra 
which  is  Kamushini's  sacred  tree,  out  of  which  he  makes  bow-strings,  and 
then  human  beings  ( !),  while  the  offerings  placed  on  the  Ken-Kames  trees 
may,  if  genuine,  have  a  similar  sacrificial  meaning.  In  no  case  is  can- 
nibalism or  human  sacrifice  normally  practiced  except  towards  a  tribal 
enemy.* 


Mooy^°^A'^«   Steinen    op    cit.  334ff.    » Ibid.    '  Ehrenreich.  Uber  die  Botokudos,  in  Z.   E. 
(1887>.  30-35.     Von  den  Steinen,  340.  373ff. 


346  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

EARLY  SOUTH-AMERICAN  FORM 
Amazonian  Rite 

(4)  Exorcism: — In  so  far  as  these  practices  are  in  part  healing-rituals 
they  take  on  a  medical  aspect,  in  which  the  substance  offered,  whether 
animal  or  vegetable,  is  believed  to  be  effective  of  physical  and  to  some 
extent  even  of  moral  cures.  For  there  is  a  persuasion  among  the  Shingo 
people  that  there  would  be  "no  death  or  disease  if  all  men  were  good",  that 
these  things  are  the  result  of  witchcraft,  of  bad  magic.  Hence  the  ex- 
pulsion of  the  disease  is  indirectly  the  expulsion  of  its  moral  cause, — im- 
morality, sorcery,  neglect  of  the  couvade.  basphemy.  etc.  Among  the 
methods  employed  are  the  "bleeding"  mentioned  above  and  the  friction 
with  "magic"  nettles  applied  to  the  body  as  a  febrifuge,  a  counter-irritant. 
Sometimes  also  the  exorcism  is  performed  by  blowing  aromatic  smoke 
over  the  head  of  the  patient,  but  it  is  impossible  to  say  to  what  extent  these 
are  not  mere  counter-charms.* 

(5)  Priesthood: — Tribal  organisation  is  of  the  simplest.  As  a  rule 
headmanship  is  hereditary  in  the  male  line,  and  combined  with  the  medical 
office.  Among  the  Bakairi  doctors  are  divided  into  "good"  and  "bad"  on 
the  principle  of  the  intrinsic  evil  of  witchcraft.  His  business  is  to  expel 
the  sin-demon  by  the  above  remedies,  and  to  preside  at  the  religious 
offerings.  Though  anybody  can  become  one,  the  noviciate  is  severe, — he 
has  to  fast  for  four  months!' 

(6)  Matrimony: — Among  the  Botokudos  again  monogamy  is  the 
normal  state  of  the  family,  and  infidelity  is  punished  with  blows.  With 
the  Bakairi,  while  the  position  of  women  is  good,  the  union  is  far  less 
stable,  and  is  frequently  dissolved  under  the  smallest  pretext.  "The 
woman  has  run  away,  perhaps  he  will  fetch  her  back", — such  is  the  de- 
scription of  a  by  no  means  rare  occurrence.  Commonly  wives  are  sought 
from  the  neighboring  families,  and  although  there  is  less  constancy  in  their 
affections,  it  should  be  added  that  there  is  an  equality  of  conjugal  rights, 
which  some  of  the  higher  peoples  might  well  imitate." 

(7)  Burial: — In  the  matter  of  death  ceremonies  there  is  more  uni- 
formity. Simple  earth  or  mat-burial  is  almost  universal,  and  among  the 
mountain  tribes  the  deceased  is  laid  in  the  grave  with  his  face  upwards 
and  his  arms  crossed  (!).  According  to  most  authorities  neither  trinkets 
nor  food-stutTs  accompany  him,  though  this  is  known  to  be  practiced  on 
the  Shingo,  especially  among  the  Bororo,  where  the  bupe  or  "ghost-double" 
is  continually  fed.' 

I  have  already  called  attention  to  the  largely  mythical  and  magical 
character  of  Brazilian  religion, — a  darkness  which  is  only  relieved  by  a 
few  exceptional  rays  of  supernatural  light.  Here  on  the  Amazon  there  are 
undoubted  vestiges  of  a  formerly  more  vivid  realization  of  the  divine. 


*  Steinen,   343.     Ehrenreich,   36ff.     !>  S.   330,   343,   362.    E.   30.     "  S.   332.    E.   31.     '  S. 
339-  E.  33. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  347 

EARLY  SOUTH-AMERICAN  FORM 
(L)  Patagonian  Region,— Tierra  del  Fuego 

(1)  Birth:— Infant  ceremonies  among  the  Yahgans  consist  of  bathing 
the  child  in  the  sea  "to  make  it  strong",  among  the  Onas,  of  rubbing  it  with 
white  earth,  with  a  possibly  similar  intent.  Furthermore,  the  Yahgan 
mother  takes  a  series  of  sea-baths,  which  in  view  of  the  above  practices 
may  be  interpreted  as  a  rudimentary  purification-rite.  Both  parents 
commonly  abstain  from  certain  foods,  sometimes  even  from  conjugal 
relations,  during  a  short  period  after  the  birth.  For  the  Alacalufs  no 
details  are  recorded,  but  among  the  socalled  "Chonos"  the  father  cuts  his 
hair  to  celebrate  the  birth  of  a  child. 

(2)  Initiation:— The  simplest  form  of  puberty-rite  survives  in  the 
fasting  and  moral  instruction  that  is  given  to  the  Yahgan  girls.  For  boys 
the  ordeal  is  more  severe.  Admission  to  the  men's  society  is  preceded  not 
only  by  fasting  but  by  severe  bodily  tests,  during  which  the  youth  is 
instructed  in  the  duties  of  generosity,  honesty,  veracity,  bravery,  self- 
defence,  matrimonial  chastity,  and  other  tribal  virtues.  He  is  then  terror- 
ised by  the  men,  dressed  up  in  masks  to  represent  spirits,  and  if  he  under- 
goes the  test  without  flinching  he  is  declared  a  man  and  is  told  the  secret 
of  the  mask-dance  which  he  must  not  divulge  under  the  gravest  penalties. 
It  is  to  terrorize  the  women,  to  keep  them  under  subjection.  Considering 
that  both  the  Onas  and  Yahgans  have  a  tradition  that  in  former  days  they 
were  ruled  by  the  women,  from  whom  they  obtained  these  customs,  and 
that  no  such  practices  are  known  among  other  very  primitive  peoples,  it 
seems  very  probable  that  the  entire  ceremony  is  a  later  intrusion  designed 
to  put  down  the  "petticoat  government"  which  was  gradually  usurping  the 
ancient  patriarchate.  On  the  other  hand  the  tooth-pulling  ceremony  of 
the  Western-Patagonian  channel  tribes,  may,  if  genuine,  be  traced  to  a 
comparatively  early  custom,  certified  for  Australia  and  Central  Africa. 

(3)  Sacrifice: — Sacrificial  observances  range  from  the  simple  alimen- 
tary fast  to  the  otfering  up  of  human  life  to  the  whirlpool-god.  Among 
the  former  there  are  some  that  partake  of  the  nature  of  a  flrst-fruit  offer- 
ing, as  when  the  "old  man"  among  the  Alacalufs  "before  partaking  food 
gives  each  a  portion,  repeatedly  muttering  a  short  prayer  and  looking  up- 
wards. All  kept  silence  during  this  ceremony"  (Low).  The  existence  of 
similar  food-taboos  among  the  Yahgans  and  Onas  makes  it  quite  probable 
that  this  and  the  throwing  of  objects  into  the  fire  is  the  earlier  rite  (comp. 
the  African  sadaka),  while  the  Yahgan  custom  of  dropping  an  infant  into 
the  sea  "to  appease  Lucooma"  must,  if  correctly  reported,  be  undoubtedly 
attributed  to  a  gradual  invasion  of  demonism,  and  very  probably  to  higher 
Patagonian  influences.  The  general  absence  of  cannibalism  points  to  a 
fairly  dignified  concept  of  human  nature  among  the  natives. 


348  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

EARLY  SOUTH-AMERICAN  FORM 
Patagonian  Region, — Tierra  del  Fdego 

(5)  Medicine: — "The  more  common  curative  methods  practiced  by  the 
Chonos  and  Fuegians  are  massage,  friction,  anointing,  sweating,  and  bath- 
ing". On  these  occasions  the  practioner  extracts  or  vomits  (?)  an  arrow- 
head or  a  harpoon  shank,  a  piece  of  bone  or  a  pointed  stick,  which  is  sup- 
posed to  be  the  immediate  cause  of  the  disease,  which  however  is  sent  by 
spirits,  over  whom  he  exercises  considerable  power.  .\s  these  spirits  are 
for  the  most  part  baneful  in  their  character,  these  practices  may  be  fit- 
tingly called  "exorcisms",  for  which  compare  the  magic  "pointings"  of  the 
Au.«itralian  gommeras.  Treatment  with  medical  plants  is  also  repoi-ted. 
though  not  substantiated. 

(5)  Priesthood: — Among  the  Yahgans  "nearly  every  older  man  was  a 
wizard",  while  with  the  Onas  each  clan  or  family  has  a  medicine-man, 
and  with  both  tribes  women  occasionally  exercise  this  office.  Although 
these  witch-doctors  command  a  considerable  amount  of  respect,  they  an^ 
liable  at  times  to  be  roughly  treated,  probably  whenever  their  supposed 
cures  are  not  immediately  efficacious.  (Comp.  the  Philippines).  In  addi- 
tion to  their  vocation  as  healers,  many  of  them  claim  to  have  the  pow.i- 
over  life  and  death,  to  control  the  weather,  and  to  possess  the  gifts  of 
divination  and  prophecy. 

(0)  Matrimony: — Marriage  regulations  vary  considerably,  but  "mar- 
riage between  blood-relations  is  hold  in  horror  among  both  Onas  and 
Yahgans",  the  restriction  obliging  the  Yahgans  up  to  the  second  degree. 
In  other  respects  they  are  mildly  endogamous.  as  they  generally  seek  a 
wife  from  the  nearest  clan.  Marriages  are  normally  contracted  at  an  early 
age,  they  are  commonly  arranged  by  the  parents,  and  though  founded  on 
solid  affection,  a  marriage  by  capture  or  purchase  is  not  unknown. 
Monogamy  is  the  more  general  rule,  though  polygamy  is  allowed,  and 
though  the  man  is  theoretically  the  head,  the  woman's  position  is  good 
and  rari'ly  calls  for  a  matrimonial  rupture. 

(7)  Burial: — The  more  common  disposal  of  the  dead  consists  in  plac- 
ing them  in  caves  or  in  graves,  the  Yahgan  practice  of  cremation  being 
exceptional.  The  body  is  laid  in  a  supine,  sometimes  in  a  squatting  posi- 
lon,  and  so  far  from  being  supplied  with  his  former  belongings,  the  dead 
man's  hut  and  all  his  personal  efTecfs  are  more  commonly  burned  and  his 
name  not  mentioned.  Mourning  is  expressed  by  tonsure,  painting,  or 
scarification,  and  lasts  for  many  months,  among  the  Onas  from  one  to 
three  years. 

These  and  many  other  interesting  customs  will  merit  a  more  searching 
study,  as  they  tend  to  confirm  the  Brazilian  data  in  many  essential  points.' 


'Materials  and  sources  will  be  found  in  the  work  of  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Cooper,  D.D. 
Analytical  Bibliography  of  the  tribes  of  Tierra  del  Fuego  and  adjacent  ferritorv.  Bulletin 
63  of  the  Bureau  of  .^^lcrican  Ethnology.  (Washington,  1917).  pp.  14S-17S,  to  whom  I  am 
indebted   for  the  above  information. 


TOTEMIC  SACRIFICE 
(INDIAN  RITE) 

'■8IN-B0N0A  BIBDMAMAI" 


"HADrRAM    JAIAR    DO    8EXDERAI 

SENOJANA,    BHAI.    DO    SENDERAE 

8ENOJANA!" 


"SIBMARE   Sm-BONOA. 

OTERE    MARANGDEOTA,    CHQIENTE 

KAGE,  OAJIALA?" 


/  ♦ 


'^O  M 


ORE 


THE  PAT-MUNDA  CONSUMES  THE  WORLD-EGG 


"O   8IN-BOX0A.   SAVE   V8!" 


•THE  GOD  IS  HADKAM  8ARNA  REIGNS,  TO 
JOIN  OIR  CHASE  THE  DEITV  DEIGNS,  AND 
OCT  HE  GOES  A-CHA8INO!" 


"THERE  rP  IN  HEAVEN  DOTH  SCN-OOD 
REIGN,  ANT)  DOWN  BELOW  THE  MAR.\NO- 
DEO.     YET  WHY  NO  MORE  IT  BAINETH?" 


CEREMONY  CONNECTED  WITH  THE  BHEI.VA-TREE  OB  THE  n.I-ROOT.  rN  WHICH  THE 
rOWX'8  EGG  REPRESENTS  THE  WORLD-EMBRYO,  AS  THE  SERPENT'S  EGO  IN 
THE  MALABAR  (EKKMONY  OF  THE  SNAKE  TOTEM.  NOTE  THE  VLOWER-8TALK  WTTH 
THE  SIAGIC  r.GG.  THE  GROIND  DRAMTNG,  THE  NAG-SERPENT,  THE  MYSTIC  STONES, 
THE  BrFFALO   IIOBN-WALLET8.   THE   BAMBOO    KLl  TES,  THE    "SERPENT"    MITRE,   AND  THE 

COUAL    BEADS. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS  349 

LATER  ASIATIC  FORM 

(M,  1)  Indo-Kolarian  Rite, — (Munda-Kol) 

For  the  Munda-Kol  tribes  of  Western  Bengal  we  have  an  abundance  of 
matter  which  may  appropriately  illustrate  the  earlier  totemic  practices. 

(1)  Birth: — The  Garasi-Bonga,  or  Birth-spirit,  is  the  deity  that  watches 
over  females  in  a  delicate  state  and  presides  over  child-birth.  At  a  certain 
date  the  father,  brother,  or  uncle  of  the  expectant  mother  come  to  ofTer  up 
prayers  for  her  well-being,  they  sacrifice  a  fowl  to  the  "spirits  of  the 
deceased  ancestors",  and  feasting  and  drinking  follow.  As  soon  as  the 
child  is  born,  its  mother  is  given  a  stimulating  beverage,  and  for  eight  days 
she  is  considered  ceremonially  unclean.  This  is  followed  by  a  purifica- 
tion-ceremony, in  which  mother  and  child  repair  to  a  neighboring  stream 
or  tank  for  ablutions.  On  their  return  the  house  is  sprinkled  or  purified 
with  water  and  rice  ofTered  to  the  ancestor  spirits.  Then  follows  the 
naming  ceremony,  during  which  the  minister  prays  that  "the  hair  of  the 
child  may  be  white  with  age"',  etc.  and  finally  the  ear-boring  ceremony, 
in  which  he  rubs  a  little  mustard-oil  first  over  his  own  head  and  then  over 
that  of  the  infant,  and  the  ears  of  the  child  are  perforated.  A  black  fowl 
is  then  sacrificed  and  after  the  usual  feasting  the  celebrant  prays  with 
joined  hands: — 

"Sin-Bonga  biridjana!"  "May  Sun-God  protect  this  boy!"  • 

(2)  Initiation: — That  similar  customs  are  observed  at  puberty  may  be 
certainly  inferred  from  the  formerly  universal  practice  of  scarifying  or 
painting  the  skin  and  the  common  Dravidian  practice  of  circumcision. 
At  present  branding  and  tattooing  are  the  chief  maturity  marks,  the  former 
for  boys,  and  the  latter  for  girls,  and  ordeals  by  touching  the  tiger-skin, 
bamboo  leaves,  fire,  rice,  cow-dung,  etc.  are  also  reported  as  a  "third- 
degree"  rite.* 

(3)  Sacrifice: — The  simplest  alimentary  sacrifice  consists  of  a  Rice- 
oblation,  in  which  a  few  grains  are  set  aside  before  every  meal  and  dedi- 
cated to  the  Sun-God.  A  more  elaborate  ceremony  is  that  of  the  Soso- 
Bonga  or  Bhelva-Tree  totem,  in  which  the  officiating  priest  draws  a  magic 
figure  on  the  ground  with  coal-dust,  red  earth,  and  rice-flour,  and  places 
the  egg  of  a  fowl  and  a  sprout  of  the  bhelva-tree  in  the  center.  Then  he 
chants  a  long  incantation  to  the  Sun-God,  with  the  continual  refrain — 
"Sin-Bonga  biridjana!  "0  Sin-Bonga,  save  us!" 
"Sirmare   Singbonga!   Otere   Ma-        "0  shining  Spirit  above!  0  won- 

rang-Deota!      Chimenta      kage,  derful  Spirit  below!  Yet  why  no 

gamaia?"  more  it  raineth?" 

That  this  is  in  part  a  ra.in-making  ceremony,  is  proved  by  the  fact  that 
after  the  priest  consumes  the  "world-egg"  with  a  cup  of  Hi,  or  rice-beer, 
the  worshipper  plants  a  twig  of  the  tree  in  his  paddy-fields  to  increase  the 
harvest.  It  is  also  in  the  line  of  a  snake-charm,  in  that  the  Nag-Serpent  is 
connected  with  the  Sun-God  as  the  most  productive  rain-totem. 
On  great  occasions  a  fowl,  but  rarely  a  man,  is  sacrificed.' 

iRoy,  The  Mundas,   (Calcutta,  1912),  p.  456-460.    2  Idem,  369,  424ff.    'Idem,  467,  482, 
S27,  533,  (Selected  invocations),  409  (snake-totem). 


350  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

LATER  ASIATIC  FORM 
Indo-Kolarian  Rite 

(4)  Expiation: — It  is  the  banita-bongas,  or  evil  spirits,  that  are  gen- 
erally believed  to  bring  on  diseases.  Wicked  men  also  may  cause  them 
by  magic,  witchcraft,  or  the  evil  eye.  They  are  commonly  dispelled  by 
the  contrary  medicine,  invocations  to  Sin-Bonga,  sprinklings  with  water 
and  rice,  applications  of  palm-oil,  sacrifices  of  fowls,  etc.  as  described 
above.  That  they  are  remotely  attributed  to  the  Sun-God  as  a  punishment 
is  not  impossible. 

"Hela  Sin-Bonga!  Chi  "Alas,  Sin-Bonga!   Why  dost  thou 

kanamentum  enkajaina?"  treat  me  thus?" 

Such  is  one  of  the  invocations  reported  by  Father  Hoffman.* 

(5)  Priesthood: — From  the  practices  enumerated  under  (1)  it  is  clear 
that  the  father  of  each  family  is  still  the  principal  minister  at  these  cere- 
monies, it  is  the  pahan  who  is  also  the  medicino-man.  As  such  his  author- 
ity in  the  family  circle  is  morally  powerful,  he  must  be  obeyed  under  all 
circumstances.  Side  by  side,  however,  we  find  the  mati,  or  "ghost-finder" 
who  is  evidently  the  member  of  a  separate  class,  and  who  is  called  in  on 
special  occasions.  As  a  diviner,  sacrificer,  and  exorcist,  his  professional 
services  require  at  times  considerable  compensation.  An  exceptional  otTice 
is  filled  by  the  Pat-Munda,  or  head-priest,  who  wears  the  pagri,  or  snake- 
shaped  turban  on  his  head.' 

(6)  Matrimony: — The  pure  totem-system  may  be  seen  in  nothing  so 
clearly  as  in  the  marriage-laws.  No  Munda  can  marry  anyone  of  his  own 
kill,  or  clan,  on  the  ground  of  incest,  though  he  is  obliged  to  marry  within 
the  tribe.  The  totem  descends  in  the  father's  line  and  his  authority  is 
absolute.  The  marriage  is  arranged  by  the  parents  or  guardians  by  a 
clasping  of  hands:— "IF/?o  mad^  this  hand?"  "God  made  it".  "As  we 
now  clasp  each  other's  hands,  so  may  our  hands  remain  clasped  for  ever!" 
But  this  is  largely  theoretical,  for  although  the  marriage  itself  is  carried 
out  with  great  pomp  and  ceremony,  both  parties  being  sprinkled  with  rice 
and  even  anointed  with  oil,  the  sakham,  or  divorce  is  openly  recognised, 
and  we  know  from  other  sources  that  irregular  unions  are  by  no  means 
infrequent,  the  doctrine  of  animal  affinities  tending  to  encourage  the 
practice.* 

(7)  Burial: — When  a  Munda  dies,  the  corpse  is  anointed  with  turmeric 
and  oil,  and  sometimes  adorned  with  a  few  trinkets.  It  is  then  carried  to 
a  raised  platform  or  funeral  pyre,  and  cremated,  after  which  the  bones  are 
collected  and  washed,  and  placed  in  the  family  urn.  Sanctified  watf^r  and 
rice  are  freely  used  in  the  ceremony.  Metempsychosis  is  the  universal 
belief,  only  the  good  being  reincarnated  as  perfect  m^n." 

Allowing  for  a  few  Hindoo  intrusions,  this  is  a  pure  totem  ritual. 
which  can  be  paralleled  over  large  sections  of  Southern  India.* 


*  Roy.  48Sff.  HoflFman,  Mundari  Grammar,  p.  VII.  »  Roy.  402.  482.  « Idem,  400,  436ff. 
'Idem,  460ff.  'Thurston,  Ethnogr.  Notes  in  S.  India,  p.  290  CSnake-Hance  with  connut- 
fruit,  p.  366ff     fSocial  customs),  and  compare  p.  61-66  above 


TOTEMIC  SACRIFICE 
(AFRICAN  RITE) 

THE  FLOUR-OFFERING 

"MTLrNGC  AMTLA-YEl" 

"EWE  Ml'LlNGU,  WE, 

BASI!   HIVE   RA   MVTLA!" 


UHOU^T^^ 


■^^  US!    GIV^ 


THE  FUMU  SPRINKLES  THE  SACRED  MEAL 

CEREHONT   CONNECTED   WITH    THE   FI-OIR-MEDICINE    OF    EAST-AFRICAN    BANTrS.    SHOW- 
ING THE  MAGIC   HERB   AND  THE   BAMBOO   SPRINKLER.   THE   SIN-SERPENT    «1TU    CORRE- 
8PONDIMO    GBOl  NO-DRAWING.    THE    M,\GIC    STONES,    BIFFAI.O    HORNS,    BLFFAJLO    HEAD- 
DRESS, AND  CORAL  NECKLACE. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  351 

LATER  AFRICAN  FORM 

(M,  2)  Bantu  Rite 

The  practices  here  reported  refer  to  the  Bantus  in  general,  except  where 
otherwise  stated. 

(1)  Birth:— Even  before  the  birth  of  the  child,  parents  and  child  are 
alike  protected  by  certain  taboos.  The  former  abstain  not  only  from  their 
individual  or  tribal  totems,  of  which  the  child  may  be  the  reincarnation, 
but  they  must  not  even  attend  a  funeral  or  touch  a  dead  body,  otherwise 
"the  little  being  might  suffer  from  this  contact  with  death".  This,  together 
with  the  abstention  from  conjugal  intercourse,  constitutes  a  mild  "cou- 
vade".  When  the  child  is  born, — and  provided  it  has  not  been  destroyed 
on  account  of  some  deformity  or  some  other  sinister  omen — ,  the  Wa- 
nika  of  East  Africa  pronounce  over  it  the  following  prayer  which  is 
believed  to  be  efficacious : — 

"Mulungu  amulaye!"  "May  God  not  take  him,  may  the 

child  continue  to  live!" 
The  literal  meaning,  "May  God  forget  (or  forgive)  him",  shows  with 
some  certainty  that  this  is  an  exorcism-rite,  which  in  view  of  the  com- 
mon African  practice  of  anointing  and  washing  may  be  described  as  a 
purification-ceremony.  The  christening  or  naming  is  generally  deferred 
to  a  later  age.^ 

(2)  Initiation: — With  the  arrival  of  manhood  we  have  the  usual  fast- 
ing and  endurance-tests,  together  with  the  almost  universal  practice  of 
body-painting  and  circumcision.  The  candidate  is  covered  with  white 
chaulk,  because  this  is  the  color  of  spirits,  and  he  is  circumcised,  because 
this  is  the  sign  that  admits  him  to  marriage.  At  the  same  time  he  is 
instructed  in  the  tribal  mysteries,  of  which  the  principal  center  around 
the  laws  of  abstinence.^ 

(3)  Sacrifice: — Sacrificial  observances  exhibit  the  greatest  variety, 
from  the  simple  totemic  taboo  up  to  the  human  holocaust.  As  an  illus- 
tration the  following  prayers  are  recited  by  priest  and  people  among  the 
Wa-Pokomo : — 

"Ewe,  Mulungu,  we!  Huve  mvula!  "0  God,  hear  us!  Give  us  rain!  We 

Hu  mashaka-ni.  Hu  na-sirima.  are  in  misery,  we  hunger.  And 

Na-swi   a-na-o.    Basi,   huve    ra  we  are  thy  cliildren.  Hearken! 

mvula,    atu    a-pate    vya-kurya,  Give  us  clouds  of  rain,  that  we 

hukivoya,uwe  Mulungu,  u  Abe-  may  get  food.  We  ask  it  of  thee, 

yehu!"  0  God,  thee,  our  Father!" 

This  is  a  general  invocation  which  may  accompany  any  sacrifice,  more 
commonly  that  of  the  hyaena,  which  is  so  often  sacred,  or  "mulungu"  all 
over  East  Africa.  It  is  also  customary  to  eat  a  portion  of  the  animal  or 
vegetable  offered  in  order  to  become  one  with  the  totem-ancestor  or  the 
deity,  as  the  case  may  be, — the  two  concepts  being  largely  confused  in  the 
minds  of  the  natives.^ 


1  LeRoy,  La  Religion  des  Primitifs,  231,  298.    2  Idem,  233flF.    ^  idem,  298,  301,  and  com- 
pare idem,  p.  126  for  ceremonial  dress.  Snake-patterns,  etc. 


352  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS 

LATER  AFRICAN  FORM 
Bantd  Rite 

(4)  Expiation: — The  African  consciousness  of  sin  in  undeniably  vivid, 
however  inefficient  as  a  protective  from  evil  practice.  A  rudimentary 
decalogue  may  be  detected  in  the  list  of  sins,  which  comprises  (i)  Killing, 
that  is,  a  man  of  your  own  tribe  (?),  (2)  Committing  adultery,  (3)  Steal- 
ing, (4)  Bearing  false  witness.  In  addition  there  are  innumerable  totemic 
interdicts,  and  above  all,  the  prohibition  of  witchcraft, — an  unpardonable 
crime.  The  extraordinary  confession-formula  discovered  among  the  Wa- 
Kikuyu  (Brit.  E.  Africa)  "/  accuse  myself",  etc.  followed  by  the  priestly 
absolution,  ■'/  take  away  your  sins",  etc.  would  be  incredible,  were  it  not 
testified  to  occur  among  hitherto  inaccessible  peoples  by  our  own  Catholic 
missionaries  and  endorsed  by  Bishop  LeRoy.  This,  however,  may  well  be 
due  to  remote  French  or  Portuguese  influences.  As  to  the  physically  sick, 
they  are  treated  with  the  usual  unguents,  pointings,  manipulations,  etc. 
already  explained  above.* 

(5)  Priesthood: — Here  again,  and  perhaps  more  so  than  in  other 
regions,  the  healing  and  preaching  professions  are  united  in  the  family 
head,  the  father  is  the  spokesman  of  the  Almighty,  and  he  trains  his  son 
to  succeed  him.  In  the  more  advanced  communities  we  note  the  rise  of 
an  independent  order  of  fumus  or  healers,  who  cover  themselves  with 
amulets  and  use  a  bulTalo  horn  as  an  ensign.  They  are  frequently 
diviners  and  may  rise  to  the  chieftiancy." 

(6)  Matrimony: — Throughout  totemic  Africa  the  rule  of  consanguinity 
is  strictly  observed,  obliging  the  parties  not  only  to  local  but  in  some  cases 
to  tribal,  and  even  to  class-exogamy,  as  among  the  West-African 
phratries.  In  other  respects  the  primitive  customs  largely  prevail,  with 
the  exception  of  bridal  purchase,  which  is  demanded,  of  polygamy,  which 
is  quite  common,  and  of  divorce,  which  is  easily  obtained.  While  some 
of  these  customs  may  be  looked  upon  as  economic  necessities,  they  reveal 
a  more  easy-going  standard." 

(7)  Burial: — It  is  in  harmony  with  the  common  belief  in  metempsy- 
chosis that  the  body  should  count  for  comparatively  little.  Hence  the 
platform  and  pyre-funeral  with  cremation  is  very  general,  the  ashes  being 
sometimes  preserved  in  trees,  while  in  many  cases  the  body  is  either 
thrown  into  the  river  or  sometimes  simply  deserted  to  become  the  prey  of 
wild  beasts.  The  latter  practice  is  common  among  the  Nandi,  where  the 
totemic  cult  of  the  hyaena  is  particularly  strong.  In  the  Gaboon-region  of 
West-Africa,  on  the  other  hand,  the  mu-zimo,  or  departed  spirit  counts 
for  good  deal  more,  and  among  the  Urundi  there  is  even  a  triple  unction  of 
the  deceased.  "Farewell,  Rest  in  peace,  Goodbyel" — such  are  a  few  of  last 
speedings  to  the  departed.' 


'  URoy,  243.  279ff.    »  Idem.  275ff     •  Idem,  100.  239ff     '  Idem.  14S-162. 


TOXEMIC  SACRIFICE 
(AUSTRALIAN  RITE) 

THE  INTICHIUMA-CEREMONY 


•■AI,Tjni.\  ISTICim-MA! 
WOLI-l'NQrA   WAHKITNIMMA!" 


A--^ 


3  \  "F'vA 


.^C 


;b/; 


Q 


^^.  SCMD   o^    ^^ 


P^^ 


THE  GOMMERA  BRANDISHES  THE  MAGIC  SHEAF 

RITrAL  CONNECTED  WTTII  THE  WARR-VMINGA  CEREMONY  OF  THE  WOLLrNQCA  BNAKE. 
AND  PVRALLELED  BY  THE  mOO.  LIZARD.  AND  WII.D-CAT  TOTEMIC  RITIAI.  OF  TffK  SAME 
REGION,  AND  THE  INTICHU  MA-CEREMOMES  OF  THE  EMl-TOTEM  (ARINTA  TRIBE). 
NOTE  THE  FI.OWER-8TAI.K.  THE  MAGIC  SERPENT.  THE  CEREMONIAL  TABLETS  OR  CHC- 
BINGA8.  TIIR0WING-CRYSTAL8,  BONE-I'OINTERS.  BAMBOO-  OR  CANE-TRl  MPET,  AND  HAIB- 
8TBING  NECKLACE.  (SEE  SPENCER  AND  OTLLEN.  THE  NORTHERN  TBIBEt  0» 
CENTRAL  ACSTBALIA.  PP.   Ill,  «47,  til.  4M.  «S8«r.) 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  353 

LATER  AUSTRALIAN  FORM 

(M,  3)  Central  Arunta  Rite 

To  appreciate  the  general  decadence  brought  about  by  wholesale  belief 
in  the  identity  of  a  man  with  his  totem  ancestor,  the  following  practices 
of  the  Arunta,  Kaitish,  Warramunga,  etc.  will  speak  for  themselves : — 

(1)  Birth: — As  every  individual  is  regarded  as  the  reincarnation  of  an 
inkara,  who  may  be  a  snake,  a  lizard,  or  a  kangaroo,  his  coming  into  the 
world  is  ushered  in  by  ceremonies  which  are  more  terrorizing  than  awe- 
inspiring.  It  is  true  that  we  have  something  approaching  to  a  couvade  in 
general  custom  of  fasting  or  abstaining  from  work  that  is  commonly 
practiced  by  some  of  the  relatives  on  this  occasion.  There  is  also  a  "child- 
growing"  ceremony  in  which  the  husband  "sings"  the  infant  into  health 
and  rubs  the  sides  of  the  mother  with  grease,  the  godfather  painting  a 
circle  of  black  around  the  eyes  and  navel  of  the  infant  to  mark  its  dedica- 
tion to  the  sun-ancestor(?).  On  the  other  hand  intro-uterine  infanticide 
is  practiced  by  all  these  tribes  and  "the  usual  reason  given  is  that  there  is 
another  one  still  being  suckled  by  the  mother".  Among  the  Loritja  a 
healthy  child  may  even  be  killed  for  feeding  a  weaker  one,  the  strength 
of  the  former  passing  into  the  latter! ' 

(2)  /«i?ia^ion.'— Manhood-ceremonies  have  become  increasingly  vio- 
lent. In  addition  to  the  usual  painting  and  circumcision,  with  rigid  and 
prolonged  fasts  and  other  physical  tests, — such  as  throwing  the  candidate 
up  in  the  air,  biting  his  head,  hanging  him  up  on  a  tree,  etc. — the  youth  is 
forced  to  submit  to  an  operation  for  which  Australia  has  become  famous. 
It  is  the  well-known  ceremony  of  sub-incision,  which  consists  in  cutting 
the  underpart  of  the  urethra  with  a  sharp  flint,  and  then  drinking  the 
blood !  Apart  from  its  character  as  an  ordeal,  it  seems  to  serve  no  social 
or  moral  purpose.^ 

(3)  Sacrifice: — The  most  common  form  of  oblation  is  naturally  that  of 
the  totemic  animal  or  plant  which  may  not  be  eaten  except  on  very  special 
occasions,  so  strong  is  the  feeling  of  consanguinity  with  the  lower  crea- 
tion. In  the  intichiuma  ceremony  of  the  sun-totem  it  is  the  Hakea-p]a.nt 
which  is  especially  sacred,  and  from  which  a  magic  drink  is  obtained. 
Two  performers  gaily  decorated  with  paint  or  feather-down,  take  their 
place  on  the  ground  which  is  usually  marked  ofT  by  totemic  designs,  circles, 
etc.  The  one  carries  a  horizontal  stalk,  symbolical  of  the  Hakea,  the  other 
a  decorated  disk,  representing  the  sun-ancestor.  They  girate  for  a  few 
moments,  to  the  cry  of  Wah!  Wah!  Wah!  and  the  whole  ceremony  is 
over,— there  will  be  an  unfailing  supply  of  the  magic  flower.  Similar 
ceremonies  are  performed  by  the  Northern  tribes  in  connection  with  the 
frog,  lizard,  and  serpent-totems.  Then  the  headman  must,  and  the  others 
may  eat  of  the  plant,  which  in  connection  with  the  "Sun-Father"  acquires 
a  semi-religious  aspect.' 


Spencer  and  Gillen,  Northern  Tribes,  606.    =  Idem,  328ff.    «  Idem,  182,  291. 


354  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

LATER  AUSTRALIAN  FORM 

Central  Arunta  Rite 

This  point,  however,  is  wanting  in  solid  proof.  Although  Altjira,  the 
Ancient  of  Days,  is  lurking  behind  the  sun-fotem,  he  is  a  defunct  divinity, 
rarely,  if  ever  invoked,  and  the  violent  and  unnatural  customs  of  these 
peoples,  with  the  occasional  roasting  alive  of  a  human  victim,  leads  us  to 
suspect  that  these  ceremonies  are  largely  magical,  if  not  demoniacal  in 
nature. 

(4)  Exorcism: — We  find  the  same  competition  between  good  and  bad 
medicines  as  with  other  primitive  peoples,  but  with  this  difference  that  the 
whole  ritual  is  more  dangerous,  more  bloodthirsty,  more  revengeful.  By 
means  of  his  bones,  pointing-sticks,  stones,  magic  crystals,  etc.,  the  sup- 
posed exorciser  has  the  power  not  only  of  healing  the  patient,  but  of  kill- 
ing the  opposite  medicine  during  which,  as  among  the  Arunlas,  he  mut- 
ters the  following  curse: — 

"Ita  pukalana  purtulinja  apinia-a!"  "May  your  heart  be  rent  asunder!" 
Though  this  ceremony  of  "pointing  the  bone"  is  punishable  with  death, 
it  is  certainly  practiced  in  secret,  and  very  often  it  is  impossible  to  dis- 
tinguish the  genuine  healer,  who  anoints  his  patient  with  fat  and  red 
ochre,  and  uses  the  atnongara  crystal  from  the  professional  wizard,  who 
•■nds  by  "boning"  his  victim.* 

(5)  Priesthood: — This  profession,  however,  is  gradually  evolved.  With 
the  Aruntas  the  genuine  medicine-man  is  in  the  ascendant,  he  may  belong 
to  any  branch  of  society,  and  his  ensignia  are  the  nose-quill  and  the  quartz- 
crystal  with  which  he  effects  his  cures,  while  among  the  Anula  of  the  far 
north,  the  office  of  sorcerer  is  confined  to  the  "falling-star"  totem,  a  suffi- 
ciently uncanny  designation  for  a  class  of  bone-wizards  who  are  in  league 
with  the  evil  spirits  of  the  sky.  The  making  of  a  medicine-man  is  com- 
monly accompanied  by  strenuous  fasts,  lacerations,  snake-tests,  swooning 
uway,  and  even  delirium." 

{())  Matrimony: — In  no  other  region  are  the  laws  of  matrimony  so  com- 
plicated. We  have  the  usual  totemic  exogamy  combined  with  the  two, 
four,  and  eight-class  phratries,  in  which  father  and  mother-right  are  so 
confused,  that  none  can  be  called  distinctive.  From  the  individual  mar- 
riage of  the  Arunlas  to  the  group-marriage  of  the  Urabunna,  there  is 
infinite  variety  of  custom,  but  the  laxity  of  the  tie  is  shown  by  nothing  so 
strongly  as  by  the  admittedly  loose  relations  implied  by  the  exchange  of 
wives  at  the  corroborees  or  magic  dances.' 

(7)  Burial: — Earth,  platform,  and  tree-burial,  are  all  to  be  found  in 
Central  Australia,  but  among  some  of  the  northern  tribes  the  disgusting 
habit  of  devouring  the  body,  with  or  without  a  partial  cremation,  has  been 
certified.  Few,  if  any,  effects  accompany  the  deceased,  but  the  bones  are 
commonly  collected,  painted  with  red  ochre,  and  sometimes  preserved  in 
a  bundle  of  tree-bark.' 


♦  Spencer  and  Gillen.  455-479ff     » Idem.  479ff     •  Idem.  70.  13.1ff.    '  Idem,  SOSf 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  355 

NORTH-AMERICAN  FORM 

(M,  4)  SiouAN  Rite 

The  following  statistics  refer  primarily  to  the  Omahas,  and  to  the 
Dakotas,  Ponkas,  and  other  Siouan  tribes,  whenever  specified. 

(1)  Birth: — While  there  is  no  couvade  in  the  full  sense,  there  are  cer- 
tain ceremonies  connected  with  birth  that  deserve  to  be  mentioned.  Though 
foeticide  is  uncommon,  it  is  known  to  exist,  and  among  some  of  these 
tribes  the  formula  has  been  overheard : — "It  is  bad  for  you  to  have  a  child, 
kill  it!"  In  spite  of  this,  every  available  means  are  taken  to  insure  a  safe 
delivery,  the  mother  is  strengthened  with  "human-being"  medicine 
obtained  from  a  native  root,  and  when  once  born,  children  are  well  treated 
and  carefully  nursed.  Soon  after  birth  the  child  is  washed  all  over  with 
cold  water,  and  after  two  or  three  days  it  is  named  after  the  father's 
gens, — eagle,  buffalo,  thunder,  black-shoulder,  etc. — as  the  case  may  be. 
Thus,  if  he  belongs  to  the  buffalo,  the  first  son  may  be  called:  "He  who 
stirs  up  water  by  jumping  into  it".  At  the  same  time  the  face  and  body 
of  the  infant  are  frequently  painted  with  "Indian  red",  the  designs  being 
emblematical  of  the  protecting  totem.' 

(2)  Initiation: — The  ceremony  of  "acquiring  the  guardian"  is  an 
important  event  in  the  life  of  every  North-American  Indian.  This  can- 
not be  accomplished  without  strenuous  and  painful  ordeals.  Among  these 
are  solitary  seclusion  and  fasting  among  the  woods  and  mountains,  sweat- 
bathing  and  plunging  into  cold  water,  swallowing  intoxicating  medicines, 
rubbing  the  body  with  herbs, — all  accompanied  by  a  formal  dedication 
to  the  Sun  or  the  Dawn,  two  very  important  wakandas.  During  the  fast, 
which  may  be  from  one  to  four  days  in  duration  or  even  longer,  the  youth 
is  supposed  to  "see  in  a  dream  the  object  which  is  to  be  his  special  medium 
of  communicatio7i  with  the  supernatural." 

"Wakanda,  here  needy  stands  he,  and  I  am  he!" 

Such  is  his  fasting  prayer.  Among  the  Plains  tribes  the  custom  of 
boring  the  ears  for  the  insertion  of  pendants,  the  investing  with  the  breech- 
cloth,  the  markings  with  red  paint,  and  even  the  full  needle  tattoo,  may  all 
be  described  as  initiation-rites,  the  Omaha  "tattooing"  being  formerly 
done  with  sharpened  flints,  thus  approaching  to  simple  scarification. 
Though  a  man  is  frequently  marked  from  head  to  foot,  there  are  no  prac- 
tices connected  with  the  sexualia,  and  no  case  of  circumcision  has  so  far 
been  reported.  Moral  instruction  on  the  other  hand  is  always  and  every- 
where a  prominent  feature.' 

Initiations  to  religious  societies  are  largely  merged  with  the  sacrificial 
rite,  which  we  shall  now  consider,  some  of  them  being  prolonged  and  com- 
plicated. Among  these  the  smoke-offering  and  the  sun-dance  are  the  most 
important  and  should  merit  our  brief  attention  in  the  present  place. 


iDorsey,  Omaha  Sociology,  (B.A.  E.  Washington,  3d.  Rep.),  pp.  225,  231,  246,  263flf. 
Hodge,  Handbook  of  American  Indians,  (1910),  I.  266,  453,  II.  315.  ^  Dorsey,  1.  c.  Hodge, 
11.  314-315. 


356  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

NORTH-AMERICAN  FORM 

SiouAN  Rite 

(3)  Sacrifice: — Among  the  unbloody  offerings  the  most  distinctive  is 
undoubtedly  that  of  the  sacred  Corn,  and  this  is  commonly  combined  with 

The  Calumet,  or  Pipe-Daxce, 

so-called  from  the  calamus,  or  reed,  out  of  which  the  pipes  are  manu- 
factured.   This  pipe  serves  the  purpose  of  a  symbolic  altar  or  a  sacrificial 
bowl,  in  which  tobacco,   (originally  flax  or  cedar-leaves),  is  solemnly 
smoked  and  offered  up  as  incense  to  the  Great  Wakanda. 
"Wakandal  Nini  bahai-te!"  "Wakanda,  I  offer  you  the  smoke!" 

Such  is  a  common  exclamation  to  the  Being  whom  they  apparently 
regard  as  a  Person,  for  they  say  that  "Wakanda  gave  them  the  pipes,  and 
that  He  rules  over  them".  The  staff  of  the  pipe  is  commonly  decorated 
with  feathers,  horse-hair,  ducks'  heads,  magic  paint,  etc.,  and  before  the 
dance  two  of  them  are  rested  against  forked  sticks,  placed  in  the  ground 
and  serving  as  pipe  holders.  A  little  distance  from  them  are  "two  sticks 
connected  with  an  ear  of  Corn,  which  is  sacred."  The  ear  must  be  in  per- 
fect condition,  it  must  have  no  grains  missing.  It  is  fastened  to  the  sticks 
by  a  piece  of  buffalo  hair,  the  lower  part  being  left  white,  the  upper  part 
painted  green,  the  sticks  being  tinted  with  Indian  red.  The  dancers  then 
commence  their  symbolic  evolutions,  painted  in  red,  white,  or  blue,  and 
decorated  with  eagle  feathers,  during  which  they  imitate  the  movements 
of  the  war  eagle,  and  wave  about  the  calumets.  After  the  dancing,  sing- 
ing, and  feasting,  the  two  pipes  are  given  to  the  family  of  the  neophyte 
with  the  words: — 

"We  give  you  a  sacred  thing.  Do  not  have  a  bad  heart.  We  make  you 
sacred,  we  set  you  apart.  We  have  received  this  custom  from  Wakanda!" 
etc. 

The  case  given  by  Dorsey  is  that  of  an  adopted  child,  and  according  to 
him  the  ceremony  is  described  in  the  vernacular  as  that  of  "making  a 
sacred  kinship",  which  certainly  sounds  suggestive  and  appropriate. 

Now  as  the  "Mother-Corn"  is  a  special  Life-Wakanda  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  All-Sun,  it  acquires  a  semi-religious  if  not  a  sacred  char- 
acter, and  this  is  an  example  of  a  pure  abstinence-rife,  as  the  corn,  though 
commonly  consumed,  is  not  eaten  during  the  ceremony.  In  the  words  of 
Hewitt,  "the  Omaha  Calumets  are  together  the  most  highly  organised 
emblems  known  to  religious  observances  anpvhere,  and  it  is  further  in 
evidence  that  the  pipe  is  an  accessory  rather  than  the  dominant  or  chief 
object  of  this  highly  complex  synthetic  symbol  of  the  source,  reproduction, 
and  conservation  of  life." ' 


•Dorsey,  Omaha  Sociology,  276ff.     Hodge.  Handbook,  I.  191-193. 


TOTEMIC  SACRIFICE 
(NORTH-AMERICAN  RITE) 

THE  SMOKE-OFFERING 

"WAKANDA  CArENCAOAl" 
"WAKANDA  NINI  BAHAI-TBt" 


THE  WITSHASHAS  SMOKE  TO  THE  MOTHER-CORN 

(PB.1IBIE  STATES) 

CEBEMONT  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  PIPE-DANCE,  SHOWINO  THE  COBN-COB,  THE  MAOIC 
SNAKE,  THE  DIVTMNG-CBTSTALS,  THE  HOBN-WAII.ET,  CEBEMONIAX  CLUB.  AND  POtNT- 
IMG-8TICK8,  BTSrSTIC  PIPES,  EAGLE-FEATHEBS,  EEED-FLCTE,  AND  BEBBT-NECK- 
I^CE.  (ITEMS  IN  DOBSEY,  OMAHA  80CIOLOGT,  B.  A.  E.  SD.  HBP.  1885.  P.  276ff  AND 
F.  W.  HODGE,  HANDBOOK  OF  AMEBICAN  INDIANS   (1910),  VOL.  I.  P.  l»l.  813,  »60.) 


TOTEMIC  SACRIFICE 
(NORTH-AMERICAN  RITE) 

THE  SUN-DANCE  OF  THE  PRAIRIES 


'^''EN  MV    LAST  ^O"^ 

THE    DANCKR8    SALCTB    THE    RIAXNO    SrN.    n.A1TN0    ON    BOJTE- WHISTLES,    THROWTNG    FP 

THEIR    ARMS   OR    INTOXINO    THK    81  N-DANCE    PRAYKR-S.      TIIEV    ORADl  AM.T    ADVA>XE    TO 

THE    CENTEE-rOLE    AND    THE    Bl  FFALO-ALT  AR,    THEN    PICK    IP    THE    Bl  FFALO-8KILLS, 

AND  Rl  8H  BIADLY  ROl'ND  THE  RINO. 

HATERL\I.8  FOLNDED   ON   ».   O.    DORSEY,    A    STIDY    OF    SIOIAN    CILT8.    llth.    BEF.    B.    A.    E, 
(WASHINGTON,    IBM),   V.  ZItV.     INVOCATIONS  IBID.   P.   S;;-S7S 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  357 

NORTH-AMERICAN  FORM 

SiouAN  Rite 

But  the  most  famous  ceremony  of  the  Plains  tribes,  though  now  con- 
fined to  the  Cree,  Ponka,  Cheyenne,  etc.,  was  the  more  sanguinary  ordeal 
known  as 

The  Sun-Dance 

This  function  usually  takes  place  on  or  about  the  summer  solstice  and 
lasts  about  eight  days.    It  is  preceded  by  a  secret  dpi  of  three  or  four  days, 
during  which  the  priesis  smoke,  feast,  pray,  and  prepare  the  objects  to  be 
used  in  the  ritual.    The  "lodge"  is  then  erected  which  consists  of  a  camp 
circle,  in  the  middle  of  which  a  tall  pole  is  erected  and  painted  with  red 
and  black  stripes.    At  its  base  is  the  "altar",  which  is  nothing  but  a  buffalo 
skull,  sometimes  surrounded  with  pipes,  trees,  sand-paintings,  and  rain- 
bow-symbols.    The  priests  and  dancers  then  decorate  their  bodies  with 
paint  and  willow-wreaths,  having  kept  a  strict  fast  from  the  preceding 
night.    They  form  in  line,  and  dance  toward  the  center  pole  representing 
the  sun,  at  the  same  time  playing  on  bone-whistles,  and  accompanied  by 
the  Sun-Dance  songs.    Here  are  a  few  extracts  from  'hese  songs : — 
"Hail,  Mysterious  Power!  Thou  who  art  the  Su7i!  I  ivish  to  folloiv  thy 
course.    Grant  that  it  may  be  so!    Cause  me  to  meet  whatever  is  good, 
to  avoid  whatever  is  evil.    0  Wakanda,  pity  me!    Throughout  this 
island-world,  you  regulate  everything  that  moves, — you  decide  when 
my  last  hour  shall  come!" — etc. 

In  addition  to  the  offering  of  tobacco  and  small  objects,  the  dancers 
would  sometimes  cut  a  small  piece  of  each  other's  flesh,  and  practice  other 
self-lacerations  and  torments,  with  the  avowed  object  of  propitiating  the 
Sun-God.  warding  off  sickness,  controlling  the  elements,  etc.  At  the  close 
they  drink  medicine-water,  break  their  fast,  and  the  lodge  is  abandoned. 

"The  ceremony  of  the  Sun-Dance",  writes  Dorsey,  "abounds  in  symbol- 
ism. There  seems  to  have  been  a  universal  veneration  of  the  four  cardinal 
points.  The  sun,  or  a  god  spoken  of  as  the  "Great  Mystery",  "Great  Medi- 
cine", or  "Man  Above"  was  even  more  prominent,  being  symbolised  by  the 
central  pole."  The  secret  tipi  represented  the  sacred  mountain  where  the 
rites  were  revealed,  and  was  also  known  as  the  "Morning  Star",  the  camp 
circle  stood  for  the  Corona  Borealis  or  the  universe  as  such,  the  lodge  rep- 
resented the  earth  as  the  home  of  man.  The  altar  symbolished  the  essence 
of  life,  the  fork  in  the  pole  the  nest  of  the  Thunder-Bird,  while  the  pole 
itself  typified  the  supreme  medicine  of  mystery,  which,  strange  to  say, 
was  associated  with  the  enemy  of  man.  It  is  truly  pathetic  to  think  that 
these  poor  benighted  creatures  should  have  such  a  terrible  fear  of  the 
"Great  Unknown"  that  they  can  only  conceive  of  Him  as  the  source  of 
infinite  pity,  as  supplying  His  help  and  protection  only  through  some 
sombre  and  more  or  less  sinister  channels  of  communication." 


'Dorsey,  A  Study  of  Siouan  Cults  (B.  A.E.  llth.  Rep.),  377{{.    Hodge,  II.  649ff. 


358  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

NORTH-AMERICAN  FORM 

SiouAN  Rite 

And  this  is  the  one  point  that  mars  the  whole  symbolism.  For  among 
the  Cheyenne  a  war-enemy  was  formerly  suspended  alive  from  this  pole, 
and  their  object  was  to  overcome  the  sun  by  forcing  the  thunder-bird  to 
release  rain!  Similarly  the  rain  was  defied  by  black  paint,  which  was 
thus  in  remote  control  of  the  sun,  the  moon,  the  morning-star,  and  the 
four  world-quarters, — the  essence  of  a  magical  rile.  Admitting  that  this 
and  the  whistling,  vomiting,  and  sweating,  are  all  in  part  imitative  and 
coercive,  it  must  still  be  conceded,  that  this  is  a  genuine  exhibition  of 
sorrow,  a  sincere  call  for  help. 

(4)  Expiation: — As  it  is  also  a  penance,  and  one  of  no  trifling  order, 
the  name  of  "Great  Medicine"  is  naturally  an  appropriate  one.  The  whole 
ritual  is  meant  to  cure,  even  if  only  from  physical  ailments.  Apart  from 
this  there  are  special  exorcisms,  in  which  the  shaman  inquires  into  per- 
sonal transgressions  of  the  patient,  violations  of  taboos,  etc. — a  form  of 
confession.  He  then  sings,  prays,  exhorts,  and  finally  administers  his 
medicine,  which  may  consist  of  small  doses  of  "mystery-powder",  made 
of  corn-flower,  accompanied  by  an  unction  with  paint  or  saliva,  sweating, 
sucking,  bleeding,  or  scarifying.* 

(5)  Priesthood: — With  nearly  all  these  tribes  the  physician  or  mystery- 
man,  though  he  may  be  the  tribal  chief,  is  commonly  a  separate  olTicer, 
who  obtains  his  power  in  fasts,  dreams,  or  visions,  and  enjoys  a  lucrative 
revenue.  He  is  a  "mental"  healer,  using  his  specifics  to  counteract  witch- 
craft." 

(6)  Matrimony: — As  usual,  a  man  must  marry  outside  of  his  gens,  and 
outside  of  his  phralry,  where  these  are  established,  descent  being  reckoned 
in  the  male  or  female  line  respectively  (Comp.  Omahas  with  Iroquois). 
With  most  of  the  Siouan  tribes  marriages  are  contracted  early,  with  or 
without  purchase,  sometimes  by  elopement.  Polygyny  is  common,  and 
divorce  easily  efTected.* 

(7)  Burial: — The  dying  Omaha  is  wrapt  in  blankets  of  buffalo  skin 
and  told  that  he  is  going  to  his  ancestors,  the  wild  bisons  of  the  prairies. 
Though  inhumation  is  still  to  be  found,  scaffold-  and  ^ree-burial  are  the 
common  Dakota  practice,  the  body  being  sometimes  embalmed,  but  rarely 
cremated.' 

According  to  Dorsey,  the  following  practices  are  iiot  found  among  the 
Omaha: — 

There  is  no  hero  or  ancestor-worship  in  the  personal  sense,  nor  have 
they  ever  heard  of  the  devil.  Totems  and  shamans  are  not  worshipped,  but 
reverenced,  and  altars  and  altar-stones  are  alike  unknown.  Incense, 
except  in  the  form  of  tobacco,  cedar-leaves,  etc..  was  not  used,  and  there 
were  no  human  sacrifices  and  no  cannibalism.'  If  these  items  are  cor- 
rect, it  will  be  seen  that  they  reveal  the  North-American  totem-ritual  in 
its  greatest  purity. 


♦  Hodge,  I.  836     'Ibidem.    «  lb.  I.  809.  II.  611.    '  lb.  I.  946.    »  Dorsey,  Siouan  Culu,  .VI. 


RECENT  SACRIFICE 

THE  PRE-SARGONIC  TEMPLE  OF  BEL 
A  NIPPUR 

SHOWING    THE    PROBABLE    OUTLINES    OF    THE    EARLIEST    8UMERIAN 

"MOrNTAIN-HOlSE"     AS     THE     MODEL     OF     THE     WESTERN-ASIATIC 

AND   EGYPTIAN   TEMPLE-ABCHITECTURE    (4-8000   B.   C.) 


(HEIOHTi  BO-90  FT.) 


NOTE  THE  "MOrNTAIN-MOTIF,"  WITH  THE  SQUARE  FOUNDATION- 
BLABS  AND  THE  SLOPING  CUPOLAS,  THE  GREAT  STAIR-CASE,  THE 
HIGH  ALTAR  (A),  AND  THE  NECROPOLIS,  WITH  FIRE-  AND  WATER- 
HOUSES  (B)  (C).  CONJECTUB.\L  RESTORATION  ON  THE  DATA  OF 
HAYNES  AND  HTLPRECHT  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 
(1900).  SEE  HANDCOCK,  MESOPOTAMIAN  ARCHAEOLOGY  (1912),  P.  185. 
H.  KOLDEWY,  DIE  TEBIPEL  VON  BABYLON  (LEIPZIG.  1911),  P.  68.  E.  3. 
BANKS,  BISMYA,  THE  LOST  CITY  OF  ADAB  (1912),  P.  242.  "I  AM 
INCLINED  TO  BELIEVE  THAT  THE  FIRST  BABYLONIAN  TEMPLE  WAS 
A  SMALL  TOWER  WITH  AN   ALTAB  AT  ITS  SUMMIT"    (PBOF.   BANKS). 


BABYLONIAN  INCANTATION  RITUAL 

SHIPTU  SERIES    K.  245 

THE  "ASPERSION"  IN  SUMERO-ACCADIAN 


(S>IN<Jlit)        ASARJ  AUM   NUH  HA 

a)UMU OA*  URin)U(3(a)A  flB  CNUM-W) 

]f       ^^H^  If  ^  ►m 

A    <*tua BA  A  — ^   XA.9  •       '     '     'Q^ 

If  2Nr  ^         If  ^^     w 

A e^  lA  A LAQkAO-— OA 

IT  ^    ifw      ^    IT    H^r 

A        (»<Ut<  A— Wa  IMIN  nim— —  na 


If  ^     ^    .     ^^  ^^ 

A BA N<    ■     IH  riXXD 

]f    ^       r?F  ^  ]t^ 

A   BA Ml  -^— — — .  »M  n. 

If        H^                                                 ^  ^^ 

A  «A   CNI) IN  — — — —    LAQ-UM} 

^^:m  <i>m.     ffc  ^4  CT    ^^ 

MaSkIW   4UI-  CtA BA »IA.  g 

BAP> — TA-^B| 3u  e(A BA WA — AN— 4UB-BA 

ALAD  8l<}  C^A   ^NGIR')  LAMA       SIS OA 

^^1^  ►^^       ^  ^  ^        ^     <« 

KmS_  1^             ae  —  EN — «-A<s — UA* — <n — K^ 
ZI-AN NA        <»e—  FAS       X.I kJ—A      aC-FAS) 


MAKLU  SERIES    K.  43 
THE  BURNING  OF  WITCHES  (ASSYR.  TEXT) 


135 


9 


SH=-ru  a4—  &|       3>\  —  PA— -RU   S^LM.\N\-SuKU-ASAL-LU 

TfNK'fiT^»^<:fH-Tf4i<^;M!^v-]^>i^^iqg^ 

^—  Kao-sI— kU-KU-Al        A-KAM-Ml-KU-N'J-«4  A-HAM-aiN-l<lJ-NU-'^i 

A  — KA    (IL)   mS.B^TV(4A-MI-E      OA U I  KA SI 1 

KA     <^       T>U  ■bA  KA3SA»»Arrt 

(IL.)  c;i»-BAR  QA-MU  —  U  U  — XAU-lAl.       I— 1>A— A>  — >»» 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  359 

RECENT  ASIATIO  FORM 

(N,  1)  Early  Babylonian  Rite 

As  most  of  the  customs  here  recorded  are  of  pre-Sargonic  or  Sumerian 
origin,  they  are  of  indefinite,  possibly  of  extreme  antiquity. 

(1)  Infancy  Customs: — We  are  without  any  certain  information  as  yet 
of  birth-ceremonies,  whether  in  Sumerian  or  Semitic  times.  But  some 
such  ceremony  seems  to  be  implied  in  the  universal  practice  of  purifying 
everything  in  heaven  and  earth  with  oil  and  water,  two  substances  that 
figure  prominently  in  the  oldest  rituals,  and  have  even  been  worked  into 
the  paradise-legends,  showing  their  sacred  life-imparting  character.  The 
aspersion  with  water  and  the  anointing  with  oil  are  so  common  in  their 
application  to  the  sick  and  in  the  exorcism  of  all  forms  of  evil  spirits,  that 
in  view  of  the  strong  consciousness  of  sin,  both  original  and  actual,  some 
purification-ceremony  for  infants  and  mothers  alike  seems  to  be  demanded 
in  prehistoric  as  it  was  certainly  practiced  in  historic  times.  A  typical 
formula  on  such  occasions  may  be  discerned  in  the  following  conjura- 
tion:— 

"With  pure  sparkling  ivater,  with  bright,  shimmering  water. 
Seven  times,  and  again  seven  times,  besprinkle,  cleanse,  purify! 
May  the  evil  Rabisu  yield,  may  he  be  swept  aside! 
May  the  good  Shedu,  the  good  Lamassu,  take  possession  of  his  body! 
By  the  life  of  Heaven!  By  the  life  of  Earth!" 

Though  these  words  are  addressed  by  the  Ocean-god  to  the  Babylonian 
Marduk,  they  are  nevertheless  of  considerable  antiquity,  when  the  "holy 
water"  of  Eridu  was  still  competing  with  the  attractions  of  Nippur,  and 
they  may  well  have  served,  in  part  at  least,  as  an  infant  exorcism.  More- 
over in  the  Bit  Rimki,  or  Temple  "Bath-House"  we  have  something 
approaching  to  a  font,  a  sacred  lavacrum.' 

(2)  Matunty  Rites: — Ordeals  by  fire  and  ivater  are  well  developed  in 
the  land  of  Sumer,  but  they  have  lost  much  of  their  terrifying  nature. 
Contrary  to  the  Canaanitish  custom  of  making  their  children  "pass  through 
fire"  the  torch  is  commonly  applied  to  the  demons,  whose  efligies  are  burnt 
in  'the  Bit-Niru,  or  "Fire-House",  with  the  avowed  object  of  strengthening 
the  candidate.  In  the  Maklu,  or  Burning-Ritual,  it  is  Nusku,  the  Fire-god, 
who  is  thus  invoked: — 

"/  will  raise  the  torch,  I  will  consume  your  effigies! 
I  will  bind  and  fetter  you.    I  will  deliver  you  to  the  consuming, 
annihilating,  strangulating  God  of  Fire,  the  master  of  witches. 
May  the  consuming  Fire-God  strengthen  my  hands!"  ■ 

We  are  here  in  presence  of  a  very  natural,  however  violent  tendency  to 
destroy  the  forces  of  evil,  to  "beat  down  the  devil."  Unfortunately,  how- 
ever, demon  is  expelled  by  demon;  for  Nusku,  though  ostensibly  on  the 
side  of  the  righteous,  makes  use  of  very  similar  means  for  terrorising  the 
weak;  he  forces  into  submission. 


'  Haupt,  Sumerisch-Akkadische  Keilschrifttexte,  p.  90,  Kol.  III.  1-13.     Compare  Jastrow, 
Rel.  Bab.  u.  Assyr.  I.  324.     »  Maklu,  I.  135.  IV.  9-12. 


360  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

RECENT  ASIATIC  FORM 

Early  Babylonian  Rite 

(3a)  The  KiStu,  or  Unbloody  Sacrifice: — There  can  be  little  doubt  that 
in  the  earliest  period  the  greater  sacrifices  were  performed  on  the  "Moun- 
tain House"  (Sum.  E-Kur),  which  as  the  Zikkurat  of  later  times  developed 
into  the  temple-tower,  which  was  originally  distinct  from  the  temple 
proper.  At  the  temple  of  Bel  in  Nippur,  the  tower  and  temple  motifs  are 
united,  and  there  are  three  main  divisions, — an  outer  court,  an  inner  court, 
and  the  sacred  tower — ,  corresponding  to  the  Jewish  Court  of  the  Gentiles, 
the  Holy  Place,  and  the  Holy  of  Holies.  To  the  pinnacle  of  this  tower  the 
priest  of  old,  the  sangu,  would  ascend  by  a  winding  path  or  a  staircase, 
originally  with  little  or  no  apparel,  and  would  place  his  offering  of  bread 
and  wine  upon  the  sacred  table,  as  is  clear  from  the  following  Nippur- 
fragments,  dating  from  the  age  of  Mesilim  and  the  early  dynasties  of  Kish 
and  Uruk: — 

"To  Bel  (Enlil)  hath  Uru-mu-ush,  king  of  Kish,  when  he  had  con- 
quered Elam  and  Barahsu,  made  this  dedication  of  booty  from  Elam." 
Then  he  says: — "Uru-mu-ush  hath  placed  twelve  breads  and  twelve  ves- 
sels of  drink  as  a  food-offering  for  each  day  upon  the  table  of  Shamash." ' 
(3000  B.  G.) 

Though  the  exact  number  is  not  indicated,  this  is  certainly  an  oblation 
of  farinacious  and  vineous  substances,  as  may  be  safely  inferred  from  the 
earliest  references,  and  the  number  "twelve"  is  extremely  ancient.' 

At  the  same  time  an  ofTering  of  bread  and  ivater  may  also  be  found: — 

"Lugal-zag-gi-si,  king  of  Uruk,  king  of  the  land,  for  the  honor  of  En- 
lil, King  of  the  lands,  hath  offered  sacrificial  breads  in  Nippur  and  poured 
out  a  libation  of  pure  water." 

"0  Enlil,  King  of  the  Lands!  May  He  implore  Anu,  His  beloved  Father, 
to  add  new  life  to  my  life!  The  shepherd,  who  stands  at  the  front,  may  I 
forever  remain!"  (2800  B.  G.)  * 

Here  the  oblate  is  described  as  sukum- [dingir)  ninni  (ge),  or  the  "Gift 
of  the  Lord",  and  the  libation  as  a-ug{e),  "Clear  Water".  Moreover 
Gudea,  patesi  of  Lagash,  (2400),  assures  us  that 

"In  these  breads  was  contained  the  abundance  of  the  divinity!" 
Sukum-bi-da  he-gal  dingir-ri-ne-kam! ^   (2400  B.C.) 

an  undeniably  strong  theological  expression.  Furthermore,  it  may  be  in- 
ferred from  the  oblations  of  honey,  milk,  butter,  and  sweetened  cakes,  that 
the  bread  was  unleavened.  (Compare  the  offerings  of  Gudea  (2400)  with 
the  "house  of  honey,  butter,  and  wine"  constructed  by  Pur-sim  I.  king  of 
Ur,  2200).' 

The  solemnity  of  the  occasion  was  further  enhanced  by  incense-burn- 
ing, niknakku  (Sum.  ma-sa-ab),  by  playing  on  the  sacred  lyre  (balag), 
by  elevation  of  hands  (nis-kate),  prostrations  (sukennu) ,  adorations  with 
hand  to  mouth  (karubu). 

•  Hilprecht,  O.  B.  I.  5.  13.  Th.  Dang.  162.  *  Idem,  87.  Th.  D.  1S4.  »  Cylinder,  A.  27,  17.  Th. 
D.  118.    *Cyl.  A.  18.  21.  Th.  D.  108.  OBI.  21.  Th.  D.  198.  Zimmern,  Beitrage,  94-95. 


BABYLONIAN  INCANTATION  RITUAL 

KISHTU  SERIES    O.  B.  I.  Nos.  5,  13.  87 
ARCHAIC  TABLETS  DESCRIBING  THE  "OFFERTORY" 


13 


^'3) 


i.^. 


A     KA         CrUU)      E^4— HV-       UWJ— MU \A  . 

U               BA— T»A— AH  —  SUM— K>        (6A«3  — aiS— "RA^INARU-NI 
ur>     UR.U   MU u4       QAR    ^IKARIM     OU     N>q\(N)  A  — KA 

SA-rruK  uMiM  X    a  —  »4a    "PAssiuK.duij)  4ama&-- 

dol  JE.  3- 12.  »3-il  .35-36 

§-i4J^S  3^^^nNcci  3Mtr>.^iaat- 

LUGAU     ZAQ-CGI— si)        UuqAL    UNU -(m-«A^  LU«Al.  KALAM-MA 
K»  CM-)-K)  (M)  —   MA         Cb")  en— U>U      LuaAM,KUWKUH-tWr^) 

KIBKU   C*^l-A)    SUKUM  C^)        IHlNtSlCe  C  —  r4A.C(tO-CD<B') 

A— UCS        £■    —  NA-CS>E) 
^U— TUR       C^)  EN—  1-1 1.  LUGAL        KURKUR-TW— <JE 

AM       A   —  K(  —  AQ      Nl  NAM-X-MU  ^B —  NA  — fBl) 

MAM  —    -ri    rv\u  NAM T«  HA-  aA-TA^  — Ht 

SIS  SAC—  TA— QAt-  PA    —    T=*.< t^E    — •  Mg 


THE  "CONSECRATION",  GUDEA.  CYL.  27,  17 


<J>  JiLl>  p=;j  fHSI  =C -^pLl  S^n  ^3 

iUKUM  -  Bl SA  ye  — QAU»INQIR-Rt-  NE-K^M 


<BI  PKBMISaiON   OF  THE   INIVEKSTTY   OF   PENNSTLTAUIA) 


BABYLONIAN  INCANTATION  RITUAL 


THE  PATESI  OFFERS  THE  MORNING  MEAL 
THE  NIPPUR-RITUAL  ACCORDING  TO  THE  "ASSYRIAN  CANON" 

SHOWING  THE  EAKME8T  SACKinClAL  IMPLEMENTS.  8EA-SHELL  I.ASfPS,  HARPS. 
■I'MERIAN  APRON.  PAI.M-TR1E;E  MITRE,  AND  LAPIS-I^VZL XI  NECKLACE.  SEE  8.  P.  HAND- 
COCK,  ME80TA.MIAN  ARCHAEOLOUV.  (N.  Y.  181«).  L.  W.  KINO.  A  HISTORY  OF  81'MER  AND 
AKKAD,  (N.  V.  1910).  E.  J.  BANKS.  BISHA.  THE  LOST  CITY  OF  ADAB.  (N.  Y.  l»lt),  FOR  ABCHI- 
TECTl'RK.    LITl  RGICAL    OB,IECT8,     ETC.     (LATEST    EXCAVATIONS) 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  361 

RECENT  ASIATIC  FORM 

Early  Babylonian  Rite 

The  Naptanu  Hani,  or  "The  Divine  Banquet". 

After  the  customary  ablutions  and  purifications  (1,  2)  the  following 
will,  therefore,  represent  the  principal  stages  in  the  sacrificial  action:— 

"0  Enlil,  King  of  the  Lands!  May  He  implore  Anu,  His  beloved 
Father,  with  my  petition  to  add  new  life  to  my  life.  May  he  cause  the 
lands  to  repose  in  safety,  may  he  favor  me  with  warriors  as  numerous  as 
the  herbs,  may  He  supply  me  with  the  powers  of  Heaven,  may  He  bless  the 
land  with  His  good  will!  The  happy  destiny  which  the  gods  have  decreed 
to  me,  may  they  never  change  it.  The  shepherd,  who  stands  at  the  front, 
may  I  for  ever  remain!"  (Lugal  Zaggisi  to  Enlil  of  Nippur,  2800).' 

Then  might  follow  one  or  two  of  the  prayers,— "Fa</ier  E7ilil,  Lord  of 
the  Lands",  "Return,  look  down  upon  thy  city"  (see  p.  87),  possibly 
counted  on  "beads".  Finally  the  entire  offering  would  be  consumed, 
poured  out,  or  distributed,  with  the  words:— "In  this  food  is  the  abundance 
of  the  Gods!"— "Receive  the  banquet  of  all  the  great  Gods!"— a.  daily  obla- 
tion. For  in  the  Shamash-ritual  the  Baru-Priest  sings  or  prays  as 
follows : — 

(1)  During  the  first  offering  of  Cedar-Incense:— 

"0  Shamash,  Lord  of  the  Judgment!    0  Adad,  Lord  of  the  Prophecy! 
Accept,  0  Shamash  and  Adad,  ye  who  live  in  the  shining  heavens. 
Ye  who  are  divine  judges  and  great  gods,— accept  the  morning-meed! 
Shamash  and  Adad  receive  this!    In  my  ivailing,  in  the  lifting  up  of  my 
hands,  in  everything  that  I  do,  may  justice  crown  my  request!" 

(2)  During  the  second  offering  of  Meal-  and  Cypress-Incense:— 
"0  Shamash,  Lord  of  the  Judgment!    0  Adad,  Lord  of  the  Prophecy! 

Accept,  0  Shamash  and  Adad,  ye  who  live  in  the  shining  heavens, 
0  Shamash  and  Adad,  may  your  divine  majesty  accept  this  offering. 

RECEIVE  THE  BANQUET  OF  ALL  THE  GREAT  GODS:— 
Anu,  Bel,  and  Ea,  Sin,  Shamash,  Belit-Seri,  Ninib!    Receive  it!    In  my 
wailing,  in  the  lifting  up  of  my  hands,  in  all  that  I  do,  may  justice 
crown  my  request!" 

(3)  During  the  third  offering  of  Fine  Meal-Incense:— 

"Receive  this  offering,  0  Shamash  and  Adad,  ye  great  Gods!"  etc.' 
These  are  among  the  earliest  fragments  that  we  possess  of  the 
oldest  Nippur-ritual,  supplemented  by  Assyrio-Babylonian  sources,  and 
they  reveal  the  fact  the  divinity  was  believed  to  be  in  some  way  in  the  gift, 
to  be  operating  through  it.  Nevertheless,  a  closer  analysis  shows  the  essen- 
tially polytheistic  nature  of  the  entire  cult,— it  is  not  the  divinity  as  such, 
but  the  innumerable  demi-gods,  that  are  here  believed  to  consume  the 
offering,  in  a  vague  sense,  to  "receive"  it.' 


T  Hilprecht  OBI.  87.  Th.  D.  154.    »  Baru,  78.  (K.  2363),  Zimmern,  Beitrage,  195.    »  Comp. 
Dhorme,  Rel.  Ass.  Bab.  pp.  267-270. 


362  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

RECENT  ASIATIC  FORM 

Early  Babylonian  Rite 

(3,  b)  The  Niku,  or  Bloody  Sacrifice:— On  the  other  hand  the  efTusion 
of  blood  was  generally  described  by  tiiku  (naku),  to  "pour  out".  From 
the  earliest  times  the  sheep  and  the  goat  figurf  as  the  most  important  sac- 
rificial animals  and  the  ritual  was  no  doubt  very  similar,  the  animal  being 
slaughtered  in  the  outer  court,  and  then  presented  without  blemish,— 
ialmu. 

The  Doctrine  op  Substitution, — Dinanu 

The  Babylonian  conscience  has  ever  revolted  against  the  practice  of 
human  sacrifice.  At  the  same  time  the  consciousness  of  guilt  was  so 
strong  that  it  was  felt  necessary  to  slay  a  human  being  either  in  efTigj-  or 
in  the  substance  of  some  animal  in  order  to  procure  reconciliation  with 
the  ofTended  deity.  In  this  action  it  was  more  especially  the  lamb  that 
acted  as  the  substitute  for  the  worshipper,  that  was  selected  to  carry  his 
sins: — 

"The  lamb  is  the  substitute  for  humanity:  He  has  given  the  lamb  for 
his  life,  he  has  given  the  head  of  the  lamb  for  the  head  of  a  man,  he  has. 
given  the  neck  of  the  lamb  for  the  neck  of  a  man,  he  has  given  the  breast 
of  a  lamb  for  the  breast  of  a  ma7i"^° 

That  the  victim  was  falsely  identified  with  the  deity,  seems  equally 
certain.  For  not  only  is  Enlil  the  "mighty  bull"  of  Anu,  and  Enki  the 
"goat  of  wisdom",  but  during  the  baru-inspections  the  liver  was  identified 
with  the  soul  or  seat  of  divinity,  it  was  the  god  himself  that  was  believed 
lo  offer  his  entrails  to  man. 

"May  thy  heart  be  softened,  may  thy  liver  be  appeased!"  " 

This  intimate  connection  between  the  soul  of  the  deity  and  the  soul  of 
the  animal,  symbolised  by  heart  or  liver,  {libbu,  kabiltu).  can  only  be 
explained  on  the  theory,  now  generally  accepted,  that  there  is  in  a  certain 
sense  a  double  substitution, — one  on  the  part  of  the  worshipper,  who  slays 
the  victim  instead  of  slaying  himself,  and  the  other  on  the  part  of  the 
deity,  whu  allows  himself  to  be  slain  in  order  to  expose  his  liver,  and  to 
enter  into  inlimafe  union  with  the  worshipper  in  the  feast  that  follows. 
It  is  thus  to  some  extent  banquetting-rite,  as  with  the  kiStu  above. 

In  the  words  of  Jastrow,  "the  theory  upon  which  divination  by  means 
of  the  liver  rested  is  both  curious  and  interesting.  It  was  believed  that 
the  god  to  whom  an  animal  was  offered  identified  himself  for  the  nonce 
with  the  proffered  gift.  The  god,  in  accepting  the  animal,  became  as  it 
were  united  with  it  in  much  the  same  way  as  those  who  actually  ale  it"." 
But  that  this  should  be  a  real  "slaying"  of  God,  is  out  of  the  question.  It 
is  simply  the  result  of  a  diseased  zoomorphism,  in  which  the  deity  is  con- 
fused with  the  animal,  as  he  is  with  a  thousand  other  objects  in  creation, — 
it  is  pure  zoolatry.  nothing  approaching  to  a  divine  immolation. 


"Cun.  Texts.  XVII.  PI.  37.  Tabl.  Z.  Col.  B,  14ff.     "See  page  275  above     "Jastrow, 
Religious  Belief  in  Babylonia  and  Assyria  (1911)  p.  148.  Dhorme,  1.  c.  272ff. 


BABYLONIAN  INCANTATION-RITUAL 

BARU  SERIES  K.  2363+K.2787 
THE  INVOCATION 


(iL)SAM.U(lL)AD.ILUT-kU-WU-RABl--m  UM-yUR(lL)5.U((gAD.  At4-NA-A  MU^-RA-MA 
f^^y, -TA AN       -PU UH  — T=U       Sa  »I_ANI  RA^UXJ 

(;iLU)SlM(lL)aAMAS(IL)BE-Ln-  SE-RI  (IL)   NIN-IB  AKI-HA-A    MUy-RA-MA 
I NA  KIB ITI  -JA  N  IS  kATl-JA  ISlMWt  M-MA  MfirLA  EPPuSu  TA-  MITA-KAR— ■RA-3U  KCT-TA  UB^l 


"O  8HAMASH.  LORD   OF  THE  JIDGMENTI     O   ADAD.   LORD   OF  THE    PROPHECY  I 
ACCEPT    O  SHAMASH  AND  ADAD,   YE   WHO  LIVE  IN   THE   SHINING    HEAVENS. 
O  SHAMASH  AND  ADAD,  SLAY  YOl  R  DIVINE  MAJESTY  ACCEPT  THIS  OFTEBING. 

RECEIVE   THE   BANQUET   OF  ALL  THE   GREAT   GODS! 
ANU     BEL,  AND   EA,   SIN,   SHAMASH,   BELIT-SERL   NINIB!    RECEIVE   IT! 
IN  MY  WALLING,  IN  THE  LIFTING  IF  OF  MY  HANDS.  IN  ALL  THAT  I  DO, 
MAY  JUSTICE   CROWN  MY   REQUEST!" 

NIKU  SERIES 

C.  T.  XVn.  PL.  37.     TABL.  Z.   COL.   B.   L.    16ff.    (JA8TB0W,  I.    S81> 

THE  SUBSTITUTION  OF  THE  LAMB  IN  PLACE  OF  THE  SINNER 
(DINANU) 


U  Kl  — SAANA    t4A  — Pl^ -rl-^U  IT TA- 3>IN 

tCAk— KAD  U HI SI    ANA  kAk-t<AD     AMEU  |T -T7\'-I>IN 


rr        *AI.        U T=t.l SI   Ah4A    Kl-^AB         AMEL»  PT TA— DIN 

^_^^    '^[j'__^ — ^i  AHA     iT».— Ti   AMEU      t-r — -t;^-b«n 


TEXT  AND  TBANSCmmON  BY  ZIM31EBN,  BEITRAGE  ZUB  KENNTN18  DEK  BABYLONISCHBN 
BELIGION.   (LEIPZIG,  1901),  NO.  18.  L.  6»-74. 


BABYLONIAN  INCANTATION  RITUAL 

SHURPU  SERIES.  II.  5.  130ff. 
THE  SO-CALLED  "CONFESSION-TABLET"  (K.  8868-fK.  5495) 


3r. 

5 

^  <^  ►^T-i  ^  ^;s:  ■^<^>^^i^MM 

IKK13       lU— 5u           1  kU-Ul 

ik:kia(iuj)i&TAR-5u   1— Ku-Lu 

6 

Tf    ^  ^H^  <^  ^ 

►^  i^H^ 

A  KA       AM— KA       pu — LA 

la.  —  3U  —   u 

«L 



LIMUTCA             la, BU   U 

(3 

►^H^^^I^^^i^HIl^ 

LA        BA- 

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M- 

.=_       -W,^^>*-      i-       ^      J^ 

. 

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ia 

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amm-  »^ 

(IT-rl)       ABI                   MARA 

IT»—    T>,U  SU 

r  vTJy-vI   >r_     yT      !H^    ^ 

^^^»f^ 

aa. 

[50^  J  p  rr  ^    ^>T=  ir 

(^l-m)    UMMI                   MAR— TA 

IP  —  PU   GU 

4T 

^Mj^  HTTT  ^%-^\ 

^^  i^  ^  HH 

A-NA         31T        TAP--PI  e — ^U 

1  TE PU UB 

46 

]f^^TlM  I^^^HTX. 

Mr   <r^    ^ 

A  — (Vk       A^^T    tap— pi E &U 

IT TE Bl 

49 

^[<J=1              ^^^J^ 

Mf       ^=^h!^   >^ 

DA  —  Ml                     TAP-P» E— 6U 

IT  — TA BA AK 

50 

m^                 ^^^^I^ 

MT^^^^^M^^ 

SU  EAT            TAP  — >»l E  — £u 

1 T  TA  —  AU SA— aA 

THE  ACCUSATION  OF  GUILT 


BE-LUM   AN-NU-U-A    tvV\ 'I I>A      TlA-BA-Ayi-TA-TU-U-A 


JABTROW,   BBA,   II.    I'.    102rr.    (UERMAN   EDITION)    IV.   B.   PL    10 
"O  LOBD,  tm  TBANSORE88IONS  ARE  MANY,  GREAT  ARE  MY  BINSI" 

THE  "ABSOLUTION"  (K.  8868  Rev.  +  K.  150) 


130 


135 
HO 


LU-U         PAT — -RA     {lU)  &AMAfc  aXA— A  — AN—    NU 

■PU—     TUPs        MA^-MAi     ILANI       33EUJ  FBrt-N^i- U  ( I U)  KiARDUK 
PU— in-—  RA         ILANI       HABim     MA-LA  5UM-iu-NU  36AK-(mj) 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS  363 

RECENT  ASIATIC  FORM 
Early  Babylonian  Rixe 

(4)  Penitential  Practice: — Apart  from  the  abstinences  which  are  ipso 
facto  implied  in  every  food-ofTering,  there  is  little  in  the  line  of  physical 
mortification  that  is  required  of  the  penitent  sinner.  In  place  of  a  lacera- 
tion of  the  body  there  is  a  laceration  of  the  soul,  which  is  just  as  severe 
and  far  more  searching  from  the  point  of  view  of  moral  guilt.  The  exami- 
nation of  conscience  was  conducted  before  the  sangu  as  follows : — 

"Has  he  blasphemed  his  god?  Has  he  blasphemed  his  goddess?  Has 
lie  said  yes  for  no,  and  no  [or  yes?  Has  he  pointed  with  the  finger,  spoken 
evil,  spoken  impurity,  encouraged  calumny?  Has  he  estranged  father 
from  son,  mother  from  daughter,  friend  from  friend,  etc?  Has  he  never 
released  a  prisoner,  granted  him.  a  vision  of  daylight?  Has  he  dishonored 
his  father  and  mother?  Has  he  given  false  measure,  taken  bad  money, 
removed  the  boundary-stones?  Has  he  invaded  his  neighbor's  house, 
taken  his  neighbor's  wife,  shed  his  neighbor's  blood,  stolen  his  neighbor's 
clothes?"  "0  Lord,  my  transgressions  are  many,  great  are  my  si7is!" 
(Contrition).  "Come  to  deliver  us,  0  Shamash,  thou  Lord  of  Justice! 
(Absolution-Formula).  Release  the  ban,  thou  priest  of  the  gods,  thou 
merciful  lord,  Marduk!  Release  the  ban,  ye  great  gods,  as  many  of  you 
as  there  are.  Anu  and  Antum,  release  the  ban!  Bel,  thou  king  and 
creator  of  all,  release  the  ban!  Belit,  thou  queen  of  Ekiur,  release  the  ban! 
Enki,  king  of  the  ocean,  release  the  ban!  Eridu,  House  of  the  ocean, 
release  the  ban!"  etc." 

These  are  only  a  few  of  the  divinities  invoked  on  this  occasion,  but  the 
whole  ceremony  reveals  a  genuine  desire  to  deliver  the  penitent  from  the 
fetters  of  sin,  to  reconcile  him  with  the  supernatural  beings  that  he  has 
offended.  As  to  physical  healing,  it  is  accomplished  by  water  and  fire,  or 
by  water  and  oil,  with  an  application  of  the  medicinal  herb,  the  tigallu 
or  gesh-tin  ("tree  of  life"),  and  the  recitation  of  the  formulae  under  (1) 
and  (2).  Yet,  dignified  as  they  are,  these  ceremonies  are  grossly  poly- 
theistic,— the  culprit  is  released  from  the  ban  of  witchcraft  by  a  series  of 
cosmic  agents  who  are  themselves  the  authors  of  divination  and  sorcery 
in  one  of  its  most  repulsive  forms.  There  is  no  guarantee  whatever  that 
the  sins  are  in  any  sense  pardoned. 

(5)  Priesthood: — All  these  functions  are  performed  or  presided  over 
by  the  Sangu,  or  priest,  who  as  the  patesi  or  "father",  of  Sumerian  times, 
was  at  once  the  civil  governor.  At  a  later  period  we  find  three  well  marked 
groups, — the  aMpu,  or  conjuror,  the  baru,  or  diviner,  and  the  zammeru, 
or  chanter — ,  the  supreme  functionary  being  the  "Priest-Iiing"  or  High- 
Priest  (Sangammahu) .  He  is  God's  representative  and  is  anointed  with 
oil  (pasiSu),  he  wears  the  mitre  and  carries  the  mace.  Though  the 
Sumerian  Sangu  was  apparently  shaved,  the  Semitic  kings  were  invariably 
bearded,  but  the  priestly  unction  was  universal.^* 


"  Surpu,  II.  5-SOff.  (K.  8868),  Zimmern,  3-5.     Rawlinson,  IV.  PI.  10.  (Contrition-formula"). 
"Dhorme.  Rel.  Ass.  Bab.  pp.  282-302 


364  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

RECENT  ASIATIC  FORM 
EJarly  Babylonian  Rite 

(6)  Marriage-Laics: — From  what  we  know  of  the  earliest  marriage- 
regulations  it  appears  that  they  were  fairly  strict.  Polygamy  and  poly- 
andry were  alike  discountenanced,  the  expression  "wife  of  the  patesi" 
always  appearing  in  the  singular  number.  In  the  words  of  Handcock, 
"there  is  abundant  evidence  to  show  that  the  Sumerians  compare  very 
favorably  with  other  primitive  peoples  in  their  treatment  of  women". 
They  could  act  as  free  agents,  make  their  own  contracts,  and  widows  and 
poor  alike  were  protected  against  illegal  extortions.  They  could  rise  to 
the  ofllce  of  priestess  and  were  often  to  be  found  in  the  sanctuary.  On 
th^  other  hand  marriage  was  distinctly  regarded  as  a  legal  contract,  and 
divorce  could  be  obtained  by  legal  procedure.  It  was  the  father-in-law 
that  was  party  to  the  contract  and  with  whom  rested  the  power  of  its  dis- 
solution. This  is  the  only  flaw  in  what  appears  to  be  in  other  respect;-  a 
good  moral  standard,  to  judge  from  the  above  confession-formula.  It 
was  not  until  far  later  times  that  the  old  designation  of  kadiStu  for  a 
"temple  devotee"  obtained  a  sinister  meaning.'" 

(7)  Funerals: — "Whatever  may  be  said  about  the  supposed  "crema- 
tories" attached  to  the  temples, — probably  fire-houses  for  purification — , 
it  is  quite  certain  the  orthodox  method  in  the  disposal  of  the  dead  was  to 
place  them  in  reed-mats  or  in  clay  sarcophagi,  and  to  deposit  them  in 
earth  graves  or  brick  vaults.  The  body  was  frequently  placed  in  a  sitting 
position,  as  in  pre-dynastic  Egypt,  and  the  discovery  of  stone  cups  close 
to  the  mouth  of  the  deceased,  not  to  speak  of  weapons,  implements,  orna- 
ments, beads,  chains,  lamps,  toilet-articles,  alabaster-boxes,  etc.  is  a  clear 
proof  that  they  regarded  the  future  life  as  a  continuation  of  the  present 
one, — a  real,  physical  life  of  immortality.  We  may  also  infer  that  this 
included  an  ointment  though  not  necessarily  an  embalming  of  the  dead, 
and  the  custom  of  pouring  out  libations  at  the  grave  and  of  "feeding"  the 
deceased  is  historically  certified.  Seven  jars  of  liquor  and  four  hundred 
and  twenty  loaves  of  bread  ivere  commonly  placed  beside  the  body{\)  as 
food  for  the  journey,  and  the  funeral  was  conducted  by  a  special  order  of 
priests  wiio  required  recompense.  In  short,  no  sacrifice  was  deemed  too 
great  for  the  beloved  departed.'* 

We  arc  thus  brought  face  to  face  with  a  surprisingly  high  grade  of 
belief  and  practice  in  ancient  Mesopotamia,  a  fact  which  stands  out  in 
bold  contrast  to  the  undeniable  decadence  of  later  historic  times.  Yet 
even  at  its  best,  it  is  soiled  by  animistic  pluralism,  the  divinity  is  too 
"scattered";  there  is  too  much  confusion  of  ilu  with  everything  under  the 
sun,  with  a  consequent  naturalisation  and  materialisation  of  the  entire 
tJieologioal  system. 


>»  See   Handcock,   Mesopotaraian   Archaeology    (1912)    pp.   364-365     "Idem,   pp    75,   77, 
?0,  176,  190 


STATUE  OF  GUDEA 

PATESI  OF  LAGASH 
(ABOUT  2500  B.  C.) 


SHOWING  THE  tOSTlMIXG  AND  THE  ATTITUDE  OF  TRAYER  OF  THE  EARLY 
SIMERIAN  RULERS 


RECENT  SACRIFICE 
(EGYPTIAN  RITE) 


□o 


THE  PHARAOH  r'RF.SF.M  S   1  HE  SACRED  CORN 


? 


TKl-IIIMOKIf        \liR\KI\N       RITK      (ONNKtlKK      WIIM       <I>.|KI>-I  N  N  K.IKK.      ".IIOWINt.       fHt. 

>•  \«  RIH<  l.\l.    \tAl..    ri  NH      .AM>    IMII  RI.K-i'A'l  K\.    WATKK    A  M>    IN<  r.V»K-\  KSSKI>.     IIORIS- 

KVK,    CI.A* -I.AMI"-,    llXur-i.    Kf.XITIW     MIIHI.     \M>    lORVKIIW     VK<KI.\(K 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS  365 

RECENT  ASIATIC  FORM 

(N,  2)  Egyptian  Rite 

The  preceding  may  serve  as  a  type  of  the  common  Western-Asiatic 
practice  in  the  earlier  period.  In  the  adjacent  North-African  region  we 
find  the  same  fundamental  notions,  but  with  a  few  national  or  local  dif- 
ferences. 

(1)  Birth:— The  advent  of  a  newly-created  soul  was  heralded  in  ancient 
Egypt  with  appropriate  ceremonies.  Such  an  event  was  looked  upon  as  a 
fresh  emanation  from  the  divine  substance,  something  extraordinary. 
"When  the  forms  of  the  infant  to  be  born  have  been  fashioned  and  sup- 
plied with  fluid  of  life,  the  queen,  supplied  with  the  same  fluid  and 
assisted  by  the  divine  Ennead,  brings  into  the  world  the  new  Horus,  the 
new  Pharaoah".  This  is  a  reminder  of  the  bayiu  Hani  of  the  Euphrates, 
the  "God-created"  child.  Nay  more,  we  find  the  same  purifications  by 
water,  oil,  and  fire,  as  in  the  neighboring  kingdom,  accompanied  by  very 
similar  practices.  An  aspersion  with  water  seems  to  have  been  very  gen- 
eral, with  the  formula: — 

"/  -purify  you  with  this  water!    Life!  Strength!  Health!  Happiness!"  etc. 
This  might  well  have  applied  to  infants  and  mothers  alike,  as  it  was 
certainly  used  at  the  coronation  of  kings.    There  are  reasons  for  believing 
that  circumcision  was   not  introduced  before  the  close  of  the  middle 
empire.' 

(2)  Maiwrir?/.-— Purification  by  fire,  water,  and  incense  was  also 
required  on  every  solemn  occasion,  more  especially  when  the  youth  was 
to  be  consecrated  to  some  special  religious  calling,— the  temple  service  or 
the  priesthood.  The  mystic  flame  symbolised  the  union  of  heaven  and 
earth,  the  candidate  was  sprinkled  with  the  "water  of  life",  and  the  in- 
cense was  the  "eye  of  Horus",— all  this  on  the  supposition,— plausible 
enough  in  itself,  that  the  manhood-ceremonies  followed  the  consecration- 
ritual  of  the  Pharaohs,  this  being  the  model  for  all  Egypt.  On  such  an 
occasion  the  following  prayer  to  Horus-Ra  would  be  singularly  appro- 
priate : — 

"0  Sun,  thou  who  possessest  the  Truth!    0  Sun,  thou  who  livest  by  the 

Truth !    0  Sun,  thou  who  art  adored  in  Truth!    0  Sun,  thou  who  art 

loved  in  Truth!    0  Sun,  thou  who  createst  in  Truth!    0  Sun,  thou 

who  completest  in  Truth!    0  Sun,  thou  who  art  glorified  in  Truth! 

Thou  who  art  united  to  the  Truth,  United  to  the  Truth  from  thy  very 

beginning!" 

In  this  very  old  invocation  Ra,  the  Sun,  is  recognised  as  the  equivalent 

of  Ma,  the  Truth,  that  is,  ethical  truth,  truth  which  is  opposed  to  moral 

evil,  moral  perversity.    Thus  "Truth  was  one  with  Divinity.    Through  her 

the  Divinity  lived  and  gave  life,  she  was  the  creating  Light".* 


iVirey,  La  Religion  de  I'ancienne  Egypte,  pp.  103-113,  223.  Erman,  Zauberspruche 
fiir  Mutter  and  Kind,  aus  dem  Papyrus  3.  027  des  Berliner  Museums.  -  Virey,  1.  c.  104-108, 
87-89. 


366  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

RECENT  ASIATIC  FORM 
Eqyptun  Ritb 

(3a)  Unbloody  Sacrifice,— Corn-Oblation:— The  parallel  development 
of  Egypt  and  Babylonia  is  brought  out  in  still  clearer  perspective  by  the 
temple-ritual  of  the  earliest  days,  in  which  Ileliopolis  furnished  probably 
the  model.  Here  also  the  mountain-motif  was  conspicuous,  the  solid 
pyramid  or  the  obelisk  representing,  like  the  zikkurat,  the  unapproachable 
majesty  of  God, — the  Holy  of  Holies,  the  "delectable  dwelling  of  lia".  In 
front  of  it  was  the  altar  of  holocausts,  hedged  in  and  separated  from  the 
outer  court  of  the  "gentiles",  and  here  the  great  sacrifices  to  the  God  of 
On  must  have  taken  place  under  the  broad  canopy  of  heaven,  before  the 
protected  house-temple  had  come  into  existence. 

There  is  good  reason  for  believing  that  among  the  earliest  forms  of 
sacrifice  in  lower  Egypt,  that  of  the  sacred  Corn  or  Wheat  was  one  of  the 
most  distinctive.  For  not  only  are  Osiris-Isis  intimately  associated  with 
this  staple  commodity  of  the  Nile,  but  we  have  monumental  evidence  to 
prove  that  the  divinity  was  thus  fed  by  his  clients  in  remote  antiquity. 
Corn,  wine,  and  water  were  placed  upon  the  altar,  as  is  testified  by  the 
sacrificial  baskets  and  libation-flasks,  and  hymns  of  praise  would  then  be 
intoned: — 

"Praise  unto  thee,  Osiris,  thou  son  of  Heaven!  Thou  icho  carriest  the 
horns  of  office  and  leanest  against  the  pillars  above!  To  whom  the  crown 
of  dominion  has  been  given  and  joy  in  face  of  the  nine  gods!  Whose 
power  Alum  has  created  in  the  hearts  of  men,  gods,  and  immortals! 
Whose  empire  extends  from  the  city  of  the  Sun,  whose  majesty  reaches 
to  the  shores  of  Busiris,  whose  word  evokes  fear  in  the  sacred  fanes!" 

This  was  accompanied  by  an  aspersion  with  wafer,  by  the  waving  of 
incense,  by  a  musical  performance  upon  the  harp,  and  doubtless  by  the 
usual  j)rostralioris  so  frequently  depicted  on  the  temple  walls.  The 
elaborate  image  worship  belongs  more  probably  to  a  later  age,  while  the 
daily  renewal  of  the  offerings  implies  their  daily  consumption, — again  a 
banqui'fting-rite. 

Now  it  is  important  to  note  that  Osiris  was  believed  to  be  in  the  grain 
that  he  was  himself  fhe  corn,  dying  and  then  rising  to  life  with  the  sea- 
sons. "He  could  transform  himself  into  a  god  of  vegetation,  the  corn,  the 
vine,  and  even  the  tree  of  life".  Both  Frazer,  Viret,  and  Wiedemann  tes- 
tify to  the  antiquity  and  realism  of  this  agrarian  sacrifice,  and  it  repre- 
sents the  nearest  approach  to  a  doctrine  of  "self-absorption", — a  mystical 
death, — though  its  semi-pantheistic  coloring  is  evident:  Osiris  is  essentially 
a  nafure-god, — he  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  primitive  ocean, 
which  as  the  primaeval  nunu  finally  reveals  itself  in  its  highest  and  most 
exuberant  manifestation, — the  mystic  cbrn.'a 


'*  Erman,  AcRyptische  Religion,  pp.  54-61  (Text  from  Louvre  C.  30,  free  translation). 
\'irey.  op.  cit.  165,  204.  Wiedemann,  Osiris  v^getant  (Museum,  1902)  p.  1-3.  Fr«xer,  Adonis, 
Attis,  and  Osiris,  Studies  in  the  History  of  Oriental  Religion.   (London,  1907),  p.  330fl. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS  367 

RECENT  ASIATIC  FORM 

Egyptian  Rite 

(3b)  Animal  and  Human  Sacrifice :— Side  by  side  with  this  simple 
corn-offering,  or  gradually  supplementing  it,  we  find  the  presentation  of 
animal  foods  to  the  deify  in  the  shape  of  ox,  calf,  sheep,  gazelle,  antelope, 
etc.—  essentially  Mesopotamian  fauna.  The  table  of  the  gods  became 
more  and  more  elaborate,  their  images  were  painted,  dressed,  combed, 
and  anointed  every  morning,  and  the  daily  meal  served.  Prayers  and 
ceremonies  were  in  other  respects  identical,  but  the  Holy  of  Holies  became 
the  closed  sanctuary  of  the  god,  his  inviolable  precincts. 

Substitution 

Here  also  the  victim  is  the  substitute  for  a  double  personality,  the  soul 
of  the  deity,  and  the  soul  of  the  worshipper.  As  the  "bull  of  Apis",  as  the 
eye  and  heart  of  the  victim,  it  is  Osiris-Horus  himself  that  is  sacrificed, 
but  inasmuch  as  the  divinity  imparts  his  nature  to  the  worshipper  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  become  one  with  him,  the  latter  is  mystically  in  the  victim, 
and  both  god  and  creature  sufi^er  and  die  together,  a  strange  concept.  This 
feeling  was  so  intense  that  many  of  the  Pharaos  did  not  scruple  to^  offer 
up  the  life  of  an  enemy  or  a  public  criminal  to  atone  for  their  sins.''' 

(4)  Penitential  Prac/ice.-— Fasting  and  physical  mortification  were  in 
view  of  the  doctrine  of  substitution  of  secondary  importance.  Though 
ritual-abstinences  are  here  and  there  to  be  found,  and  doubtless  accom- 
panied the  early  agrarian  rites,  a  public  or  private  repudiation  of  guilt  was 
more  meritorious: — 

••Hail  unto  thee.  Osiris,  Lord  of  the  Twofold  Truth!  I  come  unto  thee, 

0  my  God,  I  draw  near  to  see  thine  excellences!  I  know  thee,  I  know  thy 
name,  I  know  the  names  of  the  forty-two,  who  are  ivith  thee  in  the  Hall  of 
Truth!    I  have  done  no  injustice  to  man.    I  have  committed  no  fraud. 

1  have  done  no  evil— I  have  spoken  no  slander— I  have  not  suffered  a  slave 
to  be  ill-treated— I  have  committed  no  murder— done  no  sacrilege,  either 
to  gods  or  men— I  have  not  been  guilty  of  sins  of  the  flesh,  I  have  not 
sinned  in  the  sanctuary— I  have  not  given  false  measure,  or  deprived  the 
infant  of  his  milk— I  am  pure,  I  am  pure,  I  am  pure!— No  sin  can  remain 
with  me  in  this  Hall  of  the  twofold  Truth.  As  I  know  the  names  of  those 
who  are  with  thee  in  this  Hall,  may  I  be  acquitted  in  their  sight!' 

Although  this  is  a  negative  confession  of  the  glorified  soul  on  the  day 
of  judgment,  the  freedom  from  guilt  seems  to  imply  a  remission  of  sin 
during  life,  and  the  practice  of  giving  bread  to  the  hungry,  clothing  the 
naked,  sheltering  the  poor  and  orphans,  is  directly  attested  on  the  earliest 
tombs.  Yet  even  so,  this  is  hardly  a  confession,  but  rather  a  repudiation  of 
Bin,— something  ideal  and  visionary.* 


•bErman.  1.  c.  55-61.  Virey,  1.  c.  103.  118ff.  196.  248ff.    ♦  Erman.  117-121.    Virey,  65.  157- 
161.     (Text:  Book  of  the  Dead,  chap.  125). 


368  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAME^^^ALS 

REGENT  ASIATIC  FORM 
Egyptun  Rite 

(5)  Priesthood:— n  is  not  as  yet  very  clear  to  what  extent  the  priest 
was  a  minister  at  these  functions.  But  as  he  represented  the  Pharaoh, 
who  was  himself  a  representative,  if  not  an  incarnation  of  the  deity,  it  is 
clear  that  he  must  have  been  of  supreme  importance.  He  was  not  only  a 
physical  but  also  a  moral  healer,  purified  with  water,  anointed  with  oil, 
and  consecrated  by  the  High-Priest  of  all  Egypt.  As  the  "son  of  god"  the 
lalfor  was  thus  addressed: — 

'Thou  art  Ra,  the  incarnate  Sun,  Chepra,  the  production  of  Truth! 
Thou  art  the  livinrj  form  on  earth  of  thy  father  Atum  of  Heliopolis.  His 
substance  is  in  thy  mouth,  his  intelligence  in  thy  heart.  The  place  of  thy 
tongue  is  the  temple  of  truth,  God  is  on  thy  lips,  and  what  thou  sayest  loill 
surely  come  to  pass." 

In  their  costuming  the  priesthood  imitated  the  vesture  of  the  god. 
Among  these  the  crown  and  scepter,  with  the  sacrificial  patten,  appear 
very  early." 

(6)  Matrimony;— Father-right  and  monogamy  were  firmly  established 
in  ancient  Egypt.  "The  son  who  obeys  his  father  will  attain  old  age"— 
so  ran  the  proverb.  At  the  same  time  polygamy  was  also  practiced,  and 
became  in  time  the  recognised  state  of  the  laity  as  distinct  from  the  clergy. 
Adultery  was  severely  punished,  and  women  frequently  rose  to  the  priest- 
hood. To  judge  from  the  above  confession,  morality  was  on  a  fairly  high 
level,  but  this  must  be  offset  by  the  custom  of  marrying  one's  own  sister, 
by  the  reckless  disregard  for  human  life,  by  the  existence  of  phallic  and 
animal-worship  over  wide  areas,  and  by  the  moral  irregularities  and  per- 
versions that  characterised  the  later  temple-rites.' 

(7)  Burial:— U  may  now  be  regarded  as  certain,  that  in  the  pre- 
dynastic  age  the  simple  earth-burial  with  contracted  corpse  was  universal, 
the  body  being  supplied  with  abundant  trinkets  and  foodstuffs,  nay,  with 
the  entire  family  retinue.  It  is  also  remarkable  that  the  neolithic  graves 
reveal  the  skeleton  dismembered,  showing  the  probable  antiquity  of  the 
Osiris  legend.     (His  body  had  been  cut  into  fourteen  pieces). 

About  the  middle  of  the  third  dynasty  (2800).  the  pyramid-tomb  began 
to  assume  the  ascendancy  and  became  the  royal  mausoleum  par  excellence. 
This  was  simply  a  development  of  the  stone  mound,  designed  to 
protect  and  preserve  the  body  from  corruption.  Simultaneously  the 
science  of  embalming  had  attained  to  such  a  high  stale  of  perfection,  that 
the  body  was  preserved  indefinitely,  many  of  the  mummies  of  fb.e  middle 
empire  being  still  on  exhibition.  The  vivid  consciousness  of  immortality, 
though  crude  and  mat<^rial,  has  been  brought  home  by  nothinff  so  power- 
fully as  by  the  painted  spirit-door,  through  which  the  ka  of  the  dead  man 
could  pass,  in  order  to  receive  the  banquet  prepared  by  his  friends! ' 


»  Virey.  89,  90ff.  112,  282ff.    «  The  Precepts  Ptah-Hotep.  chaps.  30  and  42.    Comp.  West- 
ermarck,  Human  Marriage,  106.  122.  229.  294.  4.11,     '  Erman.  l.W-166.     Virey.  231-275 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  369 

RECENT  ASIATIC  FORM 
(M,  4)  Hebrew — Palestinian  Rite 

If  cannot  be  our  purpose  to  describe  the  Levitical  ritual  except  in  its 
barest  essentials,  except  to  indicate  in  the  briefest  manner  the  points  of 
contact  with  Babylonian,  Egyptian,  Phoenician,  and  other  Western- 
Asiatic  cults,  in  so  far  as  these  go  back  to  a  common  prehistoric  original. 

(1)  Circumcision: — The  operation  of  circumcision,  originally  a  man- 
hood-ceremony, was  re-introduced  by  Abraham  as  an  infancy  rite  about 
2000  B.  G.  who  received  the  divine  command  that  it  should  be  performed 
on  the  eighth  day  after  birth.  As  a  tribal  ordeal  it  was  a  very  old  custom, 
which  originated,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  puberty-rites  of  the  totem-peoples 
fully  twenty  thousand  years  before  Christ.  After  falling  into  abeyance  it 
was  again  revived  in  the  West  and  stripped  of  its  magical  and  animistic 
associations.  It  now  became  the  symbol  of  the  "new  pact,"  with  the 
inspiring  words: — 

"/  will  establish  my  Covenant  between  me  and  thy  seed  for  ever!" 

It  was  the  occasion  of  the  naming  of  the  child  and  of  ceremonial  ablu- 
tions.^ 

(2a)  Purification: — For  it  is  indeed  quite  probable  that  Abraham  as  a 
Babylonian  brought  with  him  the  shiptu-rifual  of  lower  Chaldaea,  in 
which  exorcism  with  water  and  oil  was  used  on  every  important  occa- 
sion. It  is  difficult  to  explain  the  brazen  laver  of  the  tabernacle  and  the 
later  temple,  with  the  numerous  levitical  sprinklings,  unless  we  assume 
some  continuity  in  the  past  with  a  remote  tradition  on  "holy  water"  as  a 
means  of  sanctification.  Be  this  as  it  may,  there  is  something  suggestive 
in  the  "seven  days  of  uncleanness" ,  in  the  "three  and  thirty  days  of  her< 
purification" ,  in  her  abstinence  "from  every  hallowed  thing",  and  in  the 
"offering  of  a  lamb  for  a  burnt  offering  and  a  pigeon  for  a  sin-offering", 
which  latter  could  be  commuted  for  two  young  turtle-doves  in  cases  of 
indigence.  This  ceremonial  "uncleanness"  of  the  mother  is  in  fact  a  very 
widely  diiTused  belief,  and  though  it  need  not  have  been  borrowed  from 
Assyrio-Babylonian  sources,  it  is  from  this  quarter  that  we  may  expect  the 
nearest  external  resemblances.'a 

(2,  b)  Presentation: — The  days  of  purification  are  closed  by  the  presen- 
tation, which  is  twofold,  that  of  the  child  and  that  of  the  mother.    In  so  far 
as  the  child  is  presented,  it  is  solemnly  dedicated  to  Jehovah. — 
"Every  male  that  openeth  the  womb  shall  be  called  holy  unto  the  Lord!" 

In  so  far  as  the  mother  presents  herself,  it  is  almost  a  semi-religious 
vow  to  continue  in  the  divine  service  for  the  rest  of  her  life,  accompanied 
by  the  above  offering.    This  became  in  time  a  separate  ceremony.'b 


»Gen.  17,  7-14.  ^a  Exod.  13,  2.  Lev.  12,  1-8.  Ex.  30,  18.  Lev.  8,  11.  Comp.  P.  Haupt, 
Babylonian  Elements  in  the  Levitical  Ritual,  (Journ.  Bibl.  Lit.  19(X))  pp.  55-81.  »b  Lev.  12, 
26.  Ex.  13,  2.  cited  by  Luke,  2,  23.     Comp.  the  "Feast  of  the  Presentation". 


370  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

REGENT  ASIATIC  FORM 
Hebrew — Palestinian  Rite 

(3a)  Primitive  Sacrifice:— U  can  easily  be  shown  that  to  the  Jewish 
mind  the  unbloody  sacrifice  could  claim  the  highest  antiquity  and  dignity, 
though  not  necessarily  the  highest  intrinsic  value.  Apart  from  the  "trees 
of  knowledge  and  life",  and  the  first-fruit  offerings  of  Kain,  we  have  the 
"bringing  forth"  of  bread  and  wine  by  Melchisedech.  king  of  Salem,  which 
was  apparently  a  sacrificial  act,  the  "priest  of  the  Most  High  God"  {Kohen 
I'el  'elyon)  standing  in  close  apposition.  At  the  same  time  the  offerings  of 
Abel  and  Noah  show  that  the  animal  sacrifice  had  a  higher  propitiatory 
value,  the  substitution-sacrifice  of  Abraham  revealing  its  equivalence  with 
human  life.'a 

(3b)  Mosaic  Sacrifice: — As  a  fact,  however,  most  of  the  Jewish  sac- 
rifices were  of  mixed,  vegetable  and  animal  nature,  and  this  more  espe- 
cially in 

The  Passover  Rite 

Instituted  as  a  perpetual  commemoration  of  the  national  deliverance 
from  bondage,  it  easily  took  on  the  character  of  a  redemptive  sacrifice.  The 
ceremonial  lamb  was  to  be  killed  and  eaten  on  the  same  night  (14th  of 
Nizan)  and  its  blood  sprinkled  over  the  doorposts.  The  symbolism  was 
evident: — 

"This  is  the  sacrifice  of  the  Lord's  Passover,  ivho  passed  over  the  houses 
of  the  children  of  Israel  in  Egypt,  when  He  smote  the  Egyptians!" 

Moreover  it  was  to  be  eaten  with  unleavened  bread  and  with  bitter 
herbs,  the  period  of  Azymes  extending  over  a  week,  which  shows  that  the 
bread  was  a  distant  type  of  the  Redemption  to  come,  it  was  a  saving,  life- 
giving  oblate: — 

"This  is  the  Bread  which  the  Lord  hath  given  you  to  cat'" — 
the  manna  of  the  wilderness  reveals  its  heavenly,  life-imparting  character. 
In  the  Song  of  Moses  we  have  the  first  intimation  of  a  ritual  chant, — 
"/  will  sing  unto  the  Lord,  for  He  is  gloriously  great, 
The  horse  and  his  rider  hath  He  thrown  into  the  sea! 
The  Lord  is  my  strength  and  my  song, — He  is  become  my  salvation. 
He  is  my  God  and  I  will  glorify  Him,  my  father's  God  and  I  will  praise 
Him.    The  Lord  is  a  man  of  war,  the  Lord  is  His  name!" 
Concerning  the  realism  of  this  sacrifice  Dr.  Renz  thus  expresses  him- 
self:   "The  original  Paschal  Rite  knows  neither  priest,  altar,  or  sacrifice 
(in  the  levitical  sense).    Jahice  Himself  desires  to  be  Priest,  Altar,  and 
Sacrifice  all  in  one.     He  Himself  is  the  spotless  Lamb,  whose  Blood, 
sprinkled  over  the  doorpost,  is  able  to  deliver  them  from  death".    Jahwe 
is  therefore  mystically  in  the  gift,  and  it  is  here  for  the  first  time  that  we 
have  the  One  God  of  Heaven  vitally  associated  with  a  sacrificial  object.*" 


"Gen.  2.  17.  4,  3-4.  8.  20.  22.  1-14.    »«>  Exod.  12,  1-27.  IS,  1-3.  16,  15.  Dr.  Franz  Renz.  Die 
Geschichte  des  Messopfer-Begriffs   CFreising,  1901)   Vol.  I.  p.  58  (Cath.) 


THE  SACRIFICE  OF  MELCHISEDECH 
(HEBREW-PALE STiNIAN  KITE) 

]v^y  ^^^  |n>  ^ini 


^^5AJlem,broug^ 


CGe-zm     14-,  18) 


"BLESSED  BE  ABRAHAM  OF  THE  MOST  HIGH  GOD!" 
"BLESSED  BE  THE  MOST  HIGH  GOD!" 

"BETWKKX  AISUAIIAMS  KKI  K.ION  AM)  IIIK  KKI.K.ION  Ol  TIIK  I'KIKS  I'-KIXO  MKI.CIII- 
SKDKK  THKRK  KXISIS  A  ( ONNKXIOX  or  KKI.KilOl  s  IIIVIOKV  I  TON  WHICH  THK  LAST 
\\«>KI)  HAS  NOT  YKT  ISKKX  SAID.  THIO  AlOKK  OK  I.KSS  (I.KAKl.V  KKCIXiMS  \I!1,K  >V()KSIIII- 
Ol  MiOl)  MOsr  HHiH'  LINKS  ABRAHAM  TIIK  ISABYI.OMAN  WITH  THK  I'lOl  S  KIN(i  OK  THK 
(  VNAAMIKS."  A.  .IKKK.MI  AS.  TifK  OI.I)  IKST.I.^IEXT  IN  THE  I.KiHT  Of  THE  .VNCIEN  T  EASI. 
(LONDON,    I'Jll).    VOL.    II.     1'.    V.I.      (  O.MI'.    11.    (il  NKEL,     I  KtiKSCHJCHIE      I  ND      I'.VTKIAKCHEN 

((;oTTix(iKX.  mil),  r.  I'xi,  k»r  the  hi.storicitv  of  this  cii.\kacteb. 


RECENT  SACRIFICE 

(HEBREW-PALESTINIAN  RITE) 


THE  HIGH  PRIES  r  EN  TERS  THE  HOLY  OF  HOLIES  AND  INCENSES 

IHE  ARK  OF  THE  TESTIMONY  CONTAINING  THE 

HEAVENLY  MANNA 

I.KVITir.Xl.  RITIAI-  ON  TIIK  PAY  OV  ATONKMENT.  (V«>M  Kli'l'l  R),  SIKIWIMi  THE  I'RIE.STI.V 
■II  NK',  .>IITRE  AM>  SACRED  <illtl>I.E,  IHE  (I  T  «>i'  MANNA  ANi>  THE  l'ASS<»VER-<l  I'. 
THE  SKVEN-HRAN<HEI>  <AM>1.ESTHK.  Al.TAR  Ol'  IN<ENXE  ANH  TAHI.E  Ol  SHOMHREAIIS. 
VI  AK     III      JAKHI.      I  RIM     ANII      I'HIMMIM.      IIHiH-l'RIEHTI.\       TIARA      ANII      s\<KEIl     (IIAIN. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS  371 

RECENT  ASIATIC  FORM 
Hebrew — Palestinian  Rite 
(3c)  Tabernacle-Worship: — The  ritual  of  the  tabernacle  and  the  later 
temple  follows  the  common  tradition  of  Western  Asia  in  its  threefold 
aspect : — 

(1)  Symbolism  op  the  Outer  Court 
The  Altar  of  Holocausts  and  the  Brazen  Laver  show  the  necessity  of 
purification  by  blood  and  water.    These  mixed  sacrifices  were  fourfold: — 

A.  Burnt-Offering.  C.  Sin-Offering. 

The  Olah  koleil,  or  Daily  The  Chattah  was  institu- 
Holocaust,  was  totally  led  for  grave  ofl'ences,  pro- 
consumed  (latreutic.)  pitiatory  for  mortal  sin. 

B.  Peace-OfTering.  D.  Trespass-Offering. 
The  Shelamah  admitted  The  Asham  was  instituted 
a    sacrificial    meal    (eu-  for   minor   offences,   pro- 
charistic,  impetratory) .  pitiatory  for  venial  sin. 

(2)  Mysticism  of  the  Holies 

The  Sanctuary  anticipates  the  higher  unbloodv  sacrifice,  to  wit — 

A.         '  B.  C. 

The  Light-Offering,        The  Incense-Offering,        The  Showbread  Offering, 

for  the  Candlestick,    for  the  Altar  of  Perfumes,     for  the  Table  of  the  Lord. 

(Light  of  the  World)     (Adoration  by  Prayer)     (The  Blessed  Sacrament) 

These  features  are  suggestive  enough,  they  will  speak  for  themselves. 
(3)  Entrance  to  the  Holy  op  Holies 

Only  on  the  Day  of  Atonement  could  the  high  priest  open  the  veil  of 
the  testimony  and  sprinkle  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant  and  the  Mercy-Seat 
with  the  mystic  blood.  Hymns  of  praise  may  well  have  been  chanted  on 
such  occasions: — 

"Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  is  the  Lord  of  Hosts!  All  the  earth  is  full  of  His  Glory!" 
Hosannah  to  the  Highest!  Blessed  is  He  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord!  Hosannah  to  the  Highest!" 

The  typical  application  is  evident : — "Some  day  Jahwe  will  be  sacrified 
in  the  Court  (this  Earth) ^  He  will  lay  the  foundation  of  the  Holies  (the 
Church)  and  He  will  open  the  Holy  of  Holies  to  all  mankind  (in  Heaveny.^" 

(3d)  The  Malachaian  World-Mincha: — Finally  we  have  the  classic 
prophecy  of  a  universal  sacrifice  to  be  offered  daily  in  all  places: — 

"From  the  rising  up  of  the  sun  even  unto  the  going  down  of  the  same, 
my  name  shall  be  great  among  the  gentiles,  and  in  every  place  incense 
shall  be  offered  unto  my  name  and  a  pure  offering.  For  my  name  shall  be 
great  among  the  gentiles,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts!"  "* 

(3e)  Human  Sacrifice: — The  doctrine  of  substitution  saved  the  Jews 
from  the  human  holocaust.  This  was  not  the  case  with  the  Canaanites, 
Phoenicians  and  Carthaginians,  among  whom  the  abominable  practice  of 
burning  infants  alive  or  throwing  them  under  the  Moloch-wagon  is  amply 
testified."* 

»<=Lev.  1-7.  Ex.  27.  28.  30.  Lev.  24.  Is.  6,  3.  Ps.  117,  25,  26.  Renz,  op.  cit.  L  87.  Comp. 
Thalhofer,  Das  Opfer  des  alten  und  des  neuen  Bundes  (Ratisbon,  1870)  p.  75ff.  ^^  Mai.  1, 
11.  (Douai  has  present  tense).  '^Movers,  Das  Opferwesen  der  Karthager  und  Phonizier 
(1847) 


372  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

RECENT  ASIATIC  FORM 
Hebrew — Palestinian  Rite 

(4)  Atoneme7it:—The  Kappora,  or  "Covering"  of  sin,  is  the  proximate 
efTect  of  the  tresspass-olTering,  supplemented  by  a  confession  of  guilt  and 
a  satisfaction,  either  to  the  aggrieved  party,  or  to  the  priest  of  the  Lord. 
On  the  great  Day  of  Atonement  (the  10th  of  Tishri)  there  is  a  national 
confession  and  remission  of  sin,  accompanied  by  prolonged  wailing  and 
"affliction  of  soul".  The  high  priest  sends  the  scape-goat  into  the  desert 
to  "carry  off  their  sins",  confessing  over  him  all  the  iniquities  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel. 

"Pardon,  0  Lord,  Pardon  thy  people,  and  be  not  angry  with  us  for  ever!" 

With  the  blood  of  the  first  goat  he  has  sprinkled  people,  sanctuary,  and 
Holy  of  Holies  as  described  above.  The  healing  of  diseases  is  accom- 
plished by  similar  exorcisms.  Strict  fasts  are  decreed  on  the  Day  of  Atone- 
ment.* 

(5)  Priesthood: — It  is  clear  that  priest  and  patriarch  were  original- 
identical  terms.  But  from  the  time  of  the  exodus  we  find  three  distinct 
orders  of  sacred  functionaries, —  (1)  The  High  Priesthood  (beginning  with 
Aaron).  (2)  Tiie  Aaronitic  Priesthood  (the  sons  of  Aaron).  (2)  The 
Levitical  Order,  (the  sons  of  Levi).  They  are  anointed  with  oil,  and  wear 
the  usual  Asiatic  insignia,  the  lofty  mitre  and  the  staff  being  the  highest 
emblems  of  authority." 

(6)  Matrimony: — While  monogamy  was  looked  upon  as  the  primitive 
and  ideal  state  of  humanity,  the  practice  of  taking  two  or  more  wives  was 
evidently  regarded  as  having  a  divine  sanction.  Polygamy  steadily  grew 
in  popular  and  royal  favor,  until  by  the  time  of  Solomon  it  exceeded  all 
reasonable  limits  (300  wives  and  700  concubines!).  Though  the  position 
of  woman  was  respectable  and  protected  by  the  highest  social  and  moral 
practice,  it  could  hardly  be  called  ideal.  Marriage  was  a  purely  legal  con- 
tract, and  could  be  dissolved  by  the  "writ  of  divorcement"  with  as  little 
difficulty  as  it  could  be  embraced.  Nevertheless  the  family  life  of  the 
patriarchs  exhibits  many  examples  of  noble  and  unselfish  devotion  on 
both  sides,  and  the  names  of  Sarah  and  Rebecca,  of  Ruth  and  Naomi,  will 
ever  be  associated  with  what  is  best  and  highest  in  female  nature.  This 
means  that  national  exogamy  was  regarded  with  favor.' 

(7)  Burial: — The  idea  of  the  family  cemetery  appears  to  be  strongly 
developed  from  the  earliest  times.  Earth,  cave,  and  tomb-burial  all  claimed 
an  equal  share  in  the  method  of  disposal,  but  the  absence  of  cremation  is 
again  noticeable.  The  custom  of  embalming  was  introduced  from  Egypt. 
Though  self-laceration  was  discountenanced,  mourning  in  "sackcloth  and 
ashes"  was  approved.  The  absence  of  offerings  reflects  a  more  spiritual 
view  of  the  hereafter.' 


♦  Lev,  16.  23,  26.  Num.  S,  S.  29.  7.  Text  founded  on  Joel,  2,  17.  Healing  of  Lepers,  Lev 
14,  1-57.    •  Ex.  28.  29.  Lev  8-9.  Num.  3-4.     •  Gen.  4.  19.  Lev   18.  Deut.  24      '  Gen.  25.  9.  50,  26 


RECENT  SACRIFICE 
(HEBREW-PALESTINIAN  RITE) 

THE  TEMPLE  OF  JERUSALEM 

As   IT  APPEARED   IN  THE  VISIONS   OF   EZEKIEI, 
-SLRGE   ET  ILLIMINARE,   JERV8ALESI"    (IS.   60,    1) 


r^^^r^fJ^"'  "•*"  '■"''  SANCTl  ARY.  WITH  THE  OITER  COl  RTS  AND  BlttDINGS.  BASED 

CHIETLT  ON  THE  RESTORATIONS  BY   CHIPIEZ,   A   HISTORY   OF  ART  IN   SARDINLA     JIDAe" 

STRLA.    AND   ASIA    SHNOR.    (BY   PERROT   AND    CHIPIEZ.    LONDON.    1890). 


RECENT  SACRIFICE 
(PERSIAN  RITE) 

PLAN  OF  A  PARSEE  FIRE-TEMPLE.  BOMBAY.  INDIA 


I>IAbR.VM    TAKKN     FROM    J.\.M»i    DARMKSTETEB.    THK    ZESI>-\VK8T\.     iPAKIH.    I»itl,    PL.    I. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  373 

RECENT  ASIATIC  FORM 

(N,  5)  Persian  Rite 

Tiie  rollowing  represents  the  primitive  Persian  ritual  as  reconstructed 
from  tlie  earliest  Avestic  sources  (700-900  B.  C.) 

(1)  Birth-Cer('mo)nPs. ■—Puriiicaiion  by  ivatcr  is  well  attested  in  the 
earliest  liturgical  fragments,  and  was  evidently  applied  to  infants  and 
mothers  at  birth,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  following  powerful  invo- 
cation : — 

"/  ivill  praise  the  ivater  of  the  sacred  river,  Ardvi  Sura  Anahita,  the 
wide- flowing,  the  healing  in  its  influence,  powerful  against  demons,  de- 
voted to  Ahura's  lore,  worshipped  with  sacrifwe  icithin  the  corporeal  world, 
furthering  all  living  beings, — holy,  helping  on  the  increase  of  our  herds 
and  settlements, — holy,  increasing  our  icealth, — holy,  helping  on  the 
progress  of  the  land, — holy,  as  indeed  she  is!"  Then  follows: — "The 
sacred  River,  which  purifies  the  seed  of  all  male  beings,  which  sanctifies 
the  wombs  of  all  women  at  birth,  which  makes  all  women  fortunate  in 
labor,  and  bi'ings  them  regular  and  timely  flow  of  milk". 

An  actual  birth-formula  may  be  discerned  in  the  prayer  of  Zoroaster: — 
"0  ye  waters!  I  beseech  you  for  this  favor.  Grant  unto  me  this  bless- 
ing, in  whose  bestowal  ye  flow  down  to  me  far  my  bettering,  with  never 
failing  truth.  0  ye  waters!  I  beseech  you  for  wealth  and  power  of 
many  kinds  and  for  a  self-dependent  offspring  ivhom  multitudes  may 
bless,  and  for  ivhose  wasting  or  defeat  or  death  or  vengeful  punishment 
or  overtaking,  may  no  man  pray!" 

To  what  extent  this  was  a  pouring  or  sprinkling-ceremony  cannot  be 
determined,  but  the  description  of  the  water  as  "Mazda-made"  is  signifi- 
cant,— though  the  same  epithet  is  also  applied  to  nearly  every  other  sub- 
stance/ 

(2)  Maturity-Rite : — Purification  by  fire  is  of  the  very  essence  of  Iranian 
faith,  the  sacred  flame  being  tended  day  and  night  without  intermission: — 
"Be  now  aflame  within  this  house,  be  ever  without  fail  in  flame! 

Be  all  ashine  within  this  house,  be  on  thy  growth  within  this  house!" 
"Give  me,  0  Fire,  Ahura  Mazda's  Son!  that  whereby  instructors  to  me  may 
be  allotted,  noiv  and  for  evermore,  giving  light  to  me  of  Heaven,  the  best 
life  of  the  saints,  brilliant,  all-glorious.    May  I  reap  the  good  reward,  the 
good  renown,  the  long  forecasting  preparation  of  the  soul!" 

This  "preparation'"  was  accomplished  by  a  catechetical  za7id  or  in- 
struction, in  which  domestic,  civil,  and  religious  duties,  with  purity  "in 
thought,  word  and  deed",  were  severely  inculcated.  It  was  the  entrance 
into  Mazda's  Kingdom,  though  the  description  of  the  fire  as  Mazda's  "son" 
reveals  its  strongly  animistic  coloring.^ 


'  Fr.  Spiegel.  Eranische  Alterthumskunde  (Leipzig.  1873)  p.  Slflf.  L.  H.  Mills,  The  Zend- 
Avesta.  Part.  III.  Yasna,  Visparad  Afrinagan,  Gahs,  etc.  (S.  B.  E.  Oxford,  Vol.  XXXI.). 
Yasna  LXV.  p.  316-320.  321  ff.  '  Spiegel,  p.  45ff.  Mills.  Yasna.  LXII.  p.  313-316.  Y.  XIX- 
XXI.  p.  259-269. 


374  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

RECENT  ASIATIC  FORM 
Persian  Rite 
(3a)  Haoma-Sacrifxce : — It  is  generally  admitted  that  the  sacrifice  of  the 
Soma-plant  is  one  of  the  oldest  forms  of  Aryan  worship,  and  one  of  the 
few  that  are  "essentially  connected  with  prayer"  (Schrader). 

THE  'DRAONA-OBLATE'  AND  THE  'HAOMA-WINE' 

That  this  offering  was  consumed  under  two  species,  solid  and  liquid, 
admits  of  no  doubt,  and  is  evident  from  the  following  offertories: — 

"With  a  perfect  and  a  holy  oblation  I  offer  this  Myazda,  and  I  offer  the 
Haoma  and  the  Haoma  Juice  for  the  propitiation  of  the  spirit  of  Zoroaster 
Spitaina,  the  saint,  and  I  offer  the  wood-billets  with  the  perfume  for  the 
propitiation  of  the  Fire,  0  Thou,  Ahura-Mazda's  son!  And  I  offer  the 
Haoma  with  a  perfect  and  a  holy  oblation  for  the  propitiation  of  the  sacred 
waters,  Mazda-made!  And  I  offer  this  Haoma-water,  this  fresh  milk,  this 
sacrificial  sheaf!"  etc. 

This  means  that  solid  wafers  and  a  fermented  drink  were  prepared  and 
offered  up  with  incense  upon  an  altar,  the  former  being  expressed  by 
myasda  (draona),  the  latter  being  known  as  parahaoma,  or  sacred  mixture. 

This  would  be  accompanied  by  the  singing  of  the  Gathas: — 
"Salvation's  Hail  be  his,  whoever  he  may  be!    May  the  All-Ruling  send  it! 
He  supreme  o'er  strife.    Long-lasting  strength  be  ours,  of  Thee  I  ask  it, 
For  the  upholding  Right,  this,  Holy  Zeal,  vouchsafe  us, — 
Rich  Poiver,  Blest  Rewards,  the  Good  Mind's  Life!"  (See  p.  291). 

Then  might  follow  an  abjuration  of  sin  (p.  376),  and  finally  what  may 
be  called  a  "consecration",  an  invocation  to  the  Soma-deity: — 
■'/  am  Haoma,  the  Holy,  the  driving  death  afar!    Pray  unto  me,  and  pre- 
pare me  for  thy  taste.    Praise  me  in  thy  praises  as  the  saints  do  praise!" 

Six  blessings  are  then  besought,  and  the  faithful  are  invited  to  par- 
take : — 

"Eat,  0  ye  men,  of  this  Myasda,  ye  who  have  deserved  it  by  your  stainless 
life!" 

Praises  are  then  sung  in  ll>anksgiving  for  this  gift  of  the  Creator: — 
"Praise  unto  Haoma,  Mazda-made!    Good  is  Haoma,  Mazda-made! 
.All  the  plants  of  the  Haoma  do  I  praise!    From  the  silver  cup  I  pour  Thee 

to  the  golden  chalice  forth.     Let  not  thy  sacred  liquor  spill  to  earth,  of 

precious  cost!" 

The  chants  and  dedications  are  repeated,  and  the  service  is  closed. 

Now  it  is  important  to  realise  that  the  Haoma  was  not  a  mere  charm 
but  a  personal  divinity, — forming,  with  the  Vedic  god  Mithra,  a  union, 
even  in  the  most  ancient  times,  ages  before  the  Iranian  and  the  Indian 
became  two  separate  peoples.  This  may  be  called  a  polytheistic,  as  it  was 
certainly  an  animistic  cult,  but  it  does  not  compromise  the  fact  that  a 
superior  deity  was  believed  to  impart  His  spiritual  strength  through  the 
Soma,  that  this  was  His  symbolic  manifestation.' 

"Schrader.  Reallexicon  der  indoRermanischen  Alterthumskunde  (Strassb.  1901).  pp.  599, 
60S.  Mills,  Yasna,  VII.  pass.  XLIII,  1.  (Gathas,  Leipzig,  p.  3),  Yasna,  IX.  2,  19  (Horn 
Yashf),  VIII.  2,  X,  17.  (S.  B.  E.  XXXI.  pp.  222-243.  Comp.  also  Visparad.  III-XII,  (Ibid, 
p.  341-.15S)  for  ritual  law.  rubrics,  etc.    The  Soma  was  "lifted  up". 


RECENT  SACRIFICE 
(PERSIAN  RITE) 


THE  ZAOTAR  OFFERS  THE  SACRED  HAOMA 

ANCIENT  MAZDAEAN  FIRE-KITl  AL  AS  PRACTICED  BY  THE  PARSEES  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF 
MANEKJI  SETH.  BOMBAY,  INDIA,  REVEALING  THE  JLVIN  POINTS  OF  THE  YASNA  SAC- 
RIFICIAL RITE:— STONE  ALT.\R.  LAVACRIM,  MI-VING-BOWL.  SOMA-VESSEL,  BARESJIA. 
LITIRGICAL  CHALICE.  AND  EVEK-Bt  BNtNG  FIRES.  .MATERL4LS  TAKEN  FROM  JAMES 
D.\RMESTETER.   THE    ZEND-AVESTA,    PART   I..    YASNA,    VISPARAD,    (PARIS,    1892)^    PL.   IV,    VI. 


THE  MYSTERIES  OF  MITHRAS 

OR 
THE  SO-CALLED   MITHRAIC  COMMUNION' 

\-    t..*(TlCED    *CCORDlSr.    TO   THE    DECADENT    KIT  I  A  I.    OK   THE    I.ATEB    ROMAN    KMI'IKE: 
•  IN    tVikVeKT    A      RAVEN     AND    A      PERSIAN.    ON    THE    RUiHT    A      MJLDIER     AND    A      I  ION 

•\viii«tie:  -n\ri.:  i;k«  nt:  i>k\«   \oi  k  bkkvth  tiiiuk   iimk*:- 


-THOU      SO^; 


THE  HELIODROME  IN\  OkLS  l  HE  -GREAT  SUN"  (?) 

l!ill>       rl        III       lOR      l"l      TIAT     <>l       Till.      HITIM.     *"•       -      .'.      .i-      ■  i.it    HI  ItKII  -     iN\<l- 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  375 

RECENT  ASIATIC  FORM 
Persun  Rite 
(3b)  Hellenistic  Development: — This  essential  connexion  of  Haoma- 
Soma  with  the  primitive  Persian  pantheon  finds  its  historical  complement 
in 

The  Mysteries  of  Mithras 

For  if  A  hura-Mithra-Hacoma  represented  in  the  pre-Gathic  Aryan  period 
the  idea  of  Heaven-Light-Immortality  in  general,  though  doubtless 
described  under  concrete  images  as  Sky-Sun-Earth,  etc.,  it  was  only 
natural  that  on  deeper  theological  reflection  the  triad  should  be  unified, 
and  the  great  "mediator  of  light,  truth,  and  friendship"  brought  into  bold 
prominence  as 

The  So-Called  Incarnation  op  All-Father-Heav-en 

This  was  accomplished  by  a  fusion  of  the  Iranian  Mithras  with  the 
Bel-Marduk-Jnpiter  cult  of  Babylon  and  with  the  Phrygian  and  Cappa- 
docian  worship  of  Attis  and  Cybele,  not  to  speak  of  the  possible  Eg\-ptian 
influence  of  Osins-Ra,  the  "many-eyed",  the  "all-seeing-one",  the  savior 
of  his  people.  From  the  former  was  obtained  the  legend  of  Mithras  and 
sacred  Bull,  the  idea  of  the  triumph  of  man  over  the  lower  creation  and  of 
his  conquest  of  the  sun,  from  the  latter  the  equally-inspiring  doctrine  of  the 
annual  death,  resurrection,  and  assumption  of  Mithras  into  heaven.  But 
the  development  did  not  stop  here.  The  great  banquet  of  the  god  was  not 
forgotten,  it  was 

His  Manifestation  in  the  Mystic  Brotherhood  of  Lo\t; 

The  old  liturgy  can  dimly  be  recognised  in  the  purifications  with  water 
and  fire,  followed  by  the  consecration,  elevation,  and  consumption  of  the 
cruciform  altar-breads  and  of  the  mixed  chalice  of  wine  and  water,  which 
had  taken  the  place  of  the  old  Haoma-juice, — this  undoubtedly  due  to 
Christian  influence.  Nay  more,  we  find  the  same  adoration  of  the 
heavenly  food  with  chants  and  incense,  the  same  description  of  its 
physical  and  spiritual  life-imparting  character,  the  same  baresma  or  sacred 
sheaf-bundle,  and  essentially  the  same  priestly  ornaments,  among  which 
the  Persian  mitre  or  the  Phrygian  cap  have  ever  been  the  most  distinctive. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  wording  of  the  liturgy,  with  its  serio-cosmic  situa- 
tions is  decidedly  appalling,  and  reveals  an  undeniable  deterioration. 
The  Seven  Degrees  or  Mithraig  "Sacraments" 

Still  more  interesting  was  the  division  of  the  faithful  into  seven  degrees 
of  initiates  who  were  bound  together  by  a  solemn  oath  (sacramentum), 
known  as  Raven,  Cryptic,  Soldier,  Lion,  Persian,  Heliodrome,  and  Father, 
the  title  "Father  of  fathers"  being  reserved  for  the  head  of  the  hierarchy. 
Doubtless  the  whole  system  was  the  result  of  ages  of  syncretistic  develop- 
ments, but  we  must  be  prepared  for  its  high  antiquity  and  a  comparatively 
high  tone  of  ascetical  practice,  though  much  of  the  Mithraism  of  the  Roman 
empire  was  undoubtedly  influenced  by  Christian  forms  of  thought  and 
expression.^" 

»>>Cuniont,  Die  Mysterien  des  Mithras  (Leipzig.  1911)  pp.  1-28,  95-135.  136-163  (with 
photographic  plates).  A.  Gasquet.  Essai  sur  le  Culte  et  les  Mysteres  de  Mithras  (Paris, 
1899).  Comp.  Oldenberg.  Die  Religion  des  Veda  (Berlin.  1894).  pp.  29-31,  302ff.  Mills 
Hom-Yasht  (S.  B.  E.  XXXI)  p.  230.    Spiegel,  op.  cit.  p.  78,  114flF. 


376  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

RECENT  ASIATIC  FORM 

Persian  Rite 

(i)  'I'hi'  Muzda-Yus}n(ni  Covfessioii: — Note  the  following  abjuration 
(.r  sin  :^ — '7  confess  myself  n  Mazdayasnian  of  the  order  of  Zoroaster,  the 
oicmy  of  the  demons,  devoted  to  the  lore  of  the  Lord,  praiser  of  the  bounli- 
fiil  Im,mortals! — And  therefore  I  abjrtre  all  robbery,  all  violence  against 
the  sacred  kine,  all  drought  to  the  wasting  of  the  Mazdayasnian  villages. 
And  I  abjure  the  shelter  and  the  headship  of  the  demons,  evil  as  they  are 
and  bereft  of  good,  void  of  virtue,  deceitful  in  their  wickedness, — the 
Demon-of-the-Lie,  the  most  loathsome  of  existing  things,  bereft  of  good! 
Off,  off  do  I  abjure  the  demons, — and  the  sorcerers, — their  thoughts,  words, 
a)id  deeds, — and  their  seed — and  the  iniquitous  of  every  kind!"  Fasting 
and  self-flagellation  frequently  accompanied  this  act,  but  it  was  still  a 
long  way  off  a  personal  confession  of  individual  sins  to  an  authorised 
minister.* 

(5)  Priesthood: — Already  in  the  earlier  period  we  find  a  well-developed 
hierarchy,  in  which  the  Zaotar,  the  Ratu,  and  the  Mobad  corresponded  to 
some  extent  to  priest,  deacon,  and  sub-deacon,  the  priest  being  entrusted 
with  the  zaothra,  or  holy  water,  and  the  baresma,  or  sheaf-bundle. 
(Jver  all  stood  the  chief  zaotar,  or  the  "Arch-Priest"  clothed  with  the 
Persian  mitre.  The  mobads  were  subdivided  into  Havanan,  or  Mortar- 
inan,  Atarevakhsha,  Fire-tender,  Frabaretar,  Presenter,  Aberet,  Water- 
carrier,  Asnatar,  Washer,  Rathwiskar,  Soma-raixer,  Sraoshavareza,  Fla- 
gellant,— in  all  seven  minor  orders.  Purifications  with  fire,  water,  honey, 
or  oil,  were  a  necessary  step  to  admission.' 

(6)  Matrimony: — The  practice  of  monogamy,  with  purity  in  thought, 
word,  and  deed,  was  one  of  the  most  distinctive  features  of  the  old  Zoroas- 
Irian  faith. 

■■/  will  love  him  and  vie  with  him,  since  from  my  father  tie  gained  me! 
The  pure  for  the  pure  ones — Maij  Ahura-Mazda  grant  it  for  ever!" 

'I'liis  solemn  profession  of  fidelily  was  followed  by  the  priestly  bless- 
ing:— 

■■////  tliese  laws  of  the  Faith  niiicli  I  utter,  obtain  ye  the  life  of  the  Good 
Mind!    Let  each  one  the  oilier  i)i  righteousness  cherish!" 

Inslitnlions  wei-e  evidently  piitriarclml  and  aristocratic,  but  although 
liulygamy  and  divorce  were  alike  discuuntenanced  in  ancient  times,  they 
became  common  enough  in  the  historic  period,  and  the  only  flaw  to  an 
ideal  family  system  was  the  kinship-marriage  which  often  passed  into 
actual  incest.' 

(7)  Burial: — It  likevvi.se  a})pears  that  burial  of  the  dead  in  the  tomb 
(with  occasional  cremation)  was  the  original  Iranian  practice,  the  custom 
of  exposing  the  corpse  in  the  "lower  of  silence"'  belonging  to  the  later 
period.' 

«  Mills.  Yasna,  XII.  "Idem.  Yasna.  II.  Visparad.  III.  •  Y.  LIII.  'Idem,  p.  XXXI. 
Comp.  Gciger,  The  Civilisation  of  the  eastern  Iranians  in  ancient  times,  for  Persian  arch- 
aeology in  general.  .Mso  .lames  Darmcstefer.  The  7end-.\vesta.  (Paris.  1892),  Vol.  I. 
(Introduction). 


RECENT  SACRIFICE 
( BRAHMINISTIC  RITE) 

THE  SERINGHAM  PAGODA  OF  TRINCHINOPOLI 


APPROXIJIATE    OUTLINES    OF    THE    STRlCTfRE    II,Ll  STKATIXG    THE    STEP-MOTIF 
!>■    THE    MODERN'    HINIWO    ARCIIITECTLP V. 


RECENT  SACRIFICE 
(BRAHMINISTIC  RITE) 

THE  CAVE-TEMPLE  OF  VISHVAKARMAN,  ELLORA,  INDIA 


IIIK   III  ItDIIIST   «AVK-TKMIM.K!S  AKK    IIKMN    <)l   I    <>l      IIIK   >01.ll»    K<)(  K,    AM)    IIKKK   I*   TIIK 
S\\«riAK^     or    VISIIV  XKAKMAN.     «»\K    Ol       IIII-:     l-KOMINKN'l'     OKITIKs     o|      TIIK     ANCIKNT 

rWTIIKON 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS  377 

REGENT  ASIATIC  FORM 

Hindoo-Chinese  Rite 

In  countries  where  the  Brahministic  faith  is  in  the  ascendant, — using 
the  word  in  the  widest  sense  as  a  conglomerate  of  refined  nature-worsliip 
with  metempsychosis  in  the  background, — we  find  a  superficial  resem- 
blance of  thought  and  practice  to  much  of  the  foregoing,  but  revealing  on 
closer  examination  the  strong  naturalistic  undergrowth  by  which  it  is 
tainted,  an  element  which  we  have  already  traced  to  a  prehistoric  contact 
with  the  totem-peoples  of  Southern  Asia.  These  regions  embrace  the 
greater  part  of  Aryan  India  and  to  some  extent  of  Mongolian  China,  and 
a  few  notes  on  this  subject  seem  to  be  called  for. 

(1)  The  consciousness  of  depravity,  with  a  growing  moral  pessimism, 
finds  its  expression  in  the  excessive  multiplication  of  exorcism-rites  by 
which  delivery  from  the  pains  of  karma,  or  reincarnation,  was  hoped  to 
be  secured.  Hence  the  Bath-House  or  the  water-front  were  in  continual 
requisition,  not  only  for  curing  the  original  uncleanness,  but  for  daily,  nay 
even  hourly,  purification.  It  is  not  surprising  therefore  that  the  use  of 
"holy  water"  should  be  more  conspicuous  in  this  than  any  former  age. 
in  itself  a  laudable  practice,  but  one  that  was  rarely  if  ever  associated  with 
a  unique  personal  divinity, — it  was  a  reversion,  unconsciously,  no  doubt, 
to  the  magical  control  of  the  sinister  powers  of  nature  by  contrary  in- 
fluences, an  expurgating  spell.  The  comparatively  low  and  "impure" 
condition  of  women,  while  by  no  means  universal,  emphasises  the  grow- 
ing disgust  for  physical  existence  in  general. 

(2)  While  the  early  Vedic  initiations  still  breathe  the  lofty  spirit  of 
the  Avesta,  with  personal  prayers,  consecrations,  absolutions  with  water, 
investiture  with  the  sacred  girdle,  moral  and  religious  instruction,  etc., 
they  became  more  and  more  the  privilege  of  a  special  caste,  and  in  the 
later  Hindoo  rites  ascetical  practices  in  the  shape  of  fasting  and  self- 
torture  had  reached  such  a  height  of  unnatural  development  as  to  culmi- 
nate in  the  incredible  austerities  of  the  famous  "anchorites"  with  nothing 
more  hopeful  than  entire  self-e.xtinction  or  absorption  into  the  great 
Brahma,  the  unconscious  All. 

(3)  In  like  manner  the  sacrificial  worship  shows  a  steady  degenera- 
tion, from  the  primitive  Soma-ofTering  to  the  horse,  the  ox,  and  even  the 
human  sacrifice.  The  socalled  Buddhist  "Mass"  retains  many  elements  of 
the  primitive  concept  and  the  Chinese  emperor  undoubtedly  otTers  his 
annual  holocaust  to  the  great  Shang-Ti  above;  but  on  the  other  hand  the 
"enlightened"  ascetics  repudiated  all  external  immolations  as  useless,  and 
it  is  important  to  understand  that  the  religion  of  these  devotees  was  largely 
self-centered,  not  to  say  egotistic:  they  relied  on  their  own,  not  on  super- 
natural power.  Apart  from  this,  however,  sacrificial  observances  do  not 
greatly  deviate  from  the  normal.  The  commonest  form  of  religious  offer- 
ing in  most  of  these  lands  consists  in  the  burning  of  scented  sticks  or 
aromatic  spices  through  which  the  favor  of  this  or  that  divinity  is  sought 
to  be  obtained. 


378  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

REGENT  ASIATIC  FORM 
Hindoo-Chinese  Rite 

(4)  Expiation,  in  the  sense  of  a  personal  accusation  of  faults  and  with 
a  definite  moral  content,  was  to  be  found  side  by  side  with  self-flagellation 
and  bodily  torments  endured  for  their  own  sake  or  as  a  means  for  entirely 
extinguishing  the  lower  appetities.  As  is  well  known,  the  penitential  dis- 
cipline originally  included  works  of  charily,  feeding  the  hungry,  nursing 
the  sick,  etc.  and  it  was  only  among  the  extreme  ascetics  of  later  times 
that  the  doctrine  of  self-help  gave  birth  to  a  fatalistic  view  of  existence, 
which,  especially  in  the  Mongol  kingdoms,  excluded  all  aid  to  the  suffer- 
ing. Vet  even  here,  the  existence  of  medical  dispensaries  tells  a  diUVrenl 
story, — consistency  is  rarely  to  be  found  in  any  of  these  nature-religions. 

(5)  The  clerical  state,  formerly  within  the  reach  of  all,  was  now  made 
so  difficult  of  entrance,  that  only  the  enlightened  few  had  any  chance  of 
attaining  to  it,  the  Brahminical  Priesthood  being  narrow,  ultra-exclusive, 
and  contemptuous  of  manual  labor.  While  this  may  be  interpreted  as  in 
a  certain  sense  "aristocratic",  it  led  to  a  growing  estrangement  of  the  peo- 
ple, who,  precisely  through  this  neglect,  fell  into  every  kind  of  grovelling 
superstition.    Hence  the  infinite  variety  of  faiths  in  modern  India. 

(6)  This  dualism  became  still  more  pronounced  in  everytiiing  that 
concerned  the  moral  and  matrimonial  life.  While  it  is  undeniable  that 
purity  in  thought,  word  and  deed,  and  even  absolute  chastity,  were  hold 
out  as  the  highest  ideals  of  man,  the  development  of  this  true  and  noble 
doctrine  became  so  one-sided  among  the  higher  yogi  devotees  that  it  con- 
demned marriage  as  something  immoral, — the  parent  of  all  the  Montanism 
and  Manichaeism  that  were  destined  to  overrun  the  West.  The  conse- 
quences to  public  morality  were  naturally  most  deplorable.  With  the 
sanctity  of  human  life  branded  at  its  very  source,  the  people  in  their 
despair  gave  themselves  up  to  every  form  of  natural  and  unnatural  indul- 
gence, and  had  it  not  been  for  the  innate  conservatism  of  humanity,  the 
"religious  marriage",  with  the  edifying  ceremonies  that  still  accompany  it, 
might  have  been  swept  from  the  face  of  the  land. 

(7)  In  the  disposal  of  the  dead  we  also  meet  with  a  corresponding 
variety  of  practice,  but  the  frequency  of  cremation  is  in  harmony  with  a 
growing  disregard  for  the  body,  with  a  more  pessimistic  view  of  its  ulti- 
mate destiny. 

To  sum  up, — we  cannot  afford  to  lightly  dismiss  a  series  of  religious 
beliefs,  which,  however  decadent,  represent  for  hundreds  of  millions  of 
souls  their  only  hope  of  deliverance,  their  only  escape  from  sorrow  and 
paijx' 


'Sources  in  S.  B.  E.  (Oxford),  Vol.  I.  II.  VII-XV.  XVII-XXII.  XXV-XXVI. 
XXXII-XLIV.  (India),  III.  XVI.  XIX.  XXVII-XXVIII  (China).  Comp.  also  Oldenberg, 
Die  Religion  des  Veda,  (Berlin,  1894),  Hildcbrandt,  Ritual-Literatur  Vedischer  Opfer  und 
Zauber  (Jena,  1897).  Rev.  C  F.  Aiken,  D.  D  .  The  Dhamma  of  Gotama  the  Buddha  and 
the  Gospel  of  Jesus  the  Christ,   (Boston,  1900),  for  a  comparative  estimate. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  379 

RECENT  ASIATIC  FORM 

Graeco-Roman  Rite 

Somewhat  more  hopeful  was  the  development  of  theology  in  the  West- 
ern-Aryan region,  where  as  a  fact  it  paved  the  way  for  the  seed  of  the 
gospel.  Not  the  escape  from  existence,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  glorifica- 
tion of  life  in  all  its  artistic  fulness,  this  was  the  ideal  of  the  Greek  and 
Roman.  If  we  take  the  Augustan  empire  as  the  climax  of  the  Graeco- 
Latin  spirit,  fused  as  no  doubt  it  was  with  nearly  every  cult  of  the  Orient, 
we  shall  find  practically  the  whole  spiritual  world  represented  in  minia- 
ture, and  focussed  upon  one  single  point, — the  city  of  Rome,  the  meeting- 
point  of  the  nations.  So  much  has  been  said  of  the  boundless  corruptions 
of  this  great  Circe  of  the  West,  that  it  is  time  that  the  brighter  side  of  the 
picture  were  also  presented,  even  if  only  to  enumerate  a  few  of  its  more 
elevating  aspects. 

(1)  Apart  from  the  Mithraic  "fonts",  which  had  penetrated  into  the 
remotest  confines  of  the  empire,  we  have  reasons  to  believe  that  the 
lavacrum  and  the  temple  bath-house  served  the  purpose  in  part  at  least 
of  religious  purification-ceremony,  in  which  water  was  poured  or 
sprinkled  over  the  neophyte  in  probably  the  same  manner  as  in  the  eastern 
rites.  Certain  it  is  that  the  idea  of  a  baptizeria  can  be  traced  to  Homeric 
times,  where  we  find  ceremonial  ablutions  distinctly  enjoined  as  prepara- 
tion for  any  solemn  event,  and  in  the  times  of  Terence  and  Plutarch  we 
hear  of  a  lustration  ceremony  on  the  eighth  or  ninth  day  after  birth,  dur- 
ing which  the  new-born  child  received  its  distinctive  name  and  was  con- 
secrated to  heaven  by  a  suitable  sacrifice.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  its 
religious  significance.' 

(2)  The  more  barbaric  initiations  by  fire  and  physical  endurance  have 
given  place  to  a  refined  system  of  education,  in  which  the  youth  of  both 
sexes  were  carefully  trained  and  prepared  for  the  duties  of  civil  and 
matrimonial  life.  At  the  assumption  of  the  toga  virilis,  the  Roman  boy 
was  solemnly  dedicated  to  the  service  of  the  state-gods  with  impressive 
ceremonies.' 

(3a)  The  old  agrarian  sacrifice  of  the  Homeric  age,  in  which  a  meal- 
offering  was  prepared  for  the  deity,  (oulai),  and  libations  of  wine  were 
made  in  his  presence,  (spondai),  may  still  be  detected  in  the  annual 
harvest-festival  celebrated  by  the  Roman  Pontiffs  in  the  temple  of  Jupiter- 
Capitolinus,  not  to  speak  of  the  Bacchic  Mxjsteries,  the  Ceres-Festivals,  the 
Mithraic  Suppers,  etc.  in  which  the  "bread  of  chastity"  was  eaten  or  the 
"chalice  of  life"  was  drunk  in  the  hope  of  attaining  to  some  special  praeter- 
naturaJ  purity  of  soul.  That  this  was  in  part  attained,  in  spite  of  corrup- 
tions, should  not  surprise  us,  though  we  have  already  noted  its  very  flip- 
pant and  largely  degenerate  character." 


1  Iliad,  I.  449.  III.  270,  etc.  Terence,  Andria,  3,  2-3.  Plutarch,  Quaest.  Rom.  102.  Cicero, 
De  Leg.  2,  10.  =  Cicero,  ad  Att.  6,  1.  12.  Ovid,  Fasti,  3.  771.  (Feast  of  the  Liberalia). 
•Iliad,  I.  449  (oulai),  II.  341  (spondai).  Lucian,  De  Sacrificiis.  14  (to  lares  and  penates). 
and  compare  R.  Reitzenstein,  Die  Hellenistischen  Mysterienreligionen,  (Leipzig,  1910)  and 
p.  375  above. 


380  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

RECENT  ASIATIC  FORM 

Graego-Roman  Rite 

(3b)  But  this  was  not  deemed  sufTicient  to  appease  tlie  anger  of 
divinity  except  for  ttie  very  elect,  those  who  had  risen  above  the  grosser 
failings  of  humanity.  For  the  sins  of  the  nation  gigantic  hecatombs  were 
offered  as  early  as  the  days  of  the  heroes,  and  the  ox,  the  horse,  and  the 
sheep  recall  the  common  Indogermanic  materials  of  sacrifice.  That 
human  life  itself  was  not  spared  on  these  greater  occasions,  is  only  too 
evident,  and  it  is  the  one  stain  that  disfigures  the  whole  of  the  Western- 
.Vryan  worship.^'' 

(4)  Penitential  practice  reveals  the  greatest  contrasts,  from  the  cast- 
iron  rigorism  of  the  Stoics  and  oriental  sects  to  the  easy,  happy-go-lucky 
morality  of  the  Epicureans  and  later  Hedonists,  in  which  the  pursuit  of 
pleasure  was  extolled  as  the  highest  duty  of  man.  A  middle  course  was 
steared  by  the  ordinary  fasts  and  penances  that  were  commonly  imposed 
by  the  namens.* 

(5)  For  it  is  more  especially  in  the  hierarchical  organisation  that  we 
discern  the  greatest  external  resemblances  to  the  Christian  Priesthood. 
The  very  names  of  Pontifex  Maximus  and  Flamen  Dialis  will  speak  for 
themselves;  they  were  held  in  the  greatest  reverence  as  the  channels,  nay 
as  the  incarnations  of  deity,  they  were  obliged  to  live  up  to  the  highest 
ethical  and  monogamous  standards,  and  it  is  from  them  that  we  obtain 
the  Roman  Pallium,  to  a  less  extent  the  Cope,  Chasuble,  Dalmatics,  Tunics, 
Albs,  Maniples,  and  other  items  of  ecclesiastical  millinery,  the  mitre  be- 
ing probably  of  oriental  origin.  Moreover  in  the  Vestal  Virgins  we  have 
a  distinct  anticipation  of  an  order  of  female  celibates,  consecrated  to 
Heaven  by  the  emission  of  vows." 

(6)  It  can  no  longer  be  maintained  that  Roman  morals  were  that  un- 
speakable thing  painted  by  the  later  cynics.  Before  the  days  of  decadence 
monogamy  without  divorce  was  the  law  of  the  land,  marriages  were  valid 
only  when  celebrated  in  the  presence  of  the  priest  (confarreatio),  and 
though  the  legal  position  of  women  was  good,  it  was  hardly  as  high  as 
in  some  of  our  modern  Christian  states.* 

(7)  Finally,  in  the  matter  of  burial,  we  find  the  nearest  approach  to 
the  Christian  tomb  in  the  reverential  disposal  of  the  dead  in  the  earliest 
ages.' 

Now  it  is  quite  true  that  this  picture  reflects  the  Rome  of  the  Kings  and 
Consuls  rather  than  that  of  the  Caesars,  when  corruption  was  already 
Howing  in  a  mighty  torrent.  But  it  does  represent  the  external  mould,  as 
it  were,  into  which  the  new  metal  of  the  Christian  Faith  was  about  to  be 
poured.  The  subject  tapers  too  much  into  the  historical  field  to  be  further 
discussed. 


'b  Iliad  and  Odyssey  passim-Iphigenia,  etc.  ♦  Sec  the  works  of  Horace,  Sallust,  Juvenal, 
and  Seneca  for  contemporary  sects.  ^  Li\ y.  Roman  History,  1,  20.  Cic.  De  Leg.  2,  8,  12, 
(for  pontifex).  "Cicero,  pro  Flacc.  34.  Dionysius  of  Halicarnassus,  2,  25  (for  confar- 
reatio). '  See  the  early  classics  throughout,  and  compare  Joseph  Muller,  Das  sexuelle  Leben 
der  alten  Kulturvolker.   (T.eipzig,  1002),  pp.  43,  84fT.   for  Graeco-Roman  morals  in  general 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  381 

REGENT  OCEANIC  FORM 

(N,  6)  Polynesian  Rite 

In  the  far  eastern  world  the  more  prominent  features  of  this  newer 
cult  can  still  be  traced,  though  they  lack  the  refining  element  that  was 
destined  to  prepare  the  world  for  the  classic  civilisation  of  Europe.  Pass- 
ing over  the  Indo-Melanesian  zone,  we  may  take  the  modern  Polynesian 
culture  as  a  fair  exponent  of  its  more  recent  Oceanic  development. 

(1)  Birth-Customs— At  the  moment  of  birth  the  Samoan  child  is 
placed  under  the  custody  of  the  household  god,  the  aitu  {ale,  from  which 
it  receives  its  name,  followed  by  the  usual  purification-baths  for  parent 
and  infant.  This  occasion  is  not  lacking  in  solemnity  and  religious  fer- 
vor, as  the  child  is  believed  to  be  not  only  the  protege  but  the  incarnation 
of  the  special  divinity  that  descends  in  the  father's  line,  the  father  being 
in  fact  the  family  priest,  though  mother-kin  is  also  recognised.  One  of 
the  commonest  household  patrons  is  known  as  "Child  of  the  Moon", 
Aleimasima,  the  son  of  Heaven  and  Earth  being  the  common  Polynesian 
Tangaroa,  the  ever  renewing  Moon.  -Child  of  the  Moon,  you  have  come!" 
—such  is  a  common  exclamation  to  the  protecting  spirit  that  watches  over 
the  new  fledgeling. 

(2)  Maturity  Rites:— But  it  is  more  especially  at  a  solemn  feast  of  the 
New  Moon,  which  may  be  fixed  for  any  period  of  the  child's  life,  that  the 
members  of  the  family  join  together  in  the  following  prayer,— 

"0  Child  of  the  Moon!  Keep  far  away  disease  and  death!" 
This  is  accompanied  by  food-offerings  to  the  birth-deity  and  pro- 
longed feasting,  though  it  has  no  essential  connexion  with  a  coming-of- 
age  ceremony.  A  more  distinct  initiation-rite  is  marked  by  the  custom  of 
branding  and  tattooing,  which  admits  the  youth  to  the  full  privileges  of 
manhood.  That  these  ordeals,  though  theoretically  religious,  are  mixed 
up  with  sexual  and  phallic  dances,  seems  to  be  certain,— they  are  indeed 
barbaric  and  reflect  the  growing  degeneracy  of  the  period  to  which  they 
belong. 

(3)  The  Sacred  Cup-Sacinfice :— Like  other  peoples  of  this  age,  the 
Samoans  have  advanced  to  closed  temple-worship.  At  the  annual  May- 
Festival  a  coconut-cup  is  suspended  from  the  temple  roof,  and  part  of  its 
contents  is  poured  out  or  dedicated  before  the  god  of  heaven  {Rangi),  the 
remainder  being  consumed  by  the  worshippers  according  to  rank,  all 
drinking  from  the  same  cup. 

"With  my  hand  on  this  cup,  may  Heaven-God  look  upon  me,  and  send  me 
swift  destruction,  if  I  took  ihe  thing  which  has  been  stolen!" 
This  conjuration-formula,  by  which  sin  is  repudiated,  reveals  an  ethical 
content  to  the  ceremony  which  is  surprising,  for  "they  firmly  believed  that 
it  would  be  death  to  touch  the  cup  and  to  tell  a  lie"( !). 


382  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAME>rrALS 

RECENT  OCEANIC  FORM 

Polynesian  Rite 

(3b)  Human  Sacrifice: — While  the  modern  Samoans  have  outgrown 
the  barbarity  of  the  human  sacrifice,  there  is  ample  evidence  for  its  prac- 
tice in  the  adjacent  Oceanic  regions,  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  Tahiti 
being  particularly  famous  for  this  form  of  immolation,  formerly  no  doubt 
very  prevalent.  Yet  common  as  it  is,  it  belongs  to  a  comparatively  recent 
epoch. 

(4)  Penitential  Practice: — This  is  the  region  above  all  others  in  which 
the  taboo  is  in  force,  understanding  by  this  a  complicated  system  of  fasts 
and  abstinences, — a  relic  of  the  old  totem-cult.  Personal  penances  in- 
variably assume  this  form,  frequently  coupled,  however,  with  a  public 
accusation  and  satisfaction  for  the  crimes  or  faults  committed.  Though 
Polynesian  justice  is  strict,  the  religious  conception  of  sorrow  is  weakly 
developed. 

(5)  Priesthood: — As  in  India,  the  caste-system  pervades  all  branches 
of  Polynesian  society,  including  the  priesthood.  It  is  true  that  domestic 
worship  is  commonly  conducted  by  the  father  of  the  family  (supra),  but 
all  the  more  important  public  functions  are  in  the  hands  of  an  order  of 
hereditary  tulafale,  or  pleading-chiefs,  who  constitute  a  landed  aristocracy 
and  culminate  in  that  typical  institution  of  the  South-Sea  Islands,  the 
Priest-kinijship,  with  agnatic  descent.  So  great  is  the  power  vested  in 
this  Polynesian  "pope",  that  in  some  cases  he  cannot  even  touch  the  earth 
without  making  it  taboo,  that  is,  unfit  for  any  other  mortal  to  cultivate. 

(0)  Mrt/n?nony.'— Nothing  separates  this  aristocratic  cxclusiveness 
from  the  old  totem-system  so  strongly  as  the  common  practice  of 
endogamy,  the  custom  of  marrying  within  the  class  or  the  caste,  as  the 
case  may  be.  Any  violation  of  this  rule  is  punishable  in  the  Tonga  Islands 
with  burning.  Union  of  relatives,  however,  is  strictly  forbidden,  and  in 
many  respects  the  rank  accorded  to  women  is  comparatively  high,  the 
wife  of  the  Samoan  chief  sharing  his  political  power.  .As  might  be 
expected,  polygamy  is  universally  tolerated,  and  divorce  legally  obtainable, 
but  on  no  subject  are  we  presented  with  such  a  variety  of  pictup^s  as  on 
that  of  sexual  morality. 

(7)  Burial: — This  extreme  development  of  class-distinction  is  carried 
even  into  the  grave,  only  the  souls  of  princes  being  regarded  as  immortal 
and  worthy  of  a  dignified  tomb-  or  urn-burial.  For  the  common  people 
and  the  "slaves"  almost  any  form  of  disposal  is  deemed  sufTlcient.' 


»  Main  sources  in  George  Turner,  Samoa  a  hundred  years  ago  and  long  before,  (London, 
1884).  A.  Kramer,  Die  Samao-Inseln  (Stuttgart,  1903).  W.  Ellis,  Polynesian  Resean  hes. 
(London,  1859).  R.  Parkinson,  Dreissig  Jahre  in  der  Sudsce  (StultK-irt,  1907).  r.  G.-achner. 
Die  sozialen  Systeme  in  der  Siidsee,  Zeitschrift  fur  Socialwissenchaft,  Vol.  XI  (1908), 
Heft  11  and  12.  Idem,  Kulturkreise  in  Ozeanien,  Z.  f.  Ethn  Vol.  XXXVII.  pr  28-53.  See 
also  p.  114  above 


RECENT  SACRIFICE 
(NORTH-AMERICAN  RITE) 

"THE  BANQUET  OF  THE  CLOUDS" 


vAe3i5_£20D/ 


Po. 


^^^  H^AVBH'^.'^^^^ 


TTTPmiOIBTlC    RAIW-CEBEMONT    OF    THE    8IA    KUTFE-SOCEETT,    NEW    ME3aCO,    ENTOKENO 
"^*^^^  -IS^MSH^A^,    THE    EAGLE-DEMTCRGE    OF    THE    SKY-FATHEB. 


RECENT  SACRIFICE 
(NORTH-AMERICAN  RITE) 

THE  DANCE  OF  THE  CORN-MAIDENS 


^^^H  THE  EA^^ 


TIlKlROiariC  CEREMONY  OF  THE  ZIM-PIEBLOS  KOK  9ECI  RIN<i  AN  ABl  NDANT  HARVEST. 
THE  RAIN-PRIEST  MAR8HAI,8  THE  CORN-MAIDENfi  AND  THEY  PARAUE  IN  HONOR  OF 
THE  MOTHER-CORN.  ABOVE:  THE  MEDICINE-BOWX  FOR  THE  POWDERED  MEAL. 
BEI.OW:  THE  CEREMONIAL  CORN-COBS  .\ND  THE  'NEW  FIRE'  AS  PREP.IRED  AT  THE 
SIMMER  SOLSTICE.  81  BJECT.S  TAKEN  FROM  MRS.  .M.  C.  STEVENSON.  THE  ZINI-INDIAN8. 
•JSD.    REPORT    IB.    A.    E.    WASinNOTON) .    PL.    XX.    XXXV.    XXXIX 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  383 

REGENT  AMERICAN  FORM 

(N,  7)  Pueblo  Rite 

A  similar  transition  from  barbarism  to  civilisation  may  be  witnessed 
in  the  Western  liemisphere,  whose  more  recent  culture  is  represented  by 
the  Zuni,  Hopi,  Sia,  Cochiti,  and  other  Pueblo  tribes,  together  with  the 
Apaches  and  Navajos  of  the  Mexican  borderland,  and  the  Tlingits.  Haidas, 
and  Kwakiutl  of  the  Alaskan  region.  It  will  be  quite  impossible  to  do 
more  than  call  attention  to  a  few  striking  features  of  the  Pueblo  ritual. 

(1)  /??/o?(c,(/:— "The  relation  of  parent  to  child",  says  Mooney,  "brings 
out  all  the  highest  traits  of  the  Indian  character."  This  is  more  especially 
the  case  with  the  mountain  tribes,  whose  delicate  care  and  attention  of 
children,  from  birth  to  maturity,  is  almost  European  in  its  character.  The 
new-born  infant  is  commonly  treated  to  a  cold  bath,  and  among  the  Hopi 
ashes  or  sacred  meal  are  rubbed  over  its  body,  and  the  name  bestowed  on 
the  20th  day,  when  it  is  dedicated  to  the  Sun-Father  with  impressive 
ceremonies. 

Though  parental  discipline  is  strict,  it  is  founded  upon  solid  natural 
afTection,  and  the  religious  and  moral  training  of  a  Zuni  child  surpasses 
anything  to  be  found  among  the  wild,  and  even  among  many  civilised 
peoples. 

(2)  Maturity: — Apart  from  the  ceremonial  "whippings",  by  which  the 
Zuni  or  Hopi  child  is  initiated  into  the  sacred  mysteries,  there  are  special 
ordeals  for  admission  to  secret  societies,  which  range  from  the  simple 
fast  to  running  in  the  burning  sun  or  standing  a  douche  of  ice-cold  water. 
As  an  external  mark  of  maturity  the  polychrome  tattoo  is  conspicuous 
among  the  wilder  tribes,  but  is  now  superseded  by  a  simple  clothing- 
ceremony. 

(3a)  The  Sacred  Cup  and  the  Corn-Dance;— The  old  corn-ofTering  of 

the  prairies  has  been  developed  into  an  elaborate  corn-sacrifice,  in  which 

the  High-Father  of  the  Zuni  Pantheon  occupies  a  supreme  position : — 

"Before  the  beginning  of  the  New  Creation,  Awonawilona,  the  Maker  and 

Container  of  all,  the  All-Father  alone  had  being!    He  then  evolved 

things  by  thinking  himself  outward  in  space",  etc. 

This  preliminary  chant  would  be  followed  by  the  consecration  of  a 
mixture  of  water,  corn-meal,  and  powdered  root  in  a  sacrificial  bowl  amid 
the  wafting  fire-sticks  or  the  whirring  of  bull-roarer,  and  accompanied  by 
a  long  incantation: — 

"Let  the  heavens  be  covered  ivith  banked-up  clouds,  let  the  earth  be  cov- 
ered with  mist,  let  her  cover  the  earth  with  rains!"  etc. 

In  the  dance  of  the  Corn-Maidens,  the  Sun-Father  is  then  implored  to 
"embrace  the  Earth-Mother  that  she  may  bring  forth  the  "Great  Mother 
Corn",  which  shows  that  the  grain  is  more  than  taboo,  it  has  vital  rela- 
tion to  the  divinity ;  it  is  one  of  his  most  bountiful  manifestations. 


384  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

RECENT  AMERICAN  FORM 

Pueblo  Rite 

(3b)  The  New  Fire  and  the  Snake-Dance: — The  ceremony  of  kindling 
the  "new  fire"  at  the  winter  or  summor  solstice  is  best  explained  on  the 
principle  of  sympathetic  magic,  but  the  Snake-Dance  of  the  Hopi  is  not 
so  easily  disposed  of.  Certain  it  is  that  the  scattering  of  the  white  corn- 
meal  over  ground,  serpent,  and  performer  alike  must,  in  view  of  the  above, 
be  interpreted  as  an  agrarian  rite,  while  the  holding  of  the  snakes  between 
the  teeth  is  probably  nothing  more  than  an  endurance-test  and  has  little 
to  do  with  ophiolatry.  Such  at  least  is  the  opinion  of  our  leading  authority, 
Dr.  Fewkes.  The  idea  is  that  by  physical  bravery  man  will  merit  an 
abundant  harvest. 

(4)  Atonement: — From  the  point  of  view  of  the  subject,  all  these  prac- 
tices may  be  regarded  as  expiations  for  sin,  though  their  moral  aspect  is 
not  at  first  sight  very  evident.  The  custom  of  self-accusation  shows,  how- 
ever, that  personal  remorse  is  looked  upon  as  an  essential  part  of  the 
atonement,  and  a  beautiful  contrition-formula  is  couched  in  the  follow- 
ing language : — 

"Pity  me,  Sun!    Yoii  have  seen  my  life.     You  know  that  I  am  pure!" 

(5)  Priesthood: — Hierarchical  organisation  has  reached  its  supreme 
development  among  the  Zuni.  It  is  a  limited  theocracy,  divided  into  Sun, 
Rain,  and  War-priests,  the  "Great  Sun"  being  the  High  Priest-King  of  the 
Pueblo.  Ceremonial  blankets  with  richly-woven  designs,  feather-crowns, 
sometimes  combined  with  masks,  ornamental  moccasins  and  plumed 
prayer-sticks, — such  are  a  few  of  the  priestly  ensignia,  though  they  rarely 
present  the  elaborate  appearance  of  the  gorgeous  Alaskan  vestments.  It 
is  especially  among  the  Haida  that  religious  symbolism  has  been  developed 
to  its  highest  degree. 

(6)  Marriage: — Clans  and  phralries  are  still  in  evidence,  but  they  are 
descriptive  rather  than  totemic,  that  is,  they  bind  the  members  to  mutual 
exogamy,  but  do  not  imply  a  physical  relation  of  kinship  with  old-time 
totems.  Father  and  mother-right  are  apparently  co-existent,  and  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Zuni  wife  in  what  is  normally  a  monogamous  family 
approaches  the  freedom  and  independence  of  the  American  house-wife, 
even  down  to  the  facility  with  which  she  can  dismiss  her  husband. 
Though  Pueblo  morals  are  generally  decent,  these  loose  practices  cannot 
but  impair  the  well-being  of  the  body  politic. 

(7)  Mortuary  Customs :^Ag&'in,  the  frequency  of  tomb-burial,  with 
prolonged  funeral  rites,  is  in  harmony  with  a  strong  belief  in  a  personal 
hereafter.' 


>  Sources  in  F.  H.  Gushing.  Zuni  Creation-Myths,  (13th.  Rep.  B.  A.  E.  Washington,  1891). 
p.  368.  T.  E.  Stevenson.  The  Religious  Life  of  the  Zuni  Child,  (Sth.  Rep.)  p.  539.  M.  C. 
Stevenson,  The  Zuni  Indians.  (23d.  Rep.)  p.  291.  J.  W.  Fewkes,  Tusayan  Snake-Cere- 
monies, (16th.  Rep.)  p.  307.  J.  G.  Bourke,  The  Snake-Dance  of  the  Moquis  of  Arizona, 
(London,  1884).  Comp.  also  Hodge,  Handbook.  Vol.  L  p.  560  (Hopi).  Vol.  IL  318-324 
(Pueblos),  402-407  (Sacrifice).  604-606  (Snake-Dance),  610  (Social  organisation).  lOlS- 
1020  (Zuni). 


RECENT  SACRIFICE 

(AZTEC  RITE) 
THE  GREAT  FIRE-TEMPLE  OF  TEOTL,  MEXICO 

PYKA.MIU    AM)     rK.Ml'l.K    AS    SKKN    TOUA\     WITH    I.IMIXKK    KKSTOKATIONS 


Photograph 


RECENT  SACRIFICE 

(AZTEC  RITE) 
THE  GREAT  FIRE-TEMPLE  OF  TEOFL,  MEXICO 

TIIK    N.\(KIII<IM.     All  Alt     I  |-I)N     Willi  II      llli:     IIIMXN      \I(IIM     \\  V^     l'l\<Kll     \t  I  I  II      IIIK 
oiMKii     or    <ijri\<.    oil     III-    lii:\iii     \mi    iiikn    <on-imi\(.    ii     is     iiii     i  iki    isiiw  i - 


iiuny   i>r   ilK-   .lusBi!    I.,    I.imky    Kllin-Cmpoiutliiii,    Nt-w    York,    wlili    ilio   cullaburatloii 
..I    I!.    K.    I'oli-lmUKll.    WlislilnKti.il,    1>.    I'.  • 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  385 

RECENT  AMERICAN  FORM 

Notes  on  the  Mayan,  Mexican,  and  Peruvian  Rites 

In  so  far  as  this  grade  of  culture  is  represented  with  still  more  recent 
developments  by  the  extinct  civilisations  of  Central  and  South  America, 
the  latter  should  claim  our  final  attention,  if  only  to  indicate  in  a  general 
way  how  the  apparently  startling  archaeological  facts  can  probably  be 
explained  as  a  continuous  development  from  ancient  Asiatic  models,  and 
do  not  necessitate  a  direct  borrowing  from  any  of  the  while  invaders,  real 
or  suppositious. 

(1)  It  should  not  be  surprising,  for  instance,  that  the  font  or  water-basin 
should  be  a  fairly  universal  institution,  the  idea  of  purification  from  moral 
guilt  being  as  conspicuous  among  the  Toltecs  and  Incas  as  among  any  of 
their  predecessors.  If,  as  is  most  probable,  the  artistic  monuments  show 
points  of  connexion  with  eastern  Asia,  and  especially  Java,  it  is  only  to  be 
expected  that  the  ceremonial  bath-house  should  accompany  them  and 
need  have  no  connexion  whatever  with  a  Christian  rite.  Such  washings 
are  familiar  enough  among  all  prehistoric  peoples,  and  as  to  the  Sign  of 
the  Cross  and  the  beautiful  legends  connected  with  it  (including  that  of 
the  Savior),  we  have  already  seen  that  both  Latin  and  Greek  Crosses  are 
as  old  as  the  human  race,  though  the  idea  of  a  dying  and  martyred  Christ 
must  of  course  be  attributed  to  Christian  sources.  All  these  things  are 
prophetical  and  symbolic,  and  Spanish,  Norwegian,  and  Christian-Asiatic 
influence  must  no  doubt  have  operated  in  particular  instances. 

(2)  In  like  manner  the  introduction  to  the  religious  mysteries  ap- 
proaches to  some  extent  an  initiation-rite.  Though  still  accompanied  by 
the  face  and  body  paint,  with  occasional  tattooing,  head-flattening,  etc.,  it 
reveals  its  more  civilised  character  by  the  perfected  school-system,  which, 
especially  in  Yucatan,  was  in  direct  control  of  the  higher  clergy.  The 
child  was  thus  liberally  educated,  and  at  the  same  time  consecrated  to 
religion. 

(3a)  Prehistoric  connexion  with  the  Old  World  is  once  more  suggested, 
though  by  no  means  proved,  by  the  truncated  pyramids,  step-towers, 
stone  altars,  and  temple-structures,  in  or  upon  which  the  originally 
unbloody  sacrifice  was  offered.  Many  of  these  temples  are  replete  with 
very  elaborate  carving  and  incised  picture-writing,  which  seem  to  postu- 
late a  long  period  of  artistic  development.  Here  also  the  "Mother  Corn"  is 
a  general  cult,  and  the  Mexican  "food  for  our  soul"  is  nothing  less  than 
an  altar-bread,  which  is  supposed  to  contain  the  divine  life  of  Tolque  or 
Teotl,  the  supreme  God  of  the  Pantheon.  That  this  was  in  part  a  feasting- 
ceremony,  is  unquestionable,  and  it  establishes  one  more  analogy  with 
the  angistoma  of  the  far  East.  In  sharp  contrast  to  this  is  the  terrible 
custom  for  which  Mexico  has  earned  the  lasting  condemnation  of  man- 
kind,— that  of  slaughtering  and  eventually  cremating  a  human  victim  "to 
pacify  the  gods,"  a  sufficiently  powerful  commentary  on  the  utter 
depravity  of  the  times. 


386  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

RECENT  AMERICAN  FORM 

Notes  on  the  Mayan.  Mexican,  and  Peruvian  Rites 

(3b)  A  conlroverted  question  is  that  of  the  number  of  human  victims 
that  were  annually  sacrificed  in  any  one  kingdom.  Allowing  for  possible 
exaggerations,  it  appears  that  a  minimum  of  20000  per  annum  must  be 
assigned  for  the  .\ztec  empire,  while  on  great  occasions  this  number  might 
be  quadrupled  within  the  spaco  of  a  few  days.  Not  prisoners  and  war- 
enemies  alone,  but  innocent  virgins  would  either  be  burnt  alive  or  thrown 
into  wells,  as  is  testified  by  the  Mayan  and  Peruvian  archives. 

(4)  The  practice  of  auricular  confession  is  a  form  of  penance  which  in 
view  of  parallel  customs  in  the  more  recent  Asiatic  world  and  throughout 
all  ages  of  human  history  should  occasion  as  little  wonderment  as  the 
"ablution"  of  water  or  the  "communion"  of  bread.  The  washings  and 
flagellations  which  accompany  it  are  another  relic  of  the  commonest  form 
of  self-humiliation,  though  here  again  we  cannot  exclude  remote  Christian 
influences.    Where  did  these  people  come  from,  and  when? 

(5)  An  elective  and  hieratic  monarchy  seems  to  have  been  the  prevalent 
form  of  government,  the  Montezuma  of  the  Aztecs  being  hieratically 
supreme,  but  otherwise  removable,  his  assistants  being  divided  into 
various  orders  of  warriors,  hunters,  medicine-men,  etc.  In  Yucatan,  how- 
ever, the  government  was  hereditary  and  absolute,  the  Mayan  King  and 
High-Priest  being  closely  united  offices.  The  same  for  the  most  part  in 
Peru.  Slavery  was  a  common  feature  inherited  from  an  undivided  past, 
and  in  no  sense  peculiar.  Rich  vestments,  plumed  coronets,  and  elaborate 
croziers  give  evidence  of  the  highest  artistic  taste,  though  the  painted 
mask  reveals  the  lingering  barbarism  of  the  times. 

(6)  While  there  is  a  growing  practice  of  professional  or  social 
endogamy,  developing  into  a  complicated  aristocracy,  the  prohibition  of 
marriage  to  those  who  are  even  remotely  akin  is  a  very  general  character- 
istic, the  few  exceptions  undoubtedly  proving  the  rule.  Marriages  were 
commonly  performed  by  the  priest,  the  Mayan  ceremony  being  preceded 
by  a  confession  of  sins  and  a  special  purification  by  water,  without  which 
the  function  was  invalid(!).  It  is  one  of  the  most  curious  facts  in  the 
history  of  morals,  that  although  monorjamy  with  the  strongest  sanc- 
tions for  female  chastity  and  for  family  virtue  were  ever  held  out  as  the 
highest  ideals,  concubinage  should  so  often  have  been  legally  permitted, 
and  divorce  as  easily  obtained.  But  this  is  only  in  harmony  with  the  other 
social  and  moral  contrasts  presented  by  this  period. 

(7)  Tombs  and  mausoleums  testify  to  a  high  regard  for  the  princely 
dead,  though  the  above  "burnings"  speak  as  eloquently  for  a  contempt  of 
the  body,  and  on  the  whole  we  may  conclude  that  we  are  here  in  presence 
of  a  double-sided  and  extremely  complex  stage  of  civilization.* 


»  Literature:— H.  H.  Bancroft,  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States,  (N.  Y.  1875).  Idem. 
History  of  Central  America,  History  of  Mexico,  (San  Francisco.  1886).  Bowditch,  Mexican 
and  Central-American  Antiquities,  B.  A.  E.  28th.  (Washington.  1904).  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega. 
Royal  Commentaries  of  Peru.   (London.   1688). 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  387 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

With  this  general  sketch  of  the  rise  and  development  of  the  more 
important  ritual  observances  under  each  head,  we  are  now  in  possession 
of  a  sufficiently  large  body  of  facts  to  be  able  to  form  an  opinion  as  to 
their  combined  nature  and  meaning,  to  draw  some  solid  conclusions  as  to 
their  religious  and  moral  content.  This  treatment  should  be  critical  and 
historical,  not  dogmatic  and  exegetical,  for  it  is  most  important  to  separate 
Christian  dogma  once  and  for  all  from  any  of  its  corrupt  forerunners,  and 
not  mix  up  the  revealed  Christian  ideas  with  what,  apart  from  the  Mosaic 
rites,  are  nothing  but  the  vague  gropings  of  the  human  heart  to  satisfy 
its  innate  longings  for  some  form  of  religious  expression,  some  assurance 
that  the  divinity  is  not  altogether  unapproachable. 

Separation  op  Medicines  prom  Sacraments 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  many  of  the  Christian  sacramental  actions 
show  undoubted  similarities  with  pagan  and  primitive  ceremonials,  and 
have  been  thus  identified  by  careless  and  superficial  writers,  it  will  be  cor- 
respondingly important  to  realise  that  a  similarity  of  (o7in  does  not  carry 
with  it  a  similarity  of  content,  but  that  on  the  contrary,  the  external 
mould  of  a  religion  may  be  strikingly  similar  in  all  the  ages  of  man  with- 
out postulating  any  similarity,  much  less  identity,  in  the  power  that  is 
believed  to  be  conveyed  in  these  rites.  In  this  way  the  various  purifica- 
tions and  immolation-ceremonies,  however  suggestive  of  supernatural 
power,  will  be  found  as  a  fact  to  dissolve  into  merely  natural  actions  for 
a  purely  natural,  however  moral  end,  they  cannot  be  mentioned  in  the 
same  breath  with  the  Seven  Sacraments  of  the  New  Law, — they  are  mere 
antidotes,  the  number  "seven"  being  a  Christian  stamp,  not  an  original 
pagan  possession. 

Separation  op  the  Holocaust  from  the  Divine  Sagripice 

In  like  manner,  the  ofTering  up  of  this  or  that  object  as  "sacred"  to 
the  deity,  and  the  dim  consciousness  that  the  god  is  in  some  cases  "slain" 
with  the  destruction  or  consumption  of  the  gift, — this  must  be  invariably 
interpreted  in  its  only  legitimate  sense,  as  the  outgrowth  of  a  purely 
natural,  however  perverted  feeling,  that  the  god  is  so  human  as  to  share 
with  man  the  infirmities  of  his  state.  This  can  be  easily  shown  by  the 
fact  that  the  god  to  be  immolated  is  invariably  a  created  demiurge  or  a 
super-terrestrial  being,  never  the  God  of  Heaven  in  His  unapproachable 
purity.  Here  then  we  have  an  absolute  criterion  for  separating  the  one 
all-sufficient  Sacrifice  from  any  of  its  miserable  forerunners,  and  to  show, 
moreover,  that  only  in  the  Jewish  Holocaust  have  we  a  direct  type  of  /.ts 
future  consummation. 

Let  us  now  see  how  all  this  applies  in  particular  instances. 


388  SACRIFICE   AND   SACRAMENTALS 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

I.  The  Rite  of  Baptism  Cannot  be  Derived  From  the  Primitive  Ablutions 

This  is  the  first  proposition  that  should  claim  our  attention  in  this 
regard,  though  such  an  exclusion  would  seem  to  be  self-evident.  The 
ablutions  practiced  by  primitive  peoples  were,  needless  to  say,  far  beyond 
the  reach  or  cognisance  of  any  supposed  "revivalists"  in  the  lands  of 
Palestine,  and  to  talk  of  a  borrowing  of  ritual  from  distant  savages  is 
clearly  absurd.  We  may  therefore  exclude  such  a  source  as  a  blatant 
anachronism, — it  is  too  far  ofT  to  furnish  the  presumable  model. 

Nor  From  the  Levitical  Washings 

A  more  insinuating  suggestion  is  that  the  Christian  rite  is  merely  the 
outgrowth  of  the  numerous  Levitical  sprinklings  and  "lavers  of  repent- 
ance", which  in  the  time  of  the  Messiah  were  undoubtedly  employed  as  a 
means  of  purification  from  sin.  Here  of  course  we  stand  on  a  more  solid 
and  rational  footing.  Even  if  the  "baptism  of  John"  was  without  any 
direct  antecedents,  it  shows  nevertheless  that  such  a  rite  could  be  practiced 
on  the  banks  of  Jordan  without  occasioning  any  extraordinary  comment. 
But  in  estimating  the  value  of  all  these  ceremonies  as  in  the  best  S':'nse 
"precursors",  there  are  three  points  that  make  the  Christian  rite  an  entirely 
novel  one, — the  repudiation  of  the  baptism  of  John,  the  dialog  with  Nico- 
ilemus,  and  the  invocation  of  the  Tri-Une  God.  For  to  take  the  most  glar- 
ing incident  of  all,  the  well-known  discussion  on  the  necessity  of  the  New 
Hirth,  it  is  impossible  to  account  for  the  extraordinary  question  of  the 
"ruler"  of  the  Jews  without  postulating  the  epoch-making  character  of 
tlie  new  revelation.  "How  can  a  man  be  born  when  he  is  old?  Can  he 
enter  a  second  time  into  his  mother's  ivomb,  and  be  born  again?  "  (John, 
3,  4).  This  remarkable  interpretation  is  a  direct  proof  that  the  Christian 
rebirth  was  unknown  to  Jewish  theology.' 

Nor  From  the  Mithraic  "Fonts" 

A  still  more  plausible  connexion  has  bi-en  discovered  by  others  in  the 
so-called  "baptisteries"  and  ceremonial  washings  that  accompanied  the 
Mithraic  orgies  in  the  Roman  empire.  The  word  "orgies"  is  here  used 
advisedly,  for  there  is  little  in  common  between  the  Mazdaean  Anahita  of 
old  and  the  much-corrupted  ritual  of  these  imperial  devotees  as  revealed 
in  the  only  liturgy  that  we  possess  for  this  period.  "They  flap  their 
wings  like  birds,  they  mimic  the  voice  of  the  crow,  they  howl  like  lions", 
says  a  Christian  writer  of  the  IV.  century,  and  the  remark  of  Tertullian 
that  (Mithras)  "promises  an  expiation  of  sins  through  the  sacred  font"  is 
evidently  meant  as  a  satirical  slur.' 


'Alfred  Edersheim,  The  Life  and  Times  of  Jesus  the  Messiah,  (London,  1903),  Vol.  I 
pp.  275,  386flf.  W.  Brandt,  Die  judischen  Baptismen,  (Giessen,  1910).  ^A.  Dietrichs,  Eine 
Mithrasliturgie,  (Berlin-Leipzig,  1910).  F.  Cumont,  Die  Mysterien  des  Mithras,  (Leipzig, 
1911),  p    139,  144.    Tertullian.  De  praescr.  heret.  40.  De  baptismo    c    5 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  389 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

Nor  from  any  of  the  "Life-Philosophies"  of  the  Time 

Admitting,  however,  that  many  of  these  sources  are  late,  doubtful,  or 
tarnished  by  personal  prejudice,  it  is  still  a  thankless  task  to  look  to  this 
quarter  for  inspiration,  even  under  the  most  favorable  light.  For  even  if 
it  be  granted,  as  indeed  quite  possible,  that  the  idea  of  a  new  life  associated 
with  the  sprinkling  of  water  was  still  a  comparatively  pure  concept,  there 
is  an  enormous  hiatus  between  the  "life"  of  Mithras,  a  species  of  solar 
archangel,  and  the  unique  Life  of  the  Divine  Trinity  as  conveyed  by  the 
Christian  rite.  We  do  not  realise  that  technical  terms  have  entirely 
changed  their  meaning  as  a  result  of  the  unique  fact  of  the  Incarnation. 
"Divine  Life",  in  the  neo-oriental  sense,  is  not  what  we  understand  by 
the  term,  the  raising  up  of  the  subject  to  the  level  of  a  personal  fruition 
of  a  single  incommunicable  Godhead  through  the  only-begotten  Son,  but 
rather  a  decidedly  scattered,  semi-pantheistic  notion  of  oneness  with  the 
creation  divinised,  the  "holy  water"  being  nothing  less  than  a  goddess, — 
Ardvi-Sura-Anahita — ,  who,  like  Ishtar  and  Hathor-Isis,  is  largely  iden- 
tified with  a  sacred  river,  not  with  a  direct  gift  of  the  Creator  Himself, 
(see  p.  359,  373).  While  willingly  granting  that  such  a  life  may  be 
ennobling  and  ultimately  God-given,  it  is  too  intermediate  and  secondary 
to  be  compared  to  the  Christian  gift. 

But  Must  be  Interpreted  by  the  Phenomen.4l  Consciousness  op  a  New 

Birth 

If  then  the  expression  "to  live  the  life  of  God"  cannot  be  taken  at  its 
face  value,  but  admits  of  as  many  interpretations  as  were  current  in  the 
Graeco-Roman  world,  it  is  nothing  less  than  a  crime  to  derive  the  Christian 
idea  of  regeneration  from  the  pagan  "new  birth"  as  understood  in  the 
contemporary  sects.  Even  the  externals  of  the  ritual  are  by  no  means 
identical,  the  Egyptian  bath-house  and  the  Mithraic  lavacrum  having 
little  in  common  with  the  Christian  font,  the  use  of  the  shell  being  very 
probably  of  Jewish-Christian  origin.  But  even  if  the  two  ceremonies  were 
externally  undistinguishable,  this  would  establish  at  the  outside  an 
identity  of  form,  not  an  identity  of  content.  For  that  which  lifts  the  rile 
of  Baptism  sky-high  above  all  its  predecessors  is  not  only  the  uniqueness 
of  the  Divine  Life  that  is  promised,  but  the  trinitarian  formula  by  which 
it  is  administered.  If  then  the  dogma  of  the  Trinity  cannot  be  derived 
from  any  triad-philosophies  of  the  day,  as  we  have  shown  in  our  first 
chapter,  it  is  equally  certain  that  the  invocation  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  raises  the  entire  ceremony  to  a  super-natural  level. 
This  is  not  a  philosophy,  but  a  heaven-imparted  mystery,  and  thus  the 
rite  in  which  it  is  clothed,  partakes  of  the  same  character.' 


'Compare  H.  Rahlenbeck,  Die  Einsetzung  der  Taufe  und  des  Abendmahls,  (Giitersloh, 
1907),  p.  7-13,  Lebreton,  Les  Origines  du  Dogme  de  la  Trinite,  (Paris,  1910),  Strzygowski, 
Ikonographie  der  Taufe  Christi,  (Munich,  1885).  Contra:  H.  Heitmiiller,  Im  Namen  Jesu, 
(Gottingen,  1903),  p.  256. 


390  SACRIFICE   AND   SACRAMENTALS 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

The  Rite  of  Baptism  is  Typified  in  the  Lustration-Ceremony 

With  this  genera]  principle  well  in  the  foreground,  the  question 
nalurally  arises,  what  could  havp  been  the  meaning  or  the  providential 
purpose  of  the  numerous  liturgical  washings  which  are  so  prominent  in 
nearly  every  age  of  mankind.  We  have  seen  that  the  use  of  water  as  a 
purge  from  the  initial  defilement  is  the  most  universal  rite  of  which  we 
have  any  knowledge,  being  as  conspicuous  among  the  East-Indian  primi- 
tives as  among  the  highest  Cordilleran  peoples.  It  precedes  circumcision, 
scarification,  or  tattoo  by  indefinite  ages,  these  being  originally  manhood- 
ceremonies.  That  some  of  these  dippings  or  sprinklings  should  be  con- 
nected with  birth  is  indeed  quite  natural,  they  are  often  purely  hygienic 
in  nature,  being  little  more  than  sanitary  ablutions.  In  many  cases,  how- 
ever, there  seems  to  be  a  distinct  impression  that  some  kind  of  praeler- 
natural  help  is  thereby  conveyed,  that  "life,  health,  strength,  blessing", 
formerly  lost,  are  thereby  restored  by  the  Father  of  all,  the  invocation 
"May  Heaven  help  you"  being  probably  at  its  foundation. 

But  Transcends  the  Water-Ablution  is  its  Beatific  Effect 

But  does  this  imply  a  real  cleansing  from  the  moral  guilt  of  original 
sin?  It  would  be  impossible  to  say  that  such  could  be  its  elfect.  The 
strong  consciousness  of  a  moral  fall,  of  the  loss  of  divine  friendship,  of 
eternal  life,  suggests,  it  is  true,  its  negative  basis,  its  positive  character 
as  a  purification-rite  being  revealed  by  the  equally  vivid  persuason  that 
the  birth  of  an  infant  is  a  solemn  moment  to  be  immediately  consecrated 
to  heaven  by  appropriate  fasts  and  penances,  sometimes  even  by  the  full 
Couvade,  as  in  Borneo,  Melanesia,  and  Brazil,  and  finally  that  the  deluge 
was  sent  as  a  punishment  for  neglecting  these  or  similar  birth-customs. 
(See  the  above  data.)  All  this  is  the  effect,  no  doubt,  of  some  past  revela- 
tion concerning  a  divine  estrangement,  which  is  sought  to  be  healed  by 
a  corresponding  purge.  But  that  such  a  purge  should  confer  the  potency 
of  a  supernatural  beatitude,  of  seeing  the  All-Father  face  to  face,  is  con- 
tradicted by  everything  that  we  know  of  the  eschatology  of  these  peoples. 
They  go  to  the  island  of  fruits  or  the  underworld,  never  is  there  a  hint  that 
they  enjoy  the  Divine  Being  ^/,v  xuch,  it  is  a  purely  naturalistic  recompense. 
(See  under  Life-Eternal  below,  p.  462-500).  If  then  the  future  life  falls 
infinitely  short  of  a  Beatific  V'ision,  it  will  follow  that  none  of  the  pre- 
Christian  rites  are  capable  of  granting  what  in  its  essence  is  a  supernatural 
effect.  We  may,  therefore,  appropriately  describe  these  acts  as  pre- 
liminary cleansing-rites,  congruous  purification-ceremonies.* 


*  For  the  typical  meaning  of  the  pre-Christian  rites  consult  St.  Thorn.  3,  qu.  70,  a.  4. 
Scotus,  in  4  dist.  1,  qu.  3,  7.  Suarez.  disp.  4,  3-4.  "Nor  is  it  to  be  believed  that  even  before 
the  institution  of  circumcision  the  servants  of  God,  in  so  far  as  they  had  a  faith  in  a  Mediator 
to  come  in  the  flesh,  did  not  help  their  little  ones  by  some  sacrament  of  his  love,  although  the 
Scripture  for  some  necessary  reason  wishes  to  conceal  its  precise  nature"  (S.  Aug.  c.  JuL 
V.  11,  n.  45.     Comp    Tanquerey,  Synnp    Theol.  Dogm.  Ill,  2,  ISSfT  ) 


SACRIFICE  AND   SACRAMENTALS  391 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

Prehistoric  Ablutions  Are  Essentially  Deficient 

Such  a  congruence  is  brought  into  still  bolder  relief  by  the  fact  that 
even  in  the  ages  of  greatest  decadence  we  find  these  or  similar  practices 
connected  with  birth  and  with  the  supreme  cosmic  divinity, — "May  Sun- 
god  protect  this  boy",  "May  Heaven  forget  it".  (India,  Africa).  It  is  true 
that  the  water  is  frequently  supplemented  by  oil  (India),  by  grease  (Aus- 
tralia), or  by  Indian  red  (North-America),  the  sign  being  more  frequently 
totemic  or  circular,  but  the  idea  is  essentially  the  same,  the  deity  is  asked 
to  save  and  protect,  to  forget  and  forgive,  the  latter  petition  clearly  imply- 
ing a  state  of  guilt  in  the  new-born.  In  the  later  neolithic  and  copper  age 
pure  water  is  once  more  employed,  but  the  expulsion  of  demons  becomes 
uppermost: — "With  pure  sparkling  water,  with  bright,  shimmering  ivater, 
seven  times,  and  again  seven  times,  besprinkle,  cleanse,  purify!"  (Baby- 
lonia). In  all  these  cases  there  is  abundant  evidence  of  the  negative  cult, 
of  the  warding  off  of  sinister  influences,  but  positively  no  evidence  that 
the  recipient  is  in  possession  of  more  than  an  e.xpurgating  spell,  of  some 
means  bv  which  the  powers  of  evil  are  held  more  or  less  in  check,  (p. 
359). 

The  New  Birth  Marks  a  New  Era  in  the  History  of  Mankind 

It  will  therefore  be  sufficiently  clear  that  all  the  pre-Christian  rites  must 
be  looked  upon  as  partial,  imperfect,  and  to  some  extent  typical,  for  in 
all  the  great  works  of  the  divine  mercy  there  is  always  something  that 
"goes  before",  something  that  "prepares  the  way  of  the  Lord"  by  remov- 
ing the  obstacles.  This  levelling  down  of  the  mountains,  desired,  but 
hardly  obtained,  in  the  pagan  rites,  reaches  its  logical  fulfilment  in  the 
purifying  laver  of  the  Baptist,  who  thus  becomes  the  immediate  forerun- 
ner of  "Him  who  shall  baptise  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  Fire" 
(Mat.  3,  11).  Here  we  have  the  direct  testimony  of  a  Jewish  ascetic  to  the 
conditional  efficacy  of  his  own,  and  therefore  of  all  previous  baptisms. 
But  this  is  not  all.  The  Messiah  Himself  descends  into  the  waters  of  the 
Jordan  and  submits  to  the  rite,  showing  that  He  regards  it  as  the  stepping- 
stone  to  the  New  Kingdom.  "Go  ye  therefore  and  teach  all  nations,  BAP- 
TISING THEM  IN  THE  NAME  OF  THE  FATHER  AND  OF  THE  SON  AND 
OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST"  (Mat.  28,  19).  "He  that  believeth  and  is  baptised 
shall  be  saved,  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  condemned"  (Mark,  16,  16). 
"Unless  a  man  be  born  again  of  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  cannot  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God"  (John,  3,  5).  These  repeated  commands  in  the 
name  of  the  Tri-Une  God  show  with  accumulating  force  that  the  Baptism  of 
Water  raises  the  subject  to  an  entirely  new  and  hitherto  unattainable  level 
in  the  divine  fruition,  it  stamps  the  soul  with  the  image  of  the  Holy 
Trinity  and  gives  him  the  faculty  of  seeing  God  face  to  face, — a  permanent 
'character".* 


'  S.  Thom.  3,  qu.  68-70.  Suarez,  disp.  4,  26.  Trent,  VII  (passim).  Tanquerey,  III,  2, 
225ff.  Compare  P.  Pourrat,  Theology  of  the  Sacraments,  (S.  Louis,  1910),  p.  93-203.  L. 
Caperan,  Le  Probleme  du  Salut  des  Infideles,  (Paris,  1912),  Vol.  II.  p.  80-110. 


392  SACRIFICE  AND   SACRAMENTALS 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

II.    The  Seal  of  the  New  Covenant  is  not  an  Initiation-Rite 

In  like  manner  the  various  maturity-marks  by  which  the  adult  mem- 
ber of  the  tribe  or  nation  is  commonly  raised  to  level  of  citizenship  can 
hardly  serve  as  the  basis  for  a  confirmation-rite.  These  ordeals  are  prac- 
ticed only  by  more  or  less  savage  peoples  in  the  wild  state  and  have 
absolutely  nothing  to  do  with  any  temple  dedications.  It  is  true  that  they 
have  a  semi-religious  significance,  quite  often  the  Father  of  all  is  invoked 
to  strengthen  the  candidate  in  the  observance  of  the  tribal  laws  and 
ordinances,  and  some  of  the  formulae  have  quite  an  inspiring  ring, — "Be 
brave,  be  generous,  be  true!"  More  often,  however,  they  are  not  distinctly 
associated  with  any  divine  names,  they  are  for  the  most  part  endurance- 
tests,  by  which  the  juvenile  is  given  a  foretaste  of  what  he  is  to  expect  in 
life,  and  how  he  is  to  fight  the  powers  of  evil.  In  these  ceremonials  the 
candidate  is  smeared  all  over  with  turmeric  or  palm-juice,  he  is  appro- 
priately declared  a  "man",  and  the  antu  is  invoked  to  protect  him  from 
evil.  In  later  ages  the  maturity-rites  become  more  severe.  The  fasts  are 
rigorous  and  prolonged,  and  are  accompanied  by  tooth-filing  or  tooth- 
pulling,  shaving  with  sharp  shells  or  flints,  scarifying  or  cutting  the  skin, 
and  above  all  by  circumcision,  the  most  distinctive  rite  of  the  totem-cult. 
The  body-paint  is  now  most  elaborate,  and  the  circular  and  spiral  designs 
testify,  in  union  with  the  mythology,  that  dedication  to  the  sun,  the  snake, 
or  the  serpent,  is  the  leading  theme,  the  sun-ancestor  being  fundamental. 
This  seems  to  be  of  fairly  wide  distribution,  the  sexual  part  of  the  cere- 
mony being  wanting  only  in  North-America.  Here,  however,  we  have  the 
elaborate  rite  of  "acquiring  the  guardian",  which  in  union  with  many  of 
the  above  practices  constitutes  the  severest  preparation  that  we  know 
of, — "Waknnda,  here  needy  stands  he,  and  I  am  he!"  As  to  the  ghost- 
dance  and  the  fire-walk,  with  their  masquerades  and  their  phallic  fertilisa- 
tion-magic, they  represent  the  extreme  development  of  nature-worship, 
and  are  about  as  far  removed  from  a  religious  ceremony  as  the  spermatic 
"fire"  is  from  the  God  of  Heaven. 

Nor  Has  it  Anything  in  Common  with  a  Branding-Ceremony 

For  it  was  only  in  the  more  recent  period  that  the  element  of  fire,  form- 
erly applied  to  the  person,  was  gradually  applied  to  the  demons,  the  so- 
called  branding  and  tattooing  surviving  only  among  the  wilder  peoples 
or  some  of  their  modern  degenerates.  Exorcism  by  fire,  water,  and  oil,  is 
now  all  important,  but  the  torch  consumes  the  demons,  the  water  chases 
them  away,  the  whole  ceremony  is  prophylactic  rather  than  self-tortur- 
ing.— "/  ivill  raise  the  torch,  I  u-ill  consume  your  efpges,^may  the  con- 
suming fire-god  strengthen  my  hands!"  It  is  essentially  a  polytheistic 
fire-ritual.* 


•Compare  R.  C.  Thompson,  The  Devils  and  Evil  Spirits  of  Babylonia.  (London,  1913), 
and  Tallquist,  Maklu-Series,  (passim).  It  is  possible,  of  course,  to  emphasise  the  demoniacal 
clement  too  exclusively,  but  witch-burning  was  too  common  to  be  called  exceptional,  (see 
p.  359). 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  393 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

The  "Marks"  op  Mithras  Confer  Military  Degrees 

Still  less  pertinent  are  the  supposed  analogies  between  the  Christian 
^'seal"  and  the  Mithraic  initiation-ceremonies.  Here  also  Tertullian  com- 
pares the  rite  of  Confirmation  with  the  ceremony  by  which  the  military 
orders  were  enrolled, — "Mithras  signs  his  soldiers  in  their  foreheads!" 
But,  apart  from  the  entirely  difTerent  theological  meanings  underlying  the 
two  ceremonies,  and  allowing  also  for  a  liberal  influence  of  Christian 
custom  upon  all  the  surrounding  cults,  it  is  important  to  note  that  this  was 
not  an  imposition  of  hands,  as  in  the  Christian  rite,  but  a  branding  with 
red-hot  irons, — something  that  would  remind  the  recruit  of  his  loyalty 
to  the  army  of  the  "archangel"  by  marks  more  terrifying  than  directly 
inspiring.  The  similar  practice  of  besmearing  the  hands  or  the  tongue 
with  honey  must  be  traced  to  the  popular  belief  that  this  article  was  in 
some  way  connected  with  the  moon,  and  thence  with  a  vague  immortality 
in  the  skies.' 

The  Jewish  "Presentation"  is  a  Female  Restoration-Rite 

More  suggestive  in  some  respects  is  the  priestly  blessing  given  to  the 
mother  and  child  in  the  Jewish  Purification  or  Presentation.  This,  how- 
ever, is  a  birth-ceremony,  not  a  maturity-rite,  it  has  no  connection  with 
oils,  and  though  doubtless  foreshadowing  the  more  abundant  gifts  of  the 
New  Law,  it  seems  best  to  compare  it  to  the  modern  "Churching  of 
Women". 

The  New  Seal  Must  be  Traced  Directly  to  the  Messiah 

If  then  all  exact  analogies  to  the  rite  of  Confirmation  are  demonstrably 
wanting,  if  the  savage  unction  had  been  forgotten,  the  branding  and  sign- 
burning  hardly  known  except  as  a  pagan  travesty  on  the  New  Birth,  we 
are  forced  to  turn  to  the  personal  example  of  the  Messiah  in  the  early 
apostolic  circle  as  the  only  possible  basis  of  its  primitive  practice.  "Then 
they  laid  their  hands  upon  them,  and  they  received  the  Holy  Ghost"  (Acts. 
8,  17).  From  whom  was  this  post-baptismal  ceremony  derived?  Surely 
not  from  the  synagogue  or  the  temple,  for  it  had  no  connection  with  these. 
Not  from  the  Roman  liberalia,  for  this  was  a  dedication  to  the  state  gods. 
Not  from  the  seal  of  Mithras,  for  this  again  was  entirely  difTerent.  There 
remains  on  critical  consideration  but  one  possible  source,  the  example  of 
Him  who  in  His  treatment  of  little  children  "laid  his  hands  upon  them  and 
departed  thence"  (Matt.  19,  15).  It  was  the  divine  Hand,  extended  in 
blessing,  and  combined  with  the  Holy  Unction,  that  gave  birth  to  the 
Christian  seal: 

"I  SIGN  YOU  WITH  THE  SIGN  OF  THE  CROSS  AND  I  ANOINT  YOU 
WITH  THE  CHRISM  OF  SALVATION.  IN  THE  NAME  OF  THE 
FATHER,  AND  THE  SON,  AND  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST." 

This  practice  is  hinted  at  in  the  Apocalypse :  "Hurt  not  the  earth,  nor 
the  sea,  nor  the  trees,  till  we  have  sealed  the  servants  of  our  God  in  their 
foreheads", — the  divine  seal  imprinting  a  permanent  character.' 

'  Tertullian,  de  praescr.  haeret.  40.  Cumont,  Mysterien  des  Mithras,  p.  144.  «  See  Acts, 
8,17,196.    Apoc.  7,  3.    S.  Thom.  3,  qu.  72,  a.  1.    Tanquerey.  Til.  2.  274ff.    Pourrat,  82-85, 323ff. 


394  SACRIFICE   AND   SACRAMENTALS 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

III  (A)  The  Eucharist  is  not  the  Outgrowth  op  a  Sadaka-Sacrifice 

But  if  it  is  hopeless  to  force  the  idea  of  a  new  birth  in  the  Christian 
sense  out  of  the  prevailing  life-systems,  it  is  still  more  unprofitable  to 
search  for  any  first-fruit  or  "divine-banquet"  cults  as  the  supposed  model 
of  the  Last  Supper  and  of  the  Holy  Mass.  As  to  the  Sadaka  of  the  far  East, 
it  would  be  the  height  of  folly  to  imagine  that  such  a  cult  was  ever  known 
or  even  heard  of  in  the  Palestinian  hieratic  schools,  its  prophylactic  char- 
acter and  its  nomadic  open-air  ritual  being  as  far  removed  as  possible  from 
the  artificial  show-bread  ofTerings  of  the  temple  or  the  unleavened  cake 
ofTerings  of  the  Passover  rite.  Moreover,  its  purpose  and  meaning  are  as 
un-Jewish  as  they  are  non-Christian.  Unlike  the  Manna,  which  is  a 
miraculous  "gift"  of  God,  or  the  eucharistic  bread,  which  becomes  the 
Body  of  Christ,  the  sacred  flower  or  the  coconut-blossom  is  a  wild  product 
of  the  jungle  which  is  ofTered  to  the  Father  in  Heaven  just  as  it  grows  in 
nature,  it  requires  no  elaborate  preparation  and  has  nothing  to  do  with  a 
temple-rite.  Moreover,  though  associated  with  a  healing  and  life-restor- 
ing quality,  it  functionates  as  a  mere  channel  of  the  divine  mercy,  it  is  a 
mere  symbol  of  the  divine  benevolence,  it  has  no  essential  or  vital  relation 
to  the  divinity  as  such,  the  only  exception  being  that  of  a  supposed 
demiurge  who  appears  under  the  fruit  form.  To  imagine  that  this 
should  have  been  revived  by  the  Messiah  in  the  shape  of  a  love-feast,  when 
it  had  long  been  forgotten,  except  perhaps  by  a  few  bedouins  in  Arabia,  is 
entirely  incredible.  The  Sadaka  is  a  mere  offering  of  fruits  to  the  divinity, 
not  the  calling  down  of  the  divinity  from  His  throne  in  Heaven, — it  is,  as 
we  have  seen,  a  purely  symbolic  rite.    (See  p.  320ff.) 

MuGH  Less  op  a  Totem-Cult 

Some,  however,  have  gone  considerably  further  in  suggesting  that  the 
sacramental  eating  of  the  consecrated  species  is  the  relic  of  an  age  when 
the  totem-ancestor  was  believed  to  be  devoured  in  the  form  of  some  vege- 
table herb  in  the  hope  of  sharing  the  praeternatural  qualities  of  that 
ancestor.  This  extraordinary  and  slightly  blasphemous  theory  has  found 
several  advocates  in  our  own  day,  but  we  need  waste  no  time  in  refuting 
it.  Totemism  had  been  buried  for  thousands  of  years  in  Western  Asia, 
find  to  draw  the  remotest  parallelism  between  reincarnated  bongas  and 
avatars  of  India,  or  the  wheat-gods  of  Egypt  and  North-America,  and  the 
unique  giving  of  the  Savior  of  the  world  in  the  Sacrament  of  His  love  is 
little  short  of  deliberate  sacrilege.  The  totem  contains  the  pre-human 
"ancestor",  nothing  approaching  to  a  Divine  Personality.  God  and  nature 
are  so  confused  in  the  minds  of  the  natives  that  to  speak  of  a  "divine 
presence"  in  the  monotheistic  sense  reveals  a  deplorable  ignorance  of  the 
meaning  and  portent  of  these  wonder-working  charms." 


•Compare  Frazer,  Totemism  and  Exogamy,  Vol.  IV.  p.  230,  (Magical  and  utilitarian 
aspect  of  the  totemic  "sacrament").  Idem,  The  Golden  Bough.  (1907).  p.  228,  (Mysteries 
of  Attis),  p.  330.   (Osiris,  the  Corn-god).     See  above,  p.  349ff. 


SACRIFICE   AND   SACRAMENT ALS  395 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

Nor  is  it  Derived  F'rom  the  Babylonian  "Bread  and  Water  of  Life" 

Another  suggestion,  though  no  longer  put  forward  with  much 
seriousness,  is  that  the  Adapa-legend  of  Babylonia  furnishes  the  long- 
sought  basis  for  a  tradition  on  the  "bread  and  water  of  immortality".  We 
know  that  bread,  water  and  wine  were  ofTered  up  to  the  divinity  by  the 
earliest  kings  and  undoubtedly  associated  with  some  life-  or  health- 
restoring  quality.  Nor  is  there  any  reason  to  question  that  some  quasi- 
divine  power,  physical  or  moral,  was  believed  to  be  conveyed  in  these 
elements.  But  we  have  carefully  noted,  that  the  formulae  employed  in 
these  invocations  are  one  and  all  polytheistic,  it  is  not  Anu,  the  god  of 
heaven,  that  operates  in  these  rites  but  the  entire  pantheon, — '7n  these 
breads  is  contained  the  abundance  of  the  gods!"  Even  if  the  expression 
dingirinekam  be  taken  as  a  Sumerian  abstract  for  godhead  in  general,  for 
"divinity",  the  Assyrian  transcriptions  show  pretty  clearly  that  a  pluralism 
is  here  implied, — "Receive  the  banquet  of  all  the  great  god,s!"  (p.  361). 
It  is,  therefore,  grossly  absurd  to  draw  the  faintest  comparison  between 
the  naptani  Hani  and  the  Christian  cenacle,  between  the  Babylonian 
sukum  and  the  Sacred  Host.  Moreover  the  entire  ceremonial  was  far  too 
remote  in  its  nature  and  origin  to  have  had  any  influence  in  the  West- 
ern-Semitic world,  and  had  long  been  superseded  by  a  largely  sanguinary 
ritual,  in  which  the  lion  or  the  antelope  played  the  principle  part.  With 
all  the  edifying  aspect  of  the  old  Sumerian  worship,  it  would  be  a  fatal 
mistake  to  suppose  that  it  greatly  survived  the  fall  of  Babylon,  or  even  the 
last  Sumerian  dynasty." 

Nor  From  the  Egyptian  or  Eleusynian  Mysteries 

The  same  remarks  apply  to  the  Osiris-cult  of  the  lower  Nile  and  to  the 
various  ambrosial  "nectars"  that  were  commonly  associated  with  the 
Graeco-Roman  gods.  The  sacred  corn  of  Egypt  was  the  "body"  of  Osiris- 
Isis,  a  male  and  female  couple,  whose  solar  and  sexual  features  dragged 
them  down  to  the  level  of  purely  natural,  if  not  actually  depraved  in- 
fluences, they  became  the  parents  of  the  most  corrupt  form  of  "afTmity"- 
worship  (p.  366).  And  as  to  the  Hellenistic  nectars,  they  are  too  trivial  to 
be  talven  seriously.  "Hooey-Kooey!"  "Heaven-Earth!"  "Up-Down!" 
"Holy-Strong!" — such  was  the  climax  of  the  Eleusynian  rites,  and  in  the 
Dionysian  orphic  mysteries  the  hierophant  bawls  out  from  the  top  of  his 
lungs: — "The  bull  brought  forth  the  dragon,  and  the  dragon  the  bull!" 
In  the  interpretation  of  all  these  rites  it  is,  therefore,  essential  to  analyse 
them  into  their  constituent  natural,  mimetic,  and  polytheistic  parts,  and 
not  to  make  them  serve  as  the  basis,  even  the  most  remote,  of  a  monothe- 
istic and  supernatural  banquet.^' 


1*  The  later  Assyrian  sacrifices  become  increasingly  bloody.  Ashurbanipa!  pours  out  liba- 
tions over  slain  lions.  See  Jeremies.  OT.  II.  116.  i^  Hyie-Kyie  (Eleusis  III),  Hieron- 
Brimon  (Eleusis  II,  138),  Tauros-Drakon  (Dionysos  VIII,  155)  apud  Dietrichs,  op.  cit.  pp. 
214,  213,  215.  Compare  Reitzenstein,  Die  Hellenistischen  Mysterien-Religionen,  (1910),  for 
Gnostic  and  Egyptian  mysteries. 


396  SACRIFICE   AND   SACRAMENTALS 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 
Nor  is  it  Borrowed  From  the  Mithraic  Suppers 

But  the  nearest  external  resemblances  are  supposed  by  many  to  be 
contained  in  the  magical  formulae  that  were  pronounced  over  the  so- 
called  "elements"  in  the  Mithraic  lovo-feasls.  "In  the  Mazdaean  Mass", 
writes  Cumont,  "the  celebrant  consecrated  bread  and  water,  which  he 
mixed  with  the  stimulating  Haoma-juice,  and  consumed  these  foods  while 
performing  the  functions  of  the  divine  service".  "From  this  mystical 
meal,  especially  from  the  drinking  of  the  consecrated  wine,  they  expected 
supernatural  influences:  the  enervating  beverage  bestowed  not  only  phys- 
ical power  and  material  well-being,  but  also  the  spirit  of  wisdom;  it 
fortified  the  neophyte  in  his  battle  against  the  evil  spirits,  nay  more,  it 
gave  him,  as  it  did  to  his  God,  a  glorious  immortality".'"  H.  J.  Holfzmann 
and  Detrichs  take  largely  the  same  view,  and  the  grounds  upon  which  this 
ritual  is  projected  into  the  Roman  empire  and  made  to  serve  as  the  pattern 
of  the  Eucharist  and  of  the  Mass  are  several  undoubted  hints  at  a  "divine" 
banquet  among  very  early  writers  and  a  singularly  suggestive  bas-relief, 
in  which  the  adepts  are  sitting  around  a  table  and  apparently  offering 
cruciform  altar-breads  and  a  vessel  containing  the  sacred  haoma.  (See 
p.  375.)  That  this  ceremony  was  known  to  the  early  fathers  seems  cer- 
tain, Justin  refers  to  it  in  his  Apology,  and  Tertullian  speaks  of  it  in  iron- 
ical terms, — "Mithras  celebrates  even  the  offering  of  bread", — and  he 
traces  his  mimicking  of  Christian  rites  to  the  "devil"." 

Now  this  is  precisely  the  one  suspicious  feature  in  all  these  attempts 
to  make  the  Christian  Eucharist  "grow"  out  of  the  contomi)orary  love- 
feasts.  The  fact  that  ecclesiastical  writers  denounce  these  rifes  as  hum- 
bug, as  miserable  imitations,  this  alone  should  make  us  beware  of  attribut- 
ing too  high  a  character  to  them,  and  tlie  liturgy  discovered  by  Diefrichs 
must,  if  genuine,  be  described  as  a  piece  of  religious  baffoonery.  "Whistle, 
snarl,  grunt!  Draw  your  breath  three  times!"  "Helios,  thou  lord  of 
heaven!  Mithras,  thou  god  of  the  rock!"  '=  Admitting,  however,  as  quite 
probable,  that  the  "angel  of  light,  truth,  and  friendship"  was  still  believed 
to  impart  his  benign  character  in  a  more  or  less  dignified  consumption  of 
a  celestial  food,  it  is  all-important  to  realise  that  this  fond  was  thr 
divinised  soul  of  the  primitive  ox,  mountains  apart  from  the  Body  and 
Blood  of  a  personal  Messiah,  given  under  the  concealed  forms  of  Bread 
and  Wine.  "/  am  Haoma  the  Holy,  the  driving-death-afnr!"  Thf  Mys- 
teries of  Mithras,  however  appropriate  for  their  age  and  cliaio,  <  annot 
touch  the  transcendent  mystery  of  divine  Love.  For  Milhrns  i?  the  Sun 
of  Heaven,  not  the  uncreated  Son  of  God!^' 

Moreover,  it  cannot  be  insisted  too  often  that  the  apparently  close 
similarities  between  all  these  symposiums  and  the  external  setting  of  the 
divine  banquet  can  easily  be  explained  by  Jewish-Christian  influence.  The 
enormous  gap  between  the  Persian  haoma  and  Mithraic  "bread  and  wine" 
is  a  positive  proof  of  such  influence. 


'"Cumont,  Die  Mysterein  des  Mithras,  p.  145-147.  "Tertullian,  Uc  ;irae^ci .  hacret.  40 
Justin,  Apol.  I,  66.  S.  Jerome,  epist.  ad  Laetam,  107.  "  Dietrichs.  Eine  Mithrasliturfjie. 
pp.  7,  11,  218,  (invocations).    "See  pp.  374-375  above. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  397 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 
Nor  From  the  Jewish  Funeral-Feasts 

A  final  source  for  the  Last  Supper  has  been  discovered  by  others  in  the 
memorial  banquets  celebrated  by  the  Jews  as  a  pious  tribute  to  their 
departed  ancestors.  Such  a  love-supper  would  be  natural  enough  in  any 
age  of  humanity,  and  appears  to  have  been  widely  practiced  by  the  Jews 
of  the  diaspora,  as  it  was  certainly  not  unknown  to  the  Palestinian  faithful. 
But  it  seems  to  be  sufficiently  clear  that,  however  much  such  an  eating 
and  drinking  may  have  been  associated  with  the  "body"  of  the  deceased, 
with  a  mystical  acquisition  of  some  of  his  virtues,  there  is  one  all-absorb- 
ing incident  that  makes  anything  approaching  to  a  realistic  "giving'  of 
the  body  of  the  dead  an  impossible  thesis  to  maintain.  "This  is  a  hard 
saying.  Who  is  able  to  receive  it?"  "How  can  this  man  give  us  his 
flesh  to  eat?"  "And  after  this  many  of  his  disciples  went  back,  and 
walked  no  more  with  him".  (John,  6,  61,  53,  67).  Here  we  have  an  irre- 
fragable proof  that  such  a  feasting  on  the  body  of  the  ancestor  was  taken 
to  be  purely  mystical  and  allegorical,  and  that  when  these  startling  words 
fell  from  the  lips  of  the  Messiah,  they  came  as  a  thunderbolt  to  the  Jewish 
mind.  If  then  we  may  say  with  some  propriety  that  Christ  was  eating  His 
own  funeral  supper  in  a  higher  sense  in  the  Holy  Eucharist,  it  is  no  less 
evident  that  this  Supper  possessed  a  theological  content  entirely  unknown 
to  the  funeral  feast. 

But  Must  be  Traced  to  the  Direct  Institution  op  the 

Redeemer  Himself,  and  Founded  Proximately  on  the  Passover-Rite 
There  remains,  therefore,  but  one  possible  foundation  for  the  Christian 
Cenacle-rite.  While  the  external  aspect  of  all  sacred  meals  must  partake 
of  some  similarity,  while  the  various  stages  of  the  divine  supper  were  no 
doubt  redolent,  now  a  Mithraic  feast,  now  of  an  Eleusynian  mystery,  now 
of  a  Jewish  funeral  dirge,  the  unity  and  unicity  of  the  entire  action,  culmi- 
nating in  the  extraordinary  words  of  Institution,  cuts  it  off  completely 
from  any  of  its  profane  imitations,  while  the  general  setting  of  the 
prayers,  and  still  more  that  of  the  sacred  table,  betrays  its  connexion  with 
the  Jewish  Passover.  It  is  here  then  that  we  may  look  for  the  proximate 
model  of  the  Christian  Eucharist;  though  this  must  not  imply  a  simple 
taking  over  of  the  Talmudic  ritual.  The  Jewish  Haggadah  furnished  at 
most  the  framework  of  an  entirely  new  and  divinely  established  sacrificial 
action.  And  with  this  we  have  arrived  at  the  most  wonderful  event  in  the 
world's  history,— the  giving  of  God  Himself  as  the  Paschal  Lamb  of  the 
New  Covenant. 

"THIS  IS  MY  BODY"— "THIS  IS  MY  BLOOD" 
In  these  words  we  discern  the  "double  sword"  of  the  eternal  High  Priest.'* 

"Literature:  F.  Bickell,  Messe  und  Pascha,  (Mainz,  1871).  Idem,  Die  Entnehung  der 
Liturgie  aus  der  Einsetzungsfeier,  (ZKT,  1880),  p.  90ff.  Idem,  Die  neuentdeckte  Lehre  der 
Apostel  und  die  Liturgie,  (ZKT,  1884),  p.  405ff  Probst,  L.turg.e  der  dre.  ersten  chri,  lichen 
jahrhunderte.  (Tubingen,  1870).  Edersheim  Essen.sm  and  the  Paschal  R-'f'  °Pp<^>t-  ?"P- 
I  325  II  181ff  Fr.  Renz,  Geschichte  des  Messopferbegnffs,  (Freismg  1901).  1-  Kaible, 
Der  Tabe'rnakel  einst  und  jetzt,  (Freiburg,  1908).  E.  Baumgartner,  Euchanstie  und  Agape 
im  Urchristentum,  (Solothurn,  1909).  Rauschen,  Euchanstie  und  Bussakrament  (F^^burg, 
1910)  Controversial :  H.  J.  Holtzmann,  Neutestamentliche  Theologie,  (Leipzig  1905). 
O  Holtzmann.  Das  Abendmahl  im  Urchristentum,  (ZNW,  1904),  Heft  2,  p  89^  Fr.  W.eland 
Mensa  und  Confessio,  (Munich,  1906).  K.  G.  GoeU  Die  heutige  Abendmahls  rage  (Le  pz.g 
1907)  Scholastic:  S.Thomas,  3,  qu.83ff.  Suarez,  disp.  74.  De  Lugo.  disp.  19.  lanquerey 
III,  427.    Pourrat,  106,  302ff. 


398  SACRIFICE   AND  SACRAMENTALS 

GOMPAEIATIVE  CRITICISM 
III  (B)  The  Holocaust  is  Not  an  Immolation  of  God 

Turning  now  to  the  bloody  sacrifice,  the  offering  up  of  animal  life  to 
the  divinity,  we  have  seen  that  in  many  cases  this  is  a  simple  giving  of 
the  life  of  the  bird,  the  stag,  or  the  buffalo  a^  such,  there  is  not  the  remotest 
consciousness  that  the  divinity  is  in  the  gift  or  in  any  way  connected  with 
it.  "0  spirit  of  this  bird!  Ask  the  heavenly  Father  to  take  away  all  sick- 
ness from  us  and  to  keep  us  from  all  harm!"  The  bali  flaki  carries  the 
message  to  the  Sky-Father,  he  is  a  kind  of  angel  whose  blood  typifies  the 
consciousness  of  sin  in  the  worshippers,  not  the  immolation  of  the  God  in 
the  blood  of  the  bird  (p.  335).  The  same  of  the  Kor-loi-melloi  of  Malakka. 
tliough  here  the  human  blood  is  associated  with  a  shadowy  demiurge,  it 
is  the  fruit-god  that  is  offered  to  the  thunder-god  as  a  placation  for  the 
sins  of  mankind,  the  expression  pe-met-katop  being  moreover  extremely 
vague,  "heaven,  sky,  sun,  upwards",  or  what  not.  The  Australian  wallaby- 
olTerings  and  the  African  firstling-riti^s  evidently  partake  of  a  similar 
character.  In  no  single  case  is  there  any  evidence  that  the  God  of  heavi^n 
is  in  any  sense  sacrificed  in  these  functions,  and  in  this  they  are  sharply 
distinguished  from  the  later  totem-rites,  in  which  the  bird,  the  beast,  or 
the  reptile  are  undoubtedly  confused  with  the  supreme  divinity.  In  our 
elucidation  of  the  strange  concepts  underlying  these  rites  we  have  dis- 
covered, however,  that  the  whole  of  nature  is  falsely  looked  upon  as  tlic 
"body"  of  God,  and  to  speak  of  an  Australian  inkara  or  a  North-American 
wakan  as  remotely  identical  with  the  primitive  Sky-Father  would  be  the 
greatest  possible  blunder.  It  is  the  totem  that  is  sacrificed  in  these  rites, 
not  the  Maker  of  all,  the  generic  term  buru  or  wakanda  emphasising  its 
pantheistic  aspect. 

And  when  we  come  to  those  more  recent  exhibitions  of  sacrificial  feel- 
ing, in  which  the  divinity  is  actually  believed  to  substitute  himself  in  the 
place  of  the  sinner  and  to  "slaughter"  himself  for  man,  it  would  be  the 
wildest  fancy  to  imagine  that  the  animal  thus  substituted  was  identified 
with  anything  but  a  fieeting  demiurge  or  a  personified  cosmic  essence. 
It  is  either  Enlil,  the  "mighty  bull  of  Anu",  or  Enki,  the  "goat  of  wisdom", 
that  offers  his  exposed  liver  to  man,  never  the  Heaven-God  as  such, — He  is 
too  far  off  to  be  accessible.  Even  the  suffering  and  dying  Osiris,  slaugh- 
tered in  the  sacred  Ox,  (Serapis),  is  at  most  a  generative  principle  in  nature, 
whose  endless  genealogy  connects  him  witli  the  primitive  ocean,  not  with 
an  absolutely  First  Cause.  Moreover  these  "sons  of  heaven"  are  too 
numi'rous  and  grossly  materialistic  to  satisfy  the  most  elementary  defi- 
nition of  Sonship  in  the  revealed  Christian  and  theological  sense  in  which 
we  understand  it." 


"  See  G.  H.  Dalman,  The  Title  "Son  of  God,"  being  chap.  X  of  the  "Words  of  Jesus,|| 
(Edinburgh,  1902).  "Jesus  showed  no  cognisance  of  any  beginning  in  this  relationship," 
"nowhere  do  we  find  that  Jesus  called  Himself  the  Son  of  God  in  such  sense  as  to  suggest 
a  merely  religious  and  ethical  relation  to  God,"— it  was  an  Eternal  and  Physical  Sonship. 
(Ibid,  pp.  285,  287).  Compare  this  with  the  purely  moral  and  ephemeral  "sonship"  of  the 
demiurge,  sprung  from  the  rock  or  the  ocean  (':).  and  the  comparison  becomes  absurd. 


SACRIFICE  AND   SACRAMENTALS  399 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 
Nor  is  the  Sagaenic  Sacrifice  a  "Crucipixion"  of  God 

And  this  leads  us  to  tliat  most  insinuating  parallelism  of  all,  the  sup- 
posed anticipation  of  the  sacrifice  of  Calvary  by  the  occasional  scourg- 
ing, mocking,  torturing,  and  final  "crucifying"  of  a  human  victim,  with  the 
distant  hope  of  "saving"  the  race.  There  seems  to  have  been  at  times 
a  morbid  desire  to  punish  the  powers  of  heaven,  not  only  for  their  failures 
to  help,  but  also  to  place  the  sins  of  the  nation  on  the  shoulders  of  the 
deity,  to  make  him  suffer  for  the  guilt  of  mankind.  The  story  of  Bilindi- 
Yaka,  the  martyred  "brother"  of  the  Great  Spirit  of  Ceylon,  is  possibly  an 
early  reference  to  such  an  idea,  and  in  the  later  ages  of  man  these  examples 
seem  to  increase  in  direct  proportion  to  the  growing  depravity  of  the  race, 
they  become  more  and  more  terrible.  The  annual  death  of  Tammuz  with 
the  change  of  the  seasons,  the  wounding  of  Adonis,  the  crucifixion  of 
Prometheus,  the  cutting  of  the  body  of  Osiris  into  fourteen  pieces,  these 
are  but  the  prelude  to  the  offering  up  of  the  living  victim  as  impersonat- 
ing the  deity, — the  so-called  Sacaenic  Sacrifice.  In  these  ferocious  ordeals 
it  was  more  commonly  some  great  public  or  national  criminal,  who  was 
selected  to  bear  the  sins  of  the  people.  This  creature  was  put  to  every 
conceivable  outrage, — he  was  hailed  as  a  king,  mocked  with  a  sceptre, 
crowned  with  a  diadem,  beaten  with  rods,  and  finally  hanged, — a  suffi- 
ciently gruesome  ordeal  to  suggest  a  "passion-play",  a  vivid  portrayal  of 
divine  suffering. 

But  here  again  we  shall  find  that  the  supposed  parallelisms  cannot 
stand  the  test  of  theological  criticism.  For,  in  the  first  place,  the  "king 
of  the  Sacaea"  is  offered  to  Kronos,  Diana,  or  Artemis,  and  therefore  the 
man  is  offered  to  the  god,  not  vice  versa, — there  is  not  the  faintest  evidence 
that  Kronos  is  "slaughtered".  In  the  second  place,  the  anthropic  sacrifice 
of  a  god,  even  if  actually  believed  to  occur  in  the  Roman  Saturnalia,  must, 
by  all  the  laws  of  critical  fairness,  be  consigned  to  a  somewhat  different 
category  from  the  sacrifice  of  Him  who  was  so  phenomenally  conscious 
that  "He  and  His  Father  were  One".  The  anthropic  god  is  a  mere  mimic, 
a  mere  masquerade  of  divinity,  and  to  project  Christian  terminology  upon 
the  head  of  a  poor  benighted  criminal,  who  offers  himself  as  the  laughing- 
stock of  the  people  and  as  a  propitiation  to  "Father  Time",  is  a  palpable 
playing  with  words,  it  is  not  serious  science.  Finally,  though  the  Passion 
of  Christ  was  no  doubt  founded  in  part  on  the  treatment  of  Jewish  and 
Pagan  Malefactors,  the  more  startling  details  of  these  stories  appear  so  late 
that  they  may  well  have  sprung  from  a  gospel  source.  They  show,  if  any- 
thing, that  the  scene  in  the  Pretorium  and  Way  of  the  Cross  must  have 
taken  place  about  the  time  of  Tiberius." 


^^  Compare  H.  VoUmer,  Jesus  und  das  Sacaeenopfer,  (Giessen,  1905),  pp.  27-31.  Philo's 
story  of  the  "passion"  of  King  Agrippa  I.  (A.  D.  38)  coincides  strangely  with  the  approxi- 
mate date  of  the  gospel  event  and  reveals  the  antecedent  probability  of  the  narrative.  Could 
all  these  details  be  invented  and  later  fastened  upon  the  Messiah  ?  They  prove  the  historicity 
of  the  Sacred  Drama. 


400  SACRIFICE   AND   SACRAMENTALS 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

But  Both  Must  be  Regarded  as  Pseudo-Theistic  Anthropomorphisms, 
The  Objective  Redemption  Being  Typified  Only  in  the  Mystical  Lamb 

If  may,  therefore,  be  regarded  as  critically  certain  that  none  of  the  so- 
called  "immolations"  of  the  divine,  as  they  appear  in  the  pre-Christian 
records  of  the  race,  can  offer  the  smallest  approach  to  the  great  historical 
Tragedy  of  the  ages,  and  that  where  we  hear  of  an  apparent  "sacrifice" 
of  tho  god,  the  divine  name  must  be  written  in  small  capitals,  it  can  never 
be  made  to  cover  a  purely  theistic  concept.  It  is  simply  one  of  the  endless 
designations  for  the  powers  of  nature,  for  all-mother-earlh,  or  for  all- 
father-ocean,  never  for  the  Divine  Being  as  such, — He  has  long  been  for- 
gotten. For  it  is  precisely  in  the  earliest  period  of  the  race,  when  tlie 
Falher-in-Heaven  belief  is  still  comparatively  vivid,  that  we  find  a  simple 
ofTering  of  gifts  in  the  shape  of  first-fruits,  in  which  the  object  is  lifted 
up,  poured  out,  or  consumed,  without  the  remotest  feeling  that  the  divinity 
has  thereby  been  sacrificed. — the  immolation  is  in  the  worshipper  and  in 
the  object,  not  in  the  deity. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  would  be  missing  a  golden  opportunity  to  bring 
out  the  supernatural  character  of  the  Messiah,  were  we  to  ignore  the 
divine  and  evidently  prophetical  portent  of  some  of  these  rites, — of  those, 
namely,  in  which  the  supreme  God  of  Heaven  is  typically  slaughtered  in 
the  victim, — and  this  takes  place  only  in  the  Sacrificial  Lamb  of  the  Pass- 
over or  in  the  mystical  blood  of  the  Scapegoat  sprinkled  over  the  Ark  of 
the  Testimony  on  the  Day  of  Atonement.  Now  here  we  are  face  to  face 
with  an  unaccountable  fact.  However  unreal,  on  their  own  showing, 
these  divine  immolations  may  be  taken  to  be,  however  short  they  may 
fall  of  the  very  essentials  of  an  all-sufiicient  act,  they  show  nevertheless 
that,  by  some  extraordinary  premonition  of  heaven,  the  divine  was  asso- 
ciated with  suffering,  that  there  was  no  contradiction  between  an  ever- 
living  and  a  sometimes  dying  divinity.  We  are  here  in  presence  of  a 
paradox  which  defies  the  limits  of  natural  logic  to  explain.  How  can  the 
Immortal  clothe  Himself  in  the  garments  of  death?  No  stretch  of  reason 
can  bridge  the  awful  chasm  between  celestial  glory  and  divine  martyrdom. 
We  are  therefon^  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the  .Mmighty  has  pur- 
posely permitted  these  rites  in  order  to  reveal  their  essential  inadequacy. 
in  order  to  manifest  in  unmistakable  terms  that  He  alone  is  capable  of 
paying  the  infinite  price.  And  so  we  see  that  the  mystical  show-breads 
and  the  accumulated  hecatombs  of  antiquity  are  but  so  many  proofs  of 
the  Godhead  of  Christ  as  revealing  Himself  in  the  typical  Lamb,  they  dis- 
solve in  the  One.  all-sufTicient  Sacrifice  of  Calvary  and  in  the  Banquet  of 
His  Love.  The  veil  of  the  temple  is  now  rent  in  twain. — we  have  entered 
the  Holy  of  Holies." 


"Recent  literature:  J.  Riviere,  the  Doctrine  of  the  Atonement.  (London,  1909).  2  vols. 
Contra:  M.  Sabatier.  La  doctrine  de  I'expiation  et  son  evolution  historique.  (Paris,  1903). 
C.  A.  Briggs.  New  Light  on  the  Life  of  Jesus,  (New  York.  1909),  p  101-109  (Order  of 
events  in   Passion-week) 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS  401 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

IV.    The  Sacrament  of  Penance  Differs  From  the  Prehistoric  Expia- 
tions Both  in  Form  and  Content 

Another  and  in  some  respects  more  plausible  analogy  between 
Christian  and  Pagan  practice  has  been  discovered  by  many  in  those  un- 
doubted exhibitions  of  grief  and  sorrow,  followed  by  some  sort  of  atone- 
ment, by  which  the  savage  sinner  believes  that  his  sins  are  forgiven,  that 
the  powers  of  heaven  have  been  reconciled.  Such  penitential  actions  are 
well  within  the  limits  of  the  natural  law,  but  are  traceable  to  a  fear  of  evil 
rather  than  a  love  of  good, — an  imperfect  motive.  For,  we  universally 
find  that  physical  and  moral  sickness  are  closely  allied,  that  "they  must 
have  done  something  wrong  before  any  demon  gets  permission  from  the 
Father  above  to  attack  them"  (Malakka),  that  "disease  is  the  punishment 
for  wrong-doing"  (Philippines),  that  "there  would  be  no  disease  or  death 
if  all  men  were  good"  (Brazil).  This  means  that  the  cure  of  the  soul  goes 
hand  in  hand  with  that  of  the  body,  and  as  the  latter  is  treated  with  the 
usual  unguents,  more  especially  with  the  mystic  palm-branch,  the  exor- 
cism of  demons  is  at  the  same  time  an  exorcism  of  sin,  and  both  are  per- 
formed in  the  "medicine-hut"  by  the  paternal  chief  or  headman: — "0 
spirit-guides,  both  all  and  sundry,  both  large  and  small,  and  old  and 
young,  I  crave  your  help  in  healing  him,  whose  soul  is  sick,  whose  body 
stricken."  The  so-called  "healing"  which  follows  is  administered  by  tap- 
ping the  patient  with  the  palm-branch,  by  blowing  over  his  head,  or  by 
brandishing  the  bamboo  cross,  (Indo-Africa.)  Here  we  have  an  appar- 
ently suggestive  ritual,  which,  however,  is  lacking  in  the  very  essentials 
of  a  supernatural  rite.  For,  first, — sin  is  not  hated  for  its  own  sake,  but 
for  its  physical  consequences,— second,' — Ithere  is  no  manifestation  of 
guilt  except  in  globo, — and  third, — there  is  absolutely  no  mention  of  a 
single  divine  name  nor  any  evidence  that  a  "confession"  is  made  to  the 
Father  above.  While  all  this  may,  no  doubt,  be  vaguely  implied  in  the 
distant  recognition  of  a  Supreme  Power,  it  is  clear  that  it  falls  consider- 
ably short  of  a  supernatural  action. 

The  same  idea  is  found  in  more  explicit  development  among  the  totem- 
peoples,  though  here  the  opposition  between  good  and  bad  medicine, 
between  divine  power  and  witchcraft,  has  become  so  strong,  that  the 
patient  is  obliged  to  submit  to  every  kind  of  rough  treatment,  in  some 
cases  to  real  torture, — sweating,  bleeding,  laceration — ,  in  order  to  expel 
the  demon,  to  prove  his  innocence, — a  kind  of  third-degree  rite.  "Alas, 
thou  spirit  of  the  sun,  why  dost  thou  treat  me  thus?"  (India).  These 
wails  are  sufficient  to  show  that  the  divine  benignity  is  still  distant,  recon- 
ciliation has  become  more  difficult  than  ever." 


'*  The  extraordinary  formula  discovered  by  Bishop  Le  Roy,  "I  absolve  you,"  is  too 
exceptional  and  doubtful  to  serve  as  an  authentic  instance  of  prehistoric  "absolution."  Its 
content  is  entirely  vague  and  its  form  may  be  traced  to  a  possible  contact  with  Portuguese 
missionaries.  See  La  Religion  des  Primitifs,  (Paris,  1911),  pp.  247-250.  The  performer  uses 
the  buffalo  horn ! 


402  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

The  More  Recent  Analogies  Break  Down  on  the  Score  op  Polytheism 

And  when  wc  come  to  those  more  sppcific  ordeals  in  which  an  accusa- 
tion of  guilt  is  undoubtedly  made  to  some  particular  deity,  followed  by 
some  kind  of  priestly  assurance  that  the  guilt  is  pardoned,  it  would  savor 
of  the  greatest  superficiality  were  we  to  confound  these  semi-magical 
invocations  to  a  liighly  developed  pantheon  of  gods  with  the  prayers  and 
acts  of  the  Christian  penitent  or  the  absolution  given  in  the  name  of  the 
Tri-Une  God.  In  the  first  case  we  have  a  mere  catalog  of  faults',  not  an 
actual  confession  of  sin : — "Has  he  blasphemed  his  God?  dishonored  his 
father?  ill-treated  his  neighbor?  spoken  impurity?  been  fjuilty  of  theft? 
told  the  untruth?  And  the  self-accusation  which  follows  is  purely 
generic, — "0  Lord,  my  transgressions  are  many,  great  are  my  sins!",  while 
the  so-called  "absolution"  has  no  direct  connexion  with  this,  but  is  a 
magical  spell  pronounced  by  the  sangu  to  deliver  mankind  from  the 
charms  of  sorcery : — "Come  to  deliver  us,  thou  son  of  justice,  release  the 
ban!",  followed  by  an  incantation  to  every  power  in  heaven  and  earth, 
including  the  inanimate  sea.  While  there  is  ample  evidence  for  the  moral 
content  of  these  and  the  similar  exorcisms  in  the  more  recent  Asiatic 
world,  it  is  only  in  the  Mosaic  ritual  that  the  priestly  confession,  whether 
public  or  private,  is  otfered  directly  to  the  great  /  AM: — "Pardon,  0  Lord, 
pardon  thy  people,  and  be  not  angry  with  us  for  ever"  (Joel.  2,  17.),  but 
this  "covering  of  sin"  is  at  most  promissory.  We  must,  in  fact,  look  upon 
these  rites  as  purely  dispository,  as  preparing  the  soul  for  the  real  deliver- 
ance." 

The  New  Reconciliation  is  in  the  Hands  op  a  Single  Divine  Person.ality 

For  it  is  only  from  the  lips  of  the  Messiah  Himself  that  we  hear  that 
startling  announcement  that  "the  son  of  man  hath  power  on  earth  to  for- 
give sin",  "arise,  take  up  thy  bed  and  u-alk"  (Mat.  9,  6),  and  the  well- 
known  interpellation  of  the  scribes  "Who  can  forgive  sins  but  God 
only?"  (Mk.  2,  7),  is  a  direct  proof  that  the  Jewish  kappora  was  some- 
thing widely  diflerent  from  the  new  power  claimed  by  the  Son  of  God 
over  an  unredeemed  humanity.  But  more  than  this.  The  power  is  to  be 
transmitted  from  the  (Jreat  Healer  to  His  lawful  successors. — "H7io.se  sins 
ye  shall  forgive  they  are  forgiven,  whose  sins  ye  shall  retain,  they  are 
retained."  (John.  20.  23).  and  llie  repeatfd  instaiiccs  of  a  perstiiial  confes- 
sion of  sin.  of  a  direct  manifestation  of  guilt.  (James.  5,  iti.  .Vets.  19,  18), 
shows  that  the  exomologoumenon  is  essential  to  the  New  Sacrament. 

"I  ABSOLVE  THKE  IN  THE  NAME  OF  THE  FATHER.  AND  OF  THE 
SON.  AND  OF  THE  HOLY  GHOST." 

It  is  this  Trinitarian  formula,  gradually  forced  on  the  mind  of  the 
Church,  which  i-eveals  its  supernatural  (character  from  the  earliest  times. 
It  is  not  a  deliverance  from  the  charms  of  magic,  but  a  positive  confes- 
sion to  the  Father  of  all,  followed  by  an  pqually  positive  .Absolution. =" 

"P.  Dhorme,  La  Religion  Assyrio-babylonienne,  (Paris,  1901),  pp.  282-302.  »•  S.  Thorn. 
3.  qu.  84ff.  Suarez,  de  Poenit.  disput.  1-7.  Tanquerey,  III.  p.  4/5,  S31ff.  Pourrat,  1.  c.  pp. 
76.   152,  ,306ff.     Rauschen.   Euchari.stic  und   Btissacrament,    fFreiburg.   1010). 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  403 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

V.    The  Holy  Unction  Has  Nothing  in  Common  With  the  Prehistoric 
Ointment  Except  the  Name 

The  external  aspect  of  all  healing  rites  must  partake  of  a  certain 
similarity  the  world  over.  If  a  release  from  the  ban  of  witchcraft  is  bound 
to  assume  the  external  form  of  a  priestly  expurgation,  the  fear  an  impend- 
ing doom  naturally  causes  the  culprit  to  seek  a  similar  assistance  at  the 
approach  of  death, — he  uses  every  means  in  his  power  to  persuade  him- 
self that  forces  of  heaven  are  friendly,  that  the  nervous  spasm  Of  death 
will  be  reduced  to  a  minimum.  And  so,  it  should  not  be  surprising  that, 
by  the  most  spontaneous  of  human  instincts,  the  sufTerer  should  desire 
some  natural  specific  by  which  through  a  perverse  identification  of  moral 
and  physical  evil,  the  disease  is  hoped  to  be  cured, — he  uses  the  oil,  the 
grease,  or  the  fat  precisely  because  these  are  felt  to  be  helpful,  they  are  the 
only  medicines  that  he  knows  of.  In  all  these  so-called  "anointings"  it  is 
therefore  of  primary  importance  to  understand,  that  they  are  strictly 
material  or  utilitarian,  they  have  no  direct  connexion  with  a  forgiveness 
of  sins,  they  are  mere  medical  prescriptions,  therapeutic  spells.  "/  rub 
you  with  this  [at.  May  you  continue  to  live!"  (East  Indies,  Melanesia.) 
Even  in  the  Andaman  Islands,  the  tracing  of  the  "paint"  to  the  Father 
above  is  not  accompanied  by  any  consciousness,  however  remote,  that  the 
patient  desires  more  than  his  own  physical  well-being. 

Prehistoric  Exorcisms  are  Connected  With  the  Burial  Rite 

A  still  more  distinctive  phenomenon  is  found  in  the  fact  that  these 
rubbings,  aspersions,  sprinklings  with  blood  and  water,  and  so  on,  are 
essentially  coupled  with  the  burial-rite,  they  have  no  absolute  value  of 
their  own,  and  therefore  distinguished  toto  coelo  from  the  Christian  rite, 
which  has  no  immediate  connexion  with  the  funeral.  The  fifth  Sacra- 
ment stands  entirely  alone,  and  cannot  be  made  to  correspond  with  that 
which  is  last  in  the  ritual  of  the  savage  and  exclusively  so.  In  other 
respects  the  death-ceremonies  show  many  edifying  traits.  The  family 
will  gather  around  the  dying,  whisper  a  last  farewell,  and  with  little  more 
than  a  burial-bamboo  or  a  bow  and  arrow,  he  is  consigned  to  mother 
earth.  "Our  father  ivho  went  to  that  world,  come  to  this  world,  come  very 
quickly!"  This  Vedda  prayer  to  the  dead  reveals  some  consciousness  of 
intercommunion,  though  the  feeding  at  the  tomb  is  a  later  device.  The 
arms  are  sometimes  crossed  and  the  body  contracted,  but  tribal  chiefs  are 
commonly  buried  in  trees,  which  is  probably  a  very  old  practice.  In  all 
these  matters  we  are  dealing  with  the  most  spontaneous  feelings  of  the 
human  heart,  and  their  occurrence  at  this  early  stage  of  humanity  fur- 
nishes a  good  example  of  the  primitive  ideas  on  this  subject." 


•1  They  will  also  furnish  a  valuable  antecedent  for  the  traditional  orthodox  "funeral," 
the  custom  of  cremation  being  unknown  in  the  earliest  times,  or  at  least  rare  and  exceptional. 
(See  the  data  above.) 


404  SACRIFICE   AND   SACRAMENTALS 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 
Death-Ceremonies  Show  Considerable  Variations 

But  if  the  dignity  of  the  body  and  tiie  solemnity  of  the  moment  are 
visibly  brought  to  the  surface  by  these  and  the  mourning  services  which 
follow, — wailing,  fasting,  taboo,  strict  silence,  etc. — their  neglect  is  be- 
lieved to  be  the  cause  of  severe  visitations  from  heaven,  divine  friendship 
having  been  lost  by  "kicking  the  body  into  the  sea"  (Australia).  In  later 
ages  we  find  a  growing  indilTcrencc  to  the  fate  of  (he  body,  the  mummi- 
fication of  the  corpse  is  more  often  the  prelude  to  the  pyre-futieral,  the 
body  being  cremated,  and  the  bones  sometimes  collected  in  the  family  urn 
or  preserved  as  trophies.  Quite  often,  however,  the  body  is  thrown  into 
the  river,  or  given  to  the  hyaenas  to  eat  (Africa).  "You  are  going  back 
to  the  buffalos,  you  are  going  to  rejoin  your  ancestors", — such  is  tlie  only 
consolation  given  to  the  dying  North-American  Omaha. 

In  sharp  contrast  to  this  is  the  painful  care  that  is  given  to  the  dead 
or  dying  in  the  more  recent  stone  or  bronze  period.  Not  only  an  unction, 
but  even  an  embalmment  of  the  body,  is  or  becomes  the  general  rule  in 
V\'estern  Asia  and  Egypt,  the  corpse  is  placed  in  tomb,  temple-tower,  or 
pyramid,  the  soul  is  despatched  with  nearly  all  its  earthly  belongings,  it 
even  re-enters  the  tomb  by  means  of  the  "spirit-door"  in  order  to  partake 
of  the  rich  baiuiuet  prepared  by  the  relatives  to  keep  it  from  starvation! 
While  this  is  doubtless  an  extreme  practice,  the  custom  of  feeding  the  dead 
is  so  universal  that  it  may  be  called  typical  of  the  age,  with  the  final  result 
that  it  degenrrates  into  a  worship  of  ancestors,  (China).  In  still  later  his- 
toric times  the  burning  of  llie  dead  is  revived  with  great  pomp  and  cere- 
mony, and  is  again  indicative  of  a  more  pessimistic  outlook  into  the 
future,  being  the  normal  practice  in  the  days  of  the  Graeco-Roman  decad- 
ence and  in  fact  of  all  modern  degenerate  peoples.  Nevertheless,  the 
simple  earth-grave  has  never  been  forgotten,  it  exists  side  by  side  with  the 
soul-boat  or  the  funeral  urn.  and  the  last  riles  of  the  dead  are  still  in  evi- 
dence.   But  all  is  only  tentative  and  ephemeral. 

The  Christian  Sacrament  is  a  New  Institution 

"Is  any  man  sick  among  you?  Let  Inm  bring  in  the  priests  of  the 
church,  and  let  them  pray  over  him,  anointing  him  with  the  oil  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord.  And  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save  the  sick  man,  and 
the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up:  and  if  he  be  in  his  sins,  they  shall  be  forgiven 
him"  (James,  5,  14).  Here  we  have  for  the  first  time  an  anointing  of  the 
sick  coupled  with  a  supernatural  pardon : — 

"THROUGH  THIS  HOLY  UNCTION  MAY  THE  LORD  FORGIVE  THEE 
THY  SINS". 

It  is  this  "Extreme  Unction",  instituted  by  (Mirist  and  promulgated  by 
SL  James,  that  alone  avails  us,  foreshadowed  as  it  is  by  the  anointing  of 
His  own  body  in  anticipation  of  llis  li'iilh." 


"  Comp.  Matt.  26,  12.  27,  60.  John,  12,  3.  James,  S,  14-15.  "For  in  that  she  hath  poured 
this  ointment  on  my  body,  she  did  it  for  my  burial"  (Matt.  26,  12).  See  also  S.  Thom.  Supp. 
q   29flf     Suarez,  disp.  39-44     Tanquerey,  III    570ff     Pourrat.  op.  cit.  pp    101.  1 55   308.  3S2ff. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  405 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

VI.  The  Sacrament  of  Order  Has  No  Parallel  in  Prehistoric  Antiquity 

If  then  the  preceding  rites  can  hardly  be  made  to  fit  in  with  the  new 
channels  of  supernatural  powder,  either  in  their  nature  or  in  the  order  in 
wiiich  they  appear,  it  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  the  perpetuation  of  a 
priesthood  in  so  far  as  this  is  a  general  practice  among  the  nature-peoples, 
should  show  anything  but  the  most  distant  analogies  to  the  Christian 
Ordination-rile.  That  there  should  be  some  mediator  between  heaven  and 
earth,  is  only  to  be  expected,  but  his  office  cannot  in  any  sense  be  com- 
pared, either  morally  or  theologically,  to  the  extraordinary  position  of  the 
Christian  Priesthood. 

The  Primitive  Patriarchate  Cannot  Explain  it 

We  have  seen  that  in  the  first  ages  of  man  priest  and  family-father 
were  identical  terms,  which  in  view  of  the  rudimentary  social  state  was 
indeed  inevitable.  It  is  quite  clear,  for  instance,  that  in  the  first  human 
family,  the  father  was  ipso  facto  priest,  ruler,  and  doctor  all  in  one,  as 
there  was  no  one  else  to  usurp  the  office.  This  is  known  as  the  primitive 
Patriarchate,  or  father-rule,  of  which  we  have  abundant  evidence.  On 
this  system,  the  father  administers  the  entire  ritual  in  the  name  of  the 
All-Father  above,  and  thus  the  priesthood  is  derived  from  God,  the  Father 
of  the  human  race.  This  is  the  first  and  original  title  of  every  form  of 
divine  minister,  as  may  be  easily  proved  by  an  analysis  of  the  earliest 
terms, — Peng,  Penglima.  Pengulu,  Papa,  etc. — forms  which  go  back  to  the 
root  Ab  ov  Ap,  from  which  we  get  most  of  the  designations  for  Sky- 
Father.  Nay  more,  the  father  trains  his  son  to  succeed  him,  and  thus 
provides  for  the  needs  of  his  spiritual  posterity.  "May  your  life  be  long' 
I  nm  training  a  scholar  of  the  mind!"  (Ceylon).  This  preparation  natur- 
ally includes  a  moral  instruction,  an  explanation  of  the  tribal  mysterie.s. 
and  finally  a  delegation,  in  which  the  son  inherits  the  father's  powers, 
when  the  latter  can  no  longer  officiate.  As  an  external  sign  the  candidatf 
is  commonly  besmeared  with  oil,  turmeric,  or  some  kind  of  body  paint, 
he  receives  the  sacred  bamboo,  the  wand,  or  the  pastoral  staff,  he  is  bidden 
to  nurse  his  locks  of  hair,  and  after  a  short  fast  he  is  ready  to  assume  the 
duties  of  his  office.  Naturally  enough  celibacy  is  unknown  in  this  early 
stage  of  society,  the  jwuglimas  are  married,  but  as  they  believe  in  one 
God,  so  they  have  only  one  wife. 

The  'Duplex  Potestas'  is  Naturally  ^^■ANTING 

This,  however,  is  a  comparatively  minor  issue.  That  which  separates 
the  Christian  Priest  from  the  Patriarch  is  not  so  much  the  married  tie  as 
the  entire  absence  of  anything  approaching  to  the  "Double  Power,"  the 
jurisdiction  over  the  natural  and  the  mystical  Body  of  Christ." 


25  This  must  not  be  taken  to  imply  that  marriage  furnishes  a  diriment  impediment  to  all 
priesthood,  but  simply  tends  to  show  that  where  the  higher  ideal  is  entirely  ignored,  we  have 
a  consequent  lowering  of  the  office  to  the  level  of  a  more  secular  or  lay  profession,  though 
the  married  Patriarch  is  in  possession  of  supernatural  power. 


406  SACRIFICE   AND   SACRAMENTALS 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

The  Later  "Medicine- Man"  is  a  Travesty 

In  the  nature  of  the  case  such  a  primitive  organisation  could  not  last 
very  long.  With  the  expansion  of  the  family  into  the  tribe,  and  this  again 
into  the  horde  or  nation,  difTerent  vocations  begin  to  assert  themselves, 
and  by  degrees  the  olTice  of  healer,  dreamer,  or  medicine-man  becomes  a 
separate  profession,  though  the  chief  medicine-man  is  still  the  head  of 
the  community,  it  is  the  most  powerful  patti  or  gommcra  who  generally 
governs  the  tribe.  Minor  ofTices  are  known  as  "ghostfinder"  (India), 
"healer"  (Africa),  "bone-wizard"  (Australia),  "mystery-doctor"  (North- 
America),  but  the  magical  nature  of  this  profession  is  revealed  by  the 
extraordinary,  in  some  cases  the  unnatural  practices  by  which  this  power 
is  believed  to  be  acquired,— by  prolonged  starvation,  swooning  away  in 
delirium,  seeing  the  totem-guardian  in  a  trance,  cutting  into  the  entrails 
or  cranium,  snake-charming,  boning,  pointing  and  crystal-throwing. 
"May  your  heart  be  rent  asunder!"  This  Australian  curse  summarises 
the  evil  effects  of  this  terrific  medicine,  even  if  it  is  meant  to  counteract 
witchcraft.  In  other  instances  we  find  the  same  respect  for  the  genuine 
healer  as  heretofore.  He  is  as  a  rule  elaborately  painted,  carries  the  nose- 
quill  or  the  alnongara-crystal,  brandishes  the  prayer-stick  or  the  buffalo- 
horn,  and  wears  the  totcmic  plant  or  animal  ensign  on  his  head.  But 
here  more  than  ever  the  healing  profession  is  essentially  medical;  it  exer- 
cises physical,  not  moral  disease. 

The  More  Recent  "Patesi"  is  Essentially  a  Demon-Hunter 

So  far  the  physical  and  moral  healers  are  united  in  the  same  person, 
the  priest  is  also  the  doctor.  With  the  gradual  separation  of  the  two 
offices  the  more  purely  spiritual  functions  of  the  priesthood  become  more 
pronounced  and  a  definite  hierarchy  with  a  Priest-Kingship  begins  to 
evolve.  The  Babylonian  patesi  is  still  the  "great  father",  but  he  is  assisted 
by  numerous  lower  orders,  more  especially  the  exorcist  (asipu),  who 
conducts  for  him  the  physical  cures.  Nevertheless,  the  fact  remains,  that 
his  power  is  still  essentially  negative;  he  is  himself  an  exorcist  in  that  he 
procures  the  good  only  by  chasing  away  the  contrary  evils,  he  is  a  high- 
class  demon-hunter.  While  this  is  not  without  its  moral  value,  it  shows 
that  the  direct  acquisition  of  positive  spiritual  power  is  beyond  his  reach, 
that  the  power  is  still  largely  prophylactic  and  utilitarian, — a  mere 
counter-irritant  to  destroy  the  identical  medicine.  "Similia  similibus 
curantur", — it  is  this  homeopathic  principle  which  underlies  all  these 
purging  actions  of  whatever  kind;  the  practitioner  uses  nature  to  cure 
nature,  he  can  never  get  outside  the  cycle  of  purely  natural  causes." 


'•  Compare  Dhortnc,  La  Religion  Assyrio-Rabylonienne,  p.  282ff.  for  the  connexion  of 
the  sangu  with  sorcery.  Also  Thompson.  The  Devils  and  Evil  Spirits  of  Babylonia.  (Londoo, 
1913).    Introduction. 


SACRIFICE   AND  SACRAMENTALS  407 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

The  Levitical  Priesthood  Offers  a  Brighter  Outlook 

It  is  refreshing  to  turn  by  contrast  to  the  land  of  the  Hebrews  and  to 
note  the  rise  of  a  higher  and  purer  ideal  of  the  divine  ministry.  From  the 
first  the  separation  of  religion  from  magic,  of  spirit  from  ghost,  is  a  pro- 
nounced feature  in  the  higher  life  of  this  people,  and  with  it  the  complete 
disconnexion  of  the  Lord's  anointed  from  the  mere  spell-worker.  This 
medicine  is  strongly  allopathic  from  the  remotest  times;  it  knows  only 
one  source  of  power,  and  that  a  supernatural  one,  symbolised  by  the 
Urim  and  Thummim,  the  "Light"  and  the  "Truth",  and  by  the  majestic 
inscription  on  the  diadem  of  the  High  Priest,  Kodesh  LeAdonai,  "Holiness 
unto  the  Lord".  This  pure  theology  has  been  ever  at  warfare  with  all 
forms  of  witchcraft,  divination,  augury,  astrology,  heptascopy,  and  other 
pernicious  devices,  and  so  we  see  the  Jewish  kohen  in  possession  of  a 
power  which  is  derived  directly  from  the  God  of  Heaven;  he  is  in  fact, 
like  Melchisedech,  "the  priest  of  the  Most  High  God",  and  he  exorcises  sin 
and  siclcness,  not  by  Beelzebub,  but  by  "invoking  the  Name  of  the  Lord". 

But  Labors  Under  Equally  Great  Imperfections 

Yet  in  spite  of  the  elevated,  sorcery-hating  character  of  his  profession, 
lie  is  the  mere  type  of  forerunner  of  a  still  higher  and  holier  office.  With 
all  the  prophetical  importance  of  the  Mosaic  ritual,  it  is  still  essentially 
figurative,— the  Lamb  and  the  mystical  Blood  are  powerless  to  effect  the 
redemption ;  they  are  types  of  a  power  to  come,  they  have  no  absolute  value. 

And  Finally  Dissolves  in  the  Higher  Order  of  the  New  Covenant 

This  inherent  deficiency  is  brought  into  unmistakable  clearness  by  the 
growing  consciousness  that  sin  cannot  be  pardoned  through  human  chan- 
nels, nay,  that  a  complete  pardon  of  sin  is  unattainable, — "Who  can  for- 
give sins  but  God  only?"  (Mark,  2,  7),  "/  have  no  pleasure  in  you,  saith 
the  Lord  of  Hosts,  neither  will  I  accept  a  sacrifice  from  your  hand"  (Mai. 
1,  10).  All  this  shows  the  essentially  tentative  and  limited  nature  of  the 
kappora,  it  is  a  mere  cloak  of  the  past  transgression,  not  its  destruction. 
With  the  positive  teaching  of  the  Messiah  and  the  institution  of  the 
Primacy,  this  "covering"  of  sin  becomes  an  aphesis, — the  old  mincha  a 
"koinonia  of  the  Body  of  Christ",  two  entirely  new  supernatural  concepts. 
"And  when  he  had  said  this,  he  breathed  on  them,  and  he  said  to  them: 
RECEIVE  YE  THE  HOLY  GHOST.  WHOSE  SINS  YOU  SHALL  FORGIVE, 
THEY  ARE  FORGIVEN  THEM;  WHOSE  SINS  YOU  SHALL  RETAIN, 
THEY  ARE  RETAINED"  (Jh.  20,  22).  "THIS  IS  MY  BODY,  WHICH  IS 
GIVEN  FOR  YOU.  DO  THIS  FOR  A  COMMEMORATION  OF  ME"  (Lk. 
22,  19).  It  is  this  "dismissal"  of  sin  and  "communion"  of  Christ,  which, 
with  the  new  ideal  of  virginal  chastity,  of  voluntary  celibacy,  has  con- 
signed the  old  Jewish  theocracy  to  the  forgotten  past.^' 

s'Comp.  Matt.  16,  18.  John,  21,  lS-17  (for  the  Primacy).  John,  20,  22  (for  the  Dele- 
gation). Matt.  19,  10-12  (for  the  Counsel  of  Celibacy).  I  Cor.  7,  25-40  (for  Apostolic 
Counsel  of  Virginity).  Also  S.  Thom.  Supp.  qu.  34ff.  Bellarmine,  de  sacram.  ordinis. 
passim.    Tanquerey,  III.  594fl.    Pourrat,  1.  c.  p.  100,  311flF. 


408  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

COMPAIL\TIVE  CRITICISM 

VII.    Neither  Has  the  Sacramental  Union  of  Man  and  Wife  Anything 

But  the  Most  Distant  Analogies  With  the  Pre-Christian 

Marriage-Rite 

As  a  final  nexus  between  the  old  and  the  new.  the  religious  joining  of 
hands  as  practiced  by  ancient  and  primitive  peoples  is  made  to  serve  as 
the  only  basis  for  the  promulgation  of  an  identical  ceremony  under  the 
New  Law. — a  mere  continuation  of  what  has  already  been  handed  down 
and  believed  from  the  earliest  times.  Such  a  swift  and  easy  comparison 
reveals  its  essential  superficiality  by  drawing  attention  to  the  following 
facts  : 

The  Primitive  Marriage  Has  a  Divine  Sanction 

In  consideration  of  the  fact  that  the  Messiah  Himself  bears  witness  to 
an  original  sanctity  in  the  matrimonial  relation,  it  is  instructive  indeed  to 
turn  to  the  nature-peoples  and  to  see  how  the  earlier  practices  in  this 
regard  testify  to  His  own  omniscient  consciousness.  So  far  from  finding 
a  condition  of  promiscuity  or  sexual  free  love,  the  more  recent  discoveries 
are  sufficiently  numerous  and  well-authenticated  to  establish  the  thesis 
that  monogamy  was  the  original  state  of  man.  that  all  other  forms  of  this 
union  are  corruptions  that  came  in  with  a  later  age.  Not  only  does  this 
imply  the  union  of  one  man  with  one  woman,  but  in  addition  the  union 
is  very  generally  regarded  as  permanent, — divorce  is  not  commonly  rec- 
ognised, and  desertion  apparently  rare.  The  aboriginal  family  was  of 
course  endogamous, — there  were  no  people  to  marry  without — .  but  with 
the  spread  of  the  race  a  mild  form  of  local  exogamy  became  the  rule,  and 
in  time  all  blood-marriages  were  tabooed  as  incestuous.  In  the  choice  of 
the  bride  a  good  deal  of  liberty  prevailed  in  other  respects,  there  was  no 
bridal  purchase  and  rarely  an  artificial  betrothal,  though  the  consent  of 
the  father  and  the  free  consent  of  the  bride  were  as  a  rule  demanded,  mar- 
riage by  elopment  being  strongly  disapproved.  On  the  contrary,  in  the 
most  primitive  regions  the  marriage  is  valid  only  when  celebrated  in 
presence  of  the  father  of  either  family,  and  accompanied  by  prayer,  sac- 
rifice, or  the  lighting  of  torches,  (Andaman  Islands).  "May  you  be 
blessed  uith  offspring!"  (Malakka),  "Praise  to  the  supreme  Being,  our 
Maker!",  (Philippines,  Borneo).  As  in  all  ages,  it  is  the  occasion  of  feast- 
ing and  merriment,  of  exchange  of  gifts,  of  presenting  of  "rinss"  in  the 
shape  of  bamboos,  hair-combs,  or  shell-necklaces,  of  sprinklings  with 
water,  rice,  or  the  mystic  fern-juice. 

And  is  Doubtless  of  Supernatural  Institution 

And  with  this  comes  the  rather  important  indication  that  the  ceremony 
is  more  than  the  outgrowth  of  a  universal  human  instinct,  dictated  by  the 
common  necessities  of  mankind.  The  Creator  and  Lord  of  nature  is 
often  asked  to  bestow  His  blessing  upon  what  is  felt  to  be  an  act  of  funda- 
mental social  importance,  evidently  instituted  by  Him  alone." 

'"See  Westerraarck,  The  History  of  Human  Marriage,  (New  York,  1903).  and  Idem, 
The  Origin  and  Development  of  Moral  Ideas.  (N.  Y.  1908).  for  a  broad  confirmation  of 
these  statements,  and  compare  p.  xxxv-xl  above. 


SACRIFICE   AND  SACRAMENTALS  409 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

The  Toxemic  Marriage  is  Soiled  by  its  "Animal  Affinities" 

With  the  introduction  of  the  totem-cult,  all  these  items  become  in- 
creasingly complex,  but  without  any  corresponding  moral  advantage. 
There  is  a  long  list  of  prohibited  degrees,  depending  upon  plant  or  animal 
ancestry,  and  the  individual  totem  competes  with  the  class  or  phratraic 
ensign  in  determining  what  people  are  not  to  marry.  While  this  has  its 
useful  aspect,  it  has  been  the  occasion  of  secondary  developments  which 
are  far  from  pleasing.  It  is  true  that  the  externals  of  rite  are  for  the  most 
part  preserved, — "May  our  hands  remain  clasped  for  ever".  (India),  but 
the  growing  secularisation  of  the  union  and  the  increasing  laxity  of  the 
tie  is  revealed  by  the  frequency  of  polygamy,  by  the  approval  of  divorce, 
and  by  the  institution  of  marriage  by  purchase  or  capture,  secret  elope- 
ments being  rarely  reprehended.  Under  the  still  later  "matriarchate", 
with  its  secret  societies  and  phallic  dances,  religious  symbolism  has  prac- 
tically vanished,  and  the  inroads  of  polyandry  and  other  unnatural  prac- 
tices show  that  the  so-called  "mother-right"  is  not  the  unmixed  blessing 
that  some  have  supposed.  Women  are  now  feared  and  terrorised  rather 
than  loved,  the  masked  dance  being  designed  to  keep  them  under  sub- 
jection— .  the  whole  reveals  a  decidedly  unnatural  and  sordid  relation. 

The  More  Recent  M.a.rri.4GE  Exhibits  a  Double  Picture 

All  this  is  swept  away  with  the  dawn  of  the  new  stone  age,  when  the 
ancient  concept  of  a  single  permanent  union  is  once  more  revived,  but 
only  with  partial  success.  Throughout  Western  Asia  there  is  evidence  of 
an  original  monogamous  practice,  the  Babylonian  patesi  and  the  Egyptian 
pharaoh  being  generally  ornamented  with  one  wife,  at  least  in  theory. 
The  same  applies  to  the  Palestine  of  the  patriarchs,  the  Persia  of  Zoroaster, 
the  India  of  the  Rig- Veda,  the  China  of  the  first  celestials,  and  more  dis- 
tantly to  the  Polynesian  and  more  recent  American  cultures.  One  example 
will  be  sufficient, — "By  these  laws  of  the  faith  which  I  utter,  obtain  ye 
the  life  of  the  Good  Mind"  (Persia).  Concomitantly  there  has  been  a  desire 
to  grant  more  liberty  to  the  female  partner,  to  make  her  a  free  agent  in 
business-contracts,  and  to  admit  her  to  the  privileges  of  the  sanctuary  as  a 
virgin,  as  a  devotee  or  a  priestess.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  Greece 
and  Rome,  where  the  oldest  classics  give  evidence  of  a  high  feeling  for 
the  dignity  of  the  bond  and  the  equality  of  conjugal  rights,  the  priestly 
marriage  being  regarded  as  the  only  legal  one.  (Confarreatio) .  This, 
however,  is  only  one  side  of  the  picture.  The  other  is  represented  by  the 
indefinite  polygamy  of  the  later  Hebrews  and  indeed  of  all  historic  peo- 
ples, by  the  extraordinary  freedom  in  the  change  of  partners,  and  finally 
by  the  abominable  practice  of  temple-prostitution  and  habitual  incest, 
which  brought  on  the  dissolution  of  the  later  empires.  Nothing  on  earth 
is  more  tragic  than  to  watch  the  gradual  degeneration  of  the  sex-instinct 
from  a  divinely  implanted  feeling  of  oneness  to  the  licenses  and  terrible 
excrescences  of  the  age  of  Nero. 


410  SACRIFICE   AND  SACRAMENTALS 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

All  Pre-Christian  Unions  are  Lacking  Either  in  Their  Nature  or  in 
Their  Religious  Significance 

If  then  we  gather  all  the  marriage-ceremonies  of  mankind  under  one 
head,  we  shall  soe  that,  while  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  natural 
law  are  too  deep-seated  to  be  entirely  efTaced  in  any  age  of  the  race,  they 
either  remain  on  this  purely  natural  level,  or  are  distorted  and  perverted 
with  tlie  most  fatal  consequences  to  the  well-being  of  mankind.  If  the 
primitive  union  is  conspicuous  both  for  its  unity  and  its  stability,  it  is 
the  result  of  a  past  supernatural  revelation  on  the  dignity  and  inviolability 
of  the  tie, — "And  they  shall  be  two  in  one  flesh"  (Gen.  2,  24).  In  no  case 
however,  does  it  rise  to  the  importance  of  a  special  channel  of  divine 
sanctity,  co-ordinate  with  the  other  great  functions  of  religion.  And  this 
is  the  one  dilTerentiating  note  of  all  the  pre-Christian  ceremonials  in 
so  far  as  they  show  any  approach  to  the  Christian  rite.  The  wedding 
is  more  of  a  social  necessity  than  a  positive  means  of  sanctification,  and 
it  reveals  its  fragile  character  by  the  loose  relations  which,  even  in  the 
ages  of  its  purest  manifestation,  so  often  disfigure  the  private  lives  of  the 
couple. 

The  New  Bond  op  Love  is  Based  on  a  Supernatur.al  Parallel 

It  is  therefore  in  harmony  with  the  works  of  the  divine  wisdom  that 
with  the  advent  of  a  new  supernatural  dispensation,  the  old  giving  in 
marriage  should  acquire  an  entirely  original,  supernatural  stamp.  "Whom 
God  hath  joined,  let  no  man  put  asunder",  (Matt.  19,  6).  The  unity  and 
indissolubility  of  the  tie,  battled  shattered  by  the  Mosaic  prescription,  is 
not  only  restored  to  its  pristine  level  of  strictness,  but  it  becomes  the  sign 
or  symbol  of  Christ's  union  with  the  Church: — "Let  women  be  subject  to 
their  husbands  as  to  the  Lord:  Because  the  husbaiid  is  the  head  of  the  wife, 
as  Christ  is  the  head  of  the  Church.  He  is  the  savior  of  his  body.  There- 
fore as  the  Church  is  subject  to  Christ,  so  also  let  the  wives  be  subject  to 
their  husbands  in  all  thinQs.  Husbands,  love  your  wives,  as  Christ  also 
loved  the  Church,  and  delivered  himself  up  for  it:  that  He  mif/ht  sanctify 
it,  cleansing  it  bij  the  laver  of  water  in  the  word  of  life!  So  also  ought 
men  to  love  their  wives  as  their  own  bodies.  He  that  loveth  his  wife 
loveth  himself.  For  this  ciuse  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  mother, 
and  shall  cleave  unto  his  "Afe,  and  they  sliall  be  tivo  in  one  flesh.  THIS 
IS  A  GREAT  SACRAMENT:  but  I  speak  in  Christ  and  in  the  Church." 
(Ephes.  5,  22-32).  The  inysterion  here  referred  to  is  thus  raised  to  the 
level  of  a  unique  communication  of  supernatural  gifts,  based  upon  as 
subMm-  an  analogy  as  can  well  be  conceived.  It  is  the  Redeemer's  mar- 
riage with  Mis  mystical  Bride  which  is  the  model  of  this  union,  con- 
secrated as  it  is  by  His  personal  presence  at  the  marriage  of  Cana.  Montan- 
ism  and  Matriarchates  fade  away  in  its  cleansing  atmosphere.'' 


=' P.  Devine.  The  Law  of  Christian  Marriage.  (New  York.  190S).  S.  Thorn.  Supp.  qu. 
42ff.  Bcllarmine,  dc  Sacram.  Matrimonii,  passim.  Tanquerey,  III.  626ff.  Pourrat,  1.  c. 
314,  321ff. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS  411 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

VIII.    Minor  Sacramentals  Exhibit  Few  External  Analogies 

Coming  now  to  those  secondary  acts  of  divine  worship  in  which  any 
appropriate  object  is  used  as  the  expression  of  the  divine  benevolence  or 
the  worshipper's  feeling  of  dependence,  there  will  naturally  be  many  occa- 
sions in  which  the  common  longings  of  the  human  heart  will  take  on 
similar  forms  of  expression  the  world  over.  Yet  even  here  there  are  cer- 
tain glaring  facts  which  make  it  impossible  to  derive  the  more  distinctively 
Christian  practices  from  any  of  their  presumable  antecedents,  but  which 
point  rather  to  the  opposite,— the  influencing  of  Pagan  by  Jewish  and 
Christian  forms. 

The  Trinitarian  Sign  op  the  Cross,  Coupled  With  the  Aspersion  op 
Water,  is  op  Christian  and  Pre-Constantinian  Origin 

Foremost  among  these  is  the  common  and  extremely  ancient  practice 
of  dipping  the  fingers  in  the  font  of  Holy  Water  and  signing  the  person 
with  the  sign  of  the  Cross.  While  a  cruciform  symbolism  need  have  no 
connexion  as  such  with  the  central  mystery  of  the  new  Faith,  the  making 
of  the  sign  with  the  arms  and  fingers  and  the  accompanying  invocation 
of  the  Trinity  is  something  that  cannot  be  found  in  any  pre-Christian  cult 
of  whatever  kind,  and,  we  may  safely  say,  will  never  be  found.  It  hangs 
together  with  the  rite  of  Baptism,  and  should  be  judged  accordingly,— it 
is  a  continual  reminder  of  the  primitive  cleansing.  "We  mark  our  fore- 
heads with  the  Sign  of  the  Cross",  says  Tertullian  in  the  II.  century  (de 
cor.  mil.  3).  If  then  the  formula  for  the  New  Birth  cannot,  as  we  have 
attempted  to  show,  be  extricated  in  any  theological  sense  from  the  cosmic 
triads  of  the  day,  it  will  hardly  be  necessary  to  point  out  that  its  symbolic 
repetition  stands  in  the  same  category,— it  is  a  spontaneous  piece  of  devo- 
tion which  grew  out  of  the  Church  with  the  same  facility  as  did  the  con- 
servation of  the  eucharistic  elements  in  the  Mass,  a  desire  to  have  the 
source  of  Life  continually  accessible.  "In  this  Sign  thou  shalt  conquer!" 
Had  the  Christian  symbolism  been  understood  in  precisely  the  same  sense 
as  its  predecessors,  it  could  not  have  occasioned  the  conversion  of  Con- 
stantine;  he  saw  in  the  heavens  that  which  no  pagan  symbol  could  con- 
tain,—the  "Sign  of  the  Son  of  Man"  (Matt.  24,  30).  It  is  therefore  suffi- 
ciently obvious,  that,  however  ancient  the  prehistoric  sign  of  the  cross 
may  be  taken  to  be,  it  was  absolutely  devoid  of  anything  approaching  to 
a  supernatural  content;  it  was  simply  the  designation  for  All-Father- 
Heaven,  having  no  connexion  with  a  definite,  divine,  or  historical  mys- 
tery. The  four  points  of  the  compass  or  the  three  dimensions  in  space 
can  suggest  some  beautiful  thoughts,  but  they  can  hardly  be  made  to  serve 
as  anything  but  the  scafTolding  of  the  new  doctrine;  they  break  to  pieces 
when  touched  by  the  transforming  spell  of  the  Holy  Trinity.  Thus  the 
prehistoric  data  bring  into  ever  stronger  relief  the  essentially  unique 
character  of  the  Divine  Sign.^* 


2'  BuH'ien  Das  S\-mbol  des  Kreuzes  bei  alten  Nationen  und  die  Entstehung  des  Kreuz- 
sv-mbols  der 'christlichen  Kirche  (Berlin,  1876).  Seymour.  The  Cross  in  Tradition  History 
and  Art  (New  York,  1898).  Lowrie,  Christian  Art  and  Archaeology,  (New  York,  1906), 
pp.  236-244. 


412  SACRIFICE   AND   SACRAMENT ALS 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

The  Holy  Rosary  is  Not  Derived  From  the  Magic  Necklace 

Another  sufficiently  common  but  very  deceptive  parallelism  is  drawn 
by  many  archaeological  writers  between  the  Christian  Rosary  as  we  now 
have  it,  and  the  regular  repetition  of  set  forms  of  prayer  as  undoubtedly 
practiced  by  ancient  and  primitive  peoples  and  occasionally  counted  on 
so-called  string-beads  or  prayer-necklaces.  That  this  should  be  a  fairly 
general  practice  should  occasion  as  little  astonishment  as  the  custom  of 
kneeling  or  of  throwing  up  the  hands,  they  are  convenient  ways  of  ap- 
proaching the  divine  mercy,  putting  law  and  order  into  religious  devo- 
tions. An  early  example  of  repeated  prayer-forms  may  perhaps  be  seen 
in  the  Bakatan  invocations  to  the  heavenly  "Medicine-Man". — "0  holy 
Dayong,  thou  who  lovesl  mankind,  bring  back  thy  servant  from  Lcman, 
the  land  between  life  and  death!"  (p.  334).  Similar  forms  are  found 
throughout  the  primitive  zone,  and  there  can  be  no  question  that  the 
efTicacy  of  the  prayer  is  in  some  way  connected  with  the  string  of  shells 
or  precious  stones  by  which  the  savage  commonly  adorns  his  person.  In 
this  way  the  different  stones  have  dilTerent  magical  or  religious  powers, 
or  are  sometimes  symbolical  of  ditTerent  virtues. — the  amethyst  of  courage 
and  constancy,  the  ruby  of  loyalty  and  devotion,  the  emerald  of  persever- 
ance and  hope,  the  diamond  of  immaculate  purity,  stainlessness  of 
religious  character.  It  is  by  no  means  certain,  however,  that  definite 
stones  are  connected  with  definite  prayers,  nor  that  these  are  regularly 
counted  on  "beads",  as  some  would  imagine.  Except  for  the  dropping 
of  the  stone  or  shell  as  an  olTering  to  the  deity,  they  partake  very  largely 
of  the  character  of  charms. 

Much  Less  From  the  Divining-Cryst.als 

The  use  of  the  magic  stone  as  an  amulet  leads  to  the  still  more  occult 
practice  of  reading  hidden  events  in  the  polished  stone,  so-callnd  crystal- 
gazing.  That  such  a  pretence  is  made  by  many  savage  or  civilised  peo- 
|)!es,  need  no  lon^-er  be  questioned;  it  belongs  to  tliat  class  of  phenomena 
known  as  clairvoyance,  telepathy,  mental  dissociation,  the  sub-con- 
scious (?)  The  diviner  or  medicine-man  takes  the  magic  ball,  and  by 
gazing  stedfastly  into  it,  "sees  whatever  he  wishes  to  see",  "locates  the 
hidden  disease",  "discovers  the  unknown  criminal",  and  so  on.  Similar 
feats  arc  performed  by  looking  into  the  water,  using  a  drop  of  blood,  or 
gazing  into  red  ink.  But  apart  from  the  very  questionable  characti^r  of 
these  phonomena,  there  is  no  reason  to  regard  them  as  more  than 
advanced  medical  practices  having  their  modern  analogues  in  "radium". 
X-ray-treatment,  auto-hypnotism,  and  other  exceptional  devices.  That 
primitivo  man  should  make  use  of  the  "crystal-beads."  is  indited  rathor  sur- 
prising, but  the  accompaniments  of  all  these  practices. — craniotomy, 
swooning  away,  tiio  kniving  and  boning  of  victims — .  shows  that  a  large 
part  of  them  must  be  attributed  to  demoniacal  power." 

"  Compare  A.  Lang,  Crystal  Visions,  savage  and  civilised,  being  pp.  83-104,  of  "The 
Making  of  Religion",  (London.  1909),  where  most  of  these  phenomena  can  be  explained 
a<:  hallucinations 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  413 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

The  Sacred  Chaplet  Cannot  be  Traced  to  the  Hindoo  Prayer-Wheels 

A  still  more  impossible  comparison  is  founded  on  the  alleged  similar- 
ity between  the  rotating  prayer-machines  of  the  Hindoos  and  others  and 
the  counting  of  prayers  on  the  string  of  beads  as  practiced  in  the  Christian 
rite.  The  endless  repetition  of  such  sounds  as  Awn,  Bhuh,  Bhuvah,  Svnh, 
standing  for  "three",  "earth",  "air",  "heaven",  tell  their  own  story  of  a 
cosmic  philosophy,  while  in  the  later  Lamaism,  the  all-powerful  formula, 
Om  mani  padme  hum,  "0  jewel  of  the  lotus,  hum!",  is  a  purely  machine- 
made  invocation,  written  and  multiplied  on  slips  of  paper  running  around 
a  cvlinder,  and  operated  by  hand,  \v\nA,  or  water-power.  It  is  sad  to 
think  that  modern  Buddhism  should  have  turned  to  the  "magic  flower" 
for  inspiration,  a  cult  which  in  primitive  times  was  purely  symbolic  and 
comparatively  harmless,  but  which  is  here  regarded  as  the  mainspring  of 
all  supernatural  elTort  and  stripped  of  every  connexion  with  a  personal 
God.  Moreover,  it  is  quite  certain  that  this  very  late  system  of  "forcing" 
the  divine  by  means  of  purely  automatic  actions  was  entirely  unknown 
in  the  western  world,  Buddhism,  with  its  reincarnation-doctrine,  exer- 
cised no  influence  whatever  on  the  spread  of  the  Gospel,  and  to  insinuate 
any  contact  of  early  Christian  with  Shamanistic  practice  indicates  a  gross 
want  of  perception  of  the  significance  of  two  entirely  ditTerent  religious 
movements.  Nothing  approaching  to  a  prayer-mill  was  ever  known  in 
the  land  of  Palestine.  On  the  other  hand,  the  somewhat  startling  fact  of 
the  existence  of  attested  prayer-beads  in  many  of  these  eastern  lands,  and 
accompanied  by  fastings,  penances,  "mass"-ofTerings,  sacred  vestments, 
holy-water  aspersions,  monastic  orders,  and  even  complete  "monasteries", 
while  not  necessarily  or  universally  imported,  show,  according  to  our 
most  careful  authorities,  that  some  part  of  the  external  ritual  of  these 
peoples  must  in  all  probability  be  traced  to  early  Christian,  and  very  prob- 
ably to  Nestorian  influences.'" 

Nor  to  the  Jewish  "Sacred  Chains" 

As  a  more  rational  basis  for  what  is  after  all  a  very  obvious  instru- 
ment of  devotion,  the  knotted  cords  and  emblematic  chains  of  the  Jews 
ofTer  a  more  attractive  comparison.  It  appears  to  be  fairly  probable  that 
the  psalms  of  David  were  thus  counted  from  the  earliest  times,  and  on  the 
Day  of  Atonement  the  national  wailing,  "Pardon,  0  Lord,  pardon  thy  peo- 
ple!", might  be  facilitated  by  a  similar  marking  of  prayers.  This  and  the 
twelve  precious  stones  of  the  High  Priest,  symbolising  the  twelve  tribes  and 
the  twelve  precious  virtues,  are  suggestive  enough  of  a  "rosary"  to  merit 
our  passing  attention.  But  apart  from  the  "one  hundred  blessings",  there 
is  no  reason  to  believe  that  these  necklets  were  thus  used  in  the  time 
of  the  Messiah,  and  their  meaning  and  function  are.  as  far  as  we  know  at 
present,  very  obscure.  There  is  no  proof  that  the  "chains"  of  Isaiah,  3,  19, 
were  used  as  counting-machines,  though  they  might  well  have  been  so." 

so  Rev  Charles  Francis  Aiken,  D.  D.  The  Dhamma  of  Gotama  the  Buddha  and  the 
Gospel  of  Jesus  the  Christ,  (Boston,  1900),  pp.  11,  149ff.  Syen  Hedin.  Trans-H.malaya. 
(London  1913),  pp.  310-329.  "  See  J.  R.  Volz,  Art.  "Beads."  Cath.  Encycl.  Vol.  II.  pp. 
361-362, 


414  SACRIFICE   AND   SACRAMENT ALS 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

But  Must  be  Ultimately  Founded  on  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Anqelic 

Salutation 

It  is  to  this  quarter,  iiowever,  that  we  may  look  for  the  more  plausible 
antecedents  of  early  Christian  custom.  "Hold  fast  the  form  of  sound 
words".  (2  Tim.  1,  13).  That  the  apostle  is  here  referring  at  Iho  very  least 
to  the  Paternoster  and  the  primitive  Apostles'  Creed,  seems  probable,  and 
the  "form"  of  the  words  had  long  been  determined  by  the  Master  Himself, — 
"When  ye  pray,  say:  Our  Father,  who  art  in  Heaven",  etc.  (Mat.  6,  9  Lk. 
H,  2).  What  more  natural  than  that  these  set  forms  of  prayer  should  be 
kept  in  memory  by  the  help  of  a  simple  cord  of  knots,  beads,  or  shells,  as 
we  read  in  the  lives  of  some  of  the  early  ascetics?  The  sacred  formulae 
were  continually  on  their  lips,  they  wore  constantly  repeated,  from  hour 
to  hour,  nay,  from  minute  to  minute,  and  they  had  only  to  use  the  instru- 
ments already  familiar,  to  transfer  the  old  beads  from  the  Jewish  Psalter 
to  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Angelic  Salutation, — "Had,  thou  that  art  full 
of  grace,  the  Lord  is  with  thee:  Blessed  art  thou  among  women",  (Lk.  1, 
28).  While  the  whole  of  this  devotion  was  no  doubt  of  gradual  and  silent 
growth,  and  suggested  possibly  by  Jewish  custom,  it  was  certainly  not 
directly  derived  either  from  this  or  the  analogous  pagan  rites.  In  other 
words,  the  Annunciation  must  be  coupled  with  the  Incarnation:  if  the 
latter  is  an  unparalleled  fact,  so  indeed  is  the  former. 

The  Modern  Meditation-Rosary  Must  be  Traced  to  St.  Dominic 

But  while  the  fifty  Paternosters  and  Aves  may  be  indefinitely  ancient  as 
invocations,  the  numbers  being  suggested  by  the  fingers  of  th(>  hand  or  the 
Davidic  Psalter,  the  new  arrangement  in  groups  of  three,  representing 
three  phases  in  the  life  of  Christ  or  the  heavenly  Mother,  each  decade 
commencing  with  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  followed  by  ten  Marian  saluta- 
tions, demands  a  more  positive  and  personal  source  for  its  propagation. 
Whatever  may  be  said  on  the  side  of  criticism  in  favor  of  a  gradual 
development  of  the  modern  out  of  the  primitive  Rosary,  the  sudden 
appearance  of  the  Marian  Psalter  in  the  hands  of  the  Friars-Preachers  al 
the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century  is  something  that  calls  for  a  more  ade- 
quate explanation.  Even  if  the  contemporary  sources  are  deficient  on 
this  subject,  the  finger  of  the  supernatural  points,  with  its  wonted  element 
of  mystery,  to  the  personality  of  St.  Dominic  as  the  original  bearer  of  the 
famous  celestial  vision:  for  it  is  through  his  sons  and  followers  pre-emi- 
nently that  the  Marian  Rosary  has  attained  to  the  proportions  of  a  world- 
embracing  cull.  Here  we  have  a  symphony  of  prayer  which,  beginning 
in  joy,  ascending  in  sorrow,  and  triumphing  in  glory,  runs  through  the 
whole  gamut  of  the  supernatural,  and  by  its  threefold  appeal  to  the  infancy, 
passion,  and  resurrection  of  Christ,  sounds  the  minor  triad  of  harmony, 
the  most  beautiful  chord  in  music.  We  may  well  be  thankful  for  this 
most  precious  boon  of  our  Faith." 

"-  For  controversial  questions  see  H.  Thurston,  S.  J..  Art.  "Rosary",  Cath.  Enrvlop.  Vol. 
XIII,  pp.  184-187.  Contra:  A.  M.  Skclly,  O.  P.,  St.  Dominic  and  the  Rosary,  or,  VVas  he  its 
FouiitltT?  (Portland,  OrcRon,  191.'?).  Comp.  I.  M.  Casanowicz,  The  Collection  oi  Rosaries 
in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  f Washington,  1909).  p.  ,350ff 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  414a 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

The  Seven  Sacraments  Have  Therefore  no  Parallels  in  the  Prehistoric 
Past  Either  in  Their  Nature,  Number,  or  Order 

Returning,  then,  to  the  question  which  we  set  ourselves  to  discuss  at 
the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  that  on  the  essence  of  sacrifice  and  on  the 
nature  and  meaning  of  the  primitive  medicines,  we  see  now  that  the  latter 
cannot  be  equated  with  the  Christian  Sacraments  on  any  system  which 
involves  a  fair  comparison.  In  the  first  place,  their  nature  has  been  seen 
to  be  purely  negative  and  dispositive  and  their  efficiency  purely  natural, — 
in  the  second  place,  their  number  is  entirely  indefinite,  having  no  essential 
connexion  with  the  number  seven, — and  finally  the  order  in  which  they 
are  treated  is  strictly  conventional,  following  the  various  needs  in  the 
higher  life  of  man,  but  showing  no  necessary  succession  from  one  to  the 
other  except  in  the  broadest  and  most  general  way,  and  difTerent  essen- 
tially in  some  of  the  most  important  links  of  the  chain.  If  we  have 
arranged  them  in  an  ascending  series  of  seven,  it  is  because  the  Christian 
sacramental  system  was  the  first  to  select  this  number  as  marking  out 
seven  special  and  supernatural  channels  of  power,  with  which  the  medi- 
cines ofTer  at  times  striking  though  very  defective  analogies,  but  which 
are  too  solidly  founded  on  the  universal  needs  of  the  human  soul  not  to 
reveal  some  points  of  contact  with  the  principal  stages  in  the  savage  use 
of  the  corresponding  remedies, — miserable  attempts  to  supply  the  innate 
feeling  for  help  during  the  difTerent  periods  of  his  life,  beginning  with 
birth  and  closing  with  death.  I  have  shown,  I  hope  conclusively,  that  in 
these,  as  in  other  matters,  there  is  a  deep  undercurrent  of  universal  sym- 
pathy running  through  all  the  ages  of  man,  but  that  the  pouring  of  the 
new  wine  into  the  old  bottles  by  the  transforming  hand  of  the  Messiah  was 
so  violent  as  to  burst  the  bottles  as  well  as  their  content  and  to  stamp  the 
new  number  seven  upon  seven  entirely  new  and  life-giving  vessels  of 
sanctity. 

The  Seven  Sacraments  Inaugurate  a  New  Era  op  Grace 

We  are  thus  brought  face  to  face  with  the  historic  and  uniquely  super- 
natural Person  of  Christ  as  the  direct  source  of  our  modern  sacraments. 
He  is  baptised  in  the  Jordan,  He  blesses  little  children,  He  sacrifices  His 
Body,  His  forgives  sinners.  He  heals  the  sick,  He  ordains  His  apostles.  He 
assists  at  the  marriage  of  Cana.  And  with  this  as  our  dogmatic  rallying- 
point,  we  may  sweep  all  secondary  issues  for  the  present  aside,  the  detailed 
matter  and  form  of  each  sacrament,  with  the  nature  and  efficacy  of  its 
power,  being  partly  revealed  in  the  scripture,  partly  defined  by  the  insti- 
tutional Church.  In  the  meantime  we  have  realised  with  sufficient  force 
that  as  the  new  Healer  is  incomparatively  superior  to  any  shadowy 
demiurges  of  prophetic  fame,  so  the  powers  that  issue  from  Him  cannot 
be  measured  in  terms  of  their  corrupted  folklore;  they  are  raised  to  the 
level  of  unique,  divine,  incommunicable  mysteries. 


414b  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENT ALS 

COMPARATIVE  CRITICISM 

The  Sacrifice  of  the  Cross  Has  no  Analogies  in  the  Past  Except  by 
Way  of  Type  or  Prophecy 

But  if  this  new  power  from  on  high,  sublime  as  it  is,  cannot  be  foisted 
upon  the  preceding  medicines,  still  less  can  the  great  sacrificial  act  of  the 
Redeemer  be  looked  upon  as  a  mere  apex  of  previous  immolations,  the 
culmination,  as  it  were,  of  the  pagan  holocaust.  In  our  analysis  of  the 
theological  concepts  underlying  all  these  rites  we  have  discovered  that  not 
a  single  one  of  them  contains  the  doctrine  of  deity  pure  and  simple,  that  it 
is  always  a  secondary  or  subordinate  "god"  that  is  believed  to  be 
slaughtered,  and  this  too  frequently  to  constitute  an  all-sufficient  act.  In 
other  words,  there  is  no  prehistoric  immolation  of  God  except  as  a  piece 
of  mimicry,  as  a  make-believe  or  a  would-be  "self-immolation",  in  which 
the  victim  is  supposed  to  avert  the  wrath  of  the  gods  by  impersonating  the 
deity,  by  continually  ofTering  himself  for  the  sins  of  man.  None  of  the 
demiurges  can  satisfy  the  full  definition  of  deity  as  we  understand  it,  they 
are  mere  makeshifts.  There  is  only  one  sacrifice  of  God  that  has  ever  been 
offered  in  human  history, — the  Sacrifice  of  the  Cross.  And  from  this  we 
have  made  the  further  and  extremely  important  induction,  that  the  idea 
lurking  behind  the  Jewish  scapegoat,  and  pre-eminently  in  that  of  the  mys- 
tical lamb,  cannot  possibly  be  explained  except  as  a-heaven-imparted  pre- 
monition of  the  Divine  Sacrifice  that  is  to  come,  they  are  types  or  figures 
of  the  real  deliverance.  This  is  not  without  its  prophetical  importance, 
as  it  brings  out  the  all-sufficiency  of  the  Cross  of  Calvary  in  a  manner 
that  is  particularly  vivid,  that  is,  by  way  of  contrast, — it  reveals  a 
pseudo-symbol  in  the  Pagan,  a  divine  symbol  only  in  the  Jewish  Holocaust. 

The  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  is  Therefore  a  Unique  Institution 

And  from  this  it  will  follow  that  the  visible  perpetuation  of  the  great 
redemptive  Act  in  the  Holy  Eucharist  must  by  the  same  laws  of  logic  be 
disconnected  from  all  the  love-banquets  and  mystery-feasts  of  this  or  any 
other  age.  Every  supposed  parallel  breaks  down  on  the  score  of  polythe- 
ism or  nature-worship,  frequently  from  both  combined.  Only  in  the 
Jewish  Pasch  have  we  anything  that  can  be  called  a  monotheistic  bread 
and  wine-olTering,  but  this  was  at  most  the  external  shell  which  crumbled 
in  the  face  of  the  new  Anaphora.  The  lifting  up  of  the  Body  and  Blood 
of  Christ  in  place  of  old  Showbread  and  the  Passover-cup  marks  the  turn- 
ing-point in  the  religious  history  of  mankind,  for  from  that  moment  even 
until  now  we  hail  the  perpetual  presence  of  Christ  among  the  sons  of  men, 
the  fulfilment  of  His  eternal  Covenant: — 

"THOU  ART  A  PRIEST  FOR  EVER  ACCORDING  TO  THE  ORDER  OF 
MELCHISEDECH!" 


THE  DOUBLE  SACRIFICE  OF  THE  REDEEMER 


.TXl 


-\'' 


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THE  MESSIAH  OFFERS  HIMSELF  ON  THE  CROSS  AND   IN 
THE  EUCHARISTIC  CENACLE 


THE  "FRACTIO  PANIS" 

OR 

THE  EUCHARIST  IN  THE  CATACOMBS 

HKVI-:\I,IN(i   TIIK   KXTKKMK   lONKIMV    Ol     TllK    IvXUI/k    (lll(l>r|\N    (  III  |{(  ||    ,  ,,l  11  M,    u  nil 

A    XIMI)    I   \ilil    IN    TllK    lUMNi.;    iKK>K\<>; 

•I    AM    Tin:    <iOI)I>    SIIKI'IIKKI):    TllK    «iOOI>    SIIKI-IIKKI)    (.IVKTII     ills    |,||K     I  OK     I  UK 

SIIKKI'"    <.IOIIX,    10,     II) 


^^^SV5^VHO_C4R^^^^ 


■I    AM     ITIK    IJKKAII    Ol      1.11  K'    (JOHN     c.     ;l.-,l 
(  INTKK-IKIT  UK       HKIKKNKMs      TllK         ltl<K\KI\<.       ol        HUKAI.-        \«.       lo,   Nl.       IN        IIIK 
"(iHKKK     <II\IKI        Ol      TllK    (AIA.OMI.    Ol      ST.     lK|s(l||.A.     ItOMK.     llUs|      mm,      ,,|       hIK, 

II.  <  KNTI  in.      AHIOK:    ■TllK   <,OOI>   sll  I  III  KHIl.       \    loll   I    \n    (  IIK|s||\s    si  1UK<   I     Ol     TllK 

III.  (i:\TI  l(X.      ItKI.OM:    TllK       IIXsKM     ol      o^lKUs       AM>     ITIK       <  I  !■    ol      <.I.ASs.-      KKSTIM; 
(IN   TllK   MVSIKAI.    Ilsll.   ANII    IMIlt  KsKM  |  N,,    niK    IKUMAMM     lUhsKMK    Ol     llll<|s|     IN 

ITIK   SA<HKI»  srK«  IKS— (AIAC  OMIt   Ol     -I      <    \IIIMls     ||     (KMTIt\ 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS  415 

THE  UNIQUENESS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  IDEA  OF 
SACRIFICE  AND  OF  SACRAMENTAL  VIVIFICATION 

It  would  be  a  grave  oversight  to  dismiss  this  subject  without  making 
a  final  appeal  to  the  united  facts  of  antiquity  with  a  view  to  understand- 
ing, more  explicitly  perhaps  than  heretofore,  how  unbridgeable  is  the 
chasm  that  separates  the  new  dispensation  from  the  old,  how  incom- 
parably superior  is  the  Christian  doctrine  of  sacrifice  and  its  mediation 
through  sacramental  channels  than  any  of  its  pagan  or  Jewish  forerun- 
ners. For  this  purpose  it  will  be  both  useful  and  equitable  to  make  a  short 
comparison  of  the  two  systems  in  order  to  bring  out  more  forcibly,  (1)  the 
points  of  resemblance,  (2)  the  points  of  intrinsic  dilTerence,  by  which  this 
superiority  may  be  brought  more  clearly  to  the  surface. 

Both  Systems  Convey  the  Me.4ns  op  Sanctification 

It  is  evident,  in  the  first  place,  that  in  so  far  as  nature  herself  can  be 
used  as  a  "symbol  of  love",  the  employment  of  this  or  that  medium  for 
communicating  with  the  powers  above  is  simply  dictated  by  the  common 
conscience  of  mankind,  it  is  the  most  natural  and  spontaneous  of  human 
actions.  Without  some  external  ritual  or  symbolism  a  real,  living  religion 
cannot  for  a  long  time  continue;  it  sinks  into  mere  speculation,  a  mere 
"theory"  of  the  relations  of  God  to  man.  Hence  it  should  not  be  surpris- 
ing that  in  almost  all  the  ages  of  man  the  idea  of  obtaining  some  kind  of 
help  from  supernatural  powers  by  means  of  ordinary  every-day  channels 
is  the  outgrowth  of  a  mere  instinct,  for  which  there  is  abundant  precedent 
in  human  nature  as  such.  What  would  we  think  of  a  human  family,  or 
even  a  large  society,  in  which  all  expressions  of  devotion,  all  tokens  of 
affection,  all  signs  of  internal  gratitude,  all  marks  of  internal  love,  were 
constantly  and  conspicuously  absent?  They  would  be  branded  as  bar- 
barians, unfit  to  share  in  tlie  common  decencies  of  humanity.  And  so,  in 
the  liturgical  practices  of  mankind  we  note  the  common  yearning  of  tlie 
human  heart  for  some  kind  of  assurance  that  the  deity  is  benevolent,  that 
as  a  lact  he  is  there  to  help  them,  that  he  has  signified  his  approval  by  ex- 
ternal signs. 

Some  Consciousness  op  the  Divine  Benignity  is  Universal 

In  the  interpretation  of  the  pre-Christian  ritual  of  mankind  it  is,  there- 
fore, no  strain  whatever  upon  our  Christian  conscience  to  admit  that  many 
of  these  practices  may,  and  perhaps  actually  do,  confer  a  certain  natural 
tendency  to  things  above,  a  certain  beginning  in  the  fruition  of  the  divine 
goodness. 


416  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

Similarities  op  Needs  Beget  Similarities  op  Expression 

Coming  more  particularly  to  the  individual  rites,  we  may  also  will- 
ingly concede  that,  as  they  are  founded  upon  the  universal  needs  of 
humanity  in  all  ages,  some  external,  and  even  internal  resemblances  may 
be  traced  in  their  general  structure  and  portent.  The  sprinkling  of  water 
is  vaguely  promissory  of  a  rise  to  a  higher  life,  of  the  washing  away  of  the 
initial  defilement,  of  the  healing  of  the  primitive  breach  between  God  and 
man.  Nay  more,  in  the  climax  of  all  the  ritual  we  may  dimly  discern  a 
faint  analogy  between  the  first-fruit  sadaka  and  those  more  exuberant 
gifts  of  the  divine  love  that  are  in  the  exclusive  possession  of  the  Holy 
Eucharist.  In  both  cases  there  is  an  imparting  of  divine  power  in  or 
through  the  sacrificial  elements,  which,  however  misunderstood  or  per- 
verted in  the  premes.sianic  days  of  humanity,  cannot  but  betoken  some 
form  of  union,  and  that  of  the  most  intimate  kind,  between  the  Creator  and 
the  creature.  The  whole  ceremony  is  dimly  prophetic  of  the  day  when 
the  God  of  Heaven  shall  give  Himself  in  His  fulness  to  His  starving  chil- 
dren, shall  be  sacrificed  in  a  unique  and  unapproachable  siMise  on  the  altar 
of  Calvary  and  in  the  Eucharistic  Cenacle.  To  this  extent,  then,  we  may 
speak  of  a  mystical  or  prophetical  yearning  after  God  throughout  the 
cycles  of  time,  in  that  by  some  mysterious  supernatural  light,  He  has  sig- 
nified His  coming  in  human  flesh  and  His  conveyance  of  the  divine  life  as 
a  food  for  the  soul  by  certain  vague  and  adumbrative  symbols,  which  pre- 
figure the  real  immolation  that  will  some  day  be  enacted.  In  this,  as  in 
other  great  interventions  of  the  divine  mercy,  coming  events  cast  their 
shadows  before.  "As  he  spake  by  the  mouth  of  his  holy  prophets,  which 
have  been  since  the  ivorld  began", — in  the  canonical  "prophets"  these  signs 
are  unmistakable,  they  are  explicit  predictions. 

But  Similarities  are  Opposed  by  Essential  Differences 

Nevertheless,  a  more  searching  study  of  the  internal  content  of  these 
rituals  will  bring  into  ever-increasing  clearness,  that  the  dilTerences  are  on 
the  whole  far  more  pronounced  than  the  resemblances,  that  while  some 
form  of  communication  of  the  divine  is  universal,  the  mythology  in  which 
it  is  clothed  and  tiie  manner  in  which  it  is  manifested.  dilTerentiates  the 
pre-Christian  rites  so  essentially  and  fundamentally  from  their  modern 
successors  that  anything  like  a  continuity  cannot  be  spoken  of.  As  this 
subject  is  one  of  the  burning  questions  of  the  day  and  is  so  commonly 
mishandled  by  superficial  students  of  comparative  religion,  it  may  be 
worth  while  to  call  attention  to  three  aspects  at  least,  in  which  the  old  and 
the  new  medicines  difl'er,  not  only  in  degree,  but  also  in  kind,  in  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  divine  is  conceived  to  operate. 


SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMElSfTALS  417 

The  Trinitarian  Formula  is  One  op  the  Transcending  Elements 

For.  af  the  very  tlireshold  of  the  Christian  system  we  find  an  invocation 
of  the  divine  name,  which  under  the  triune  designation  of  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost,  is  something  entirely  new  in  the  religious  experience  of 
mankind.  To  wash  with  water,  and  to  invoke  the  blessing  of  Heaven  is 
indeed  natural  enough;  but  to  baptise  in  the  name  of  a  superhuman,  in- 
comprehensible mystery  is  clearly  beyond  the  unassisted  powers  of  man 
to  efTect, — it  postulates  a  direct  and  unique  illumination  from  an  equally 
unique  and  supernatural  source.  Hence  the  derivation  of  the  rite  of  bap- 
tism from  the  Levitical,  nay  even  from  the  Mithraic  purification-cere- 
monies, breaks  to  pieces  under  this  one  hammer  alone,  for  in  none  of  the 
pre-Christian  or  non-Christian  rites  is  there  the  remotest  hint  of  a  triune 
nature  of  God,  the  so-called  triads  being,  as  we  have  conclusively  shown  in 
our  first  chapter,  but  an  empty  and  cosmic  designation  for  the  three  points 
of  the  universe,  and  moreover  entirely  eclipsed  and  forgotten  in  the  age 
of  the  historical  appearance  of  the  Messiah.  And  this  will  apply  with 
equal  force  to  all  those  further  sacramental  actions,  with  which  the  name 
of  the  Trinity  is  essentially  coupled, — Confirmation,  Eucharist,  Penance, 
Extreme  Unction,  Holy  Order,  and  the  rest.  If  the  Trinity  itself  is  a  unique 
revelation,  it  will  stand  to  reason  that  these  trinitarian  rites  are  equally  so; 
they  are  raised  far  above  the  level  of  nature. 

The  Personal  Imjiolation  op  God  is  Another 

But  we  would  be  ignoring  the  central  dogma  of  the  Christian  faith  were 
we  to  stop  short  with  the  mere  names  of  things,  however  sublime.  The 
invocations  of  the  Holy  Trinity  lead  us  to  suspect  that  in  other  depart- 
ments also  there  have  been  divine  activities  which  are  far  in  excess  of 
what  has  ever  before  taken  place  on  the  stage  of  the  world's  history.  We 
have  seen  that,  although  we  have  something  approaching  to  the  idea  of 
personality  in  the  earliest  consciousness  of  man,  the  socalled  "immola- 
tion" of  God  is  at  most  mystical  and  adumbrative,  while  in  the  later  ages 
the  notion  of  a  personal  subsistence  begins  to  fade  away  altogether,  until 
it  is  revived,  but  only  with  partial  success  and  with  a  strongly  animistic 
and  pantheistic  coloring,  among  the  more  refined  peoples  of  Western  Asia. 
But  it  was  reserved  for  the  historic  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God  to  bring 
out  this  idea  of  personality,  whether  in  the  Creator  or  in  the  creature,  in 
all  its  sublime  and  unadulterated  purity.  Here  alone  do  we  find,  not  only 
the  idea,  but  the  actual  fact  of  a  suffering  and  dying  God,  one  who  is  no 
mere  product  of  the  mythical  fancy,  but  the  personal  supporter  of  the 
powers  of  the  universe, — God  and  man. 


418  SACRIFICE  AND  SACRAMENTALS 

The  Imparting  of  the  Divine  Life  is  a  Third 

From  this  inimitable  reality  it  will  follow  that  tiip  sacramental  "giving" 
of  the  Body  of  Christ  is  hardly  the  outgrowth  of  a  Jewish  rifiapc  or  a 
Persian  love-feast.  Apart  from  the  entire  novelty  of  the  words  of  institu- 
tion, the  terms  "body  of  God",  "life  of  God",  "gift  of  God",  as  used  in  the 
contemporary  cults,  must  always  be  understood  in  the  light  of  the  mental 
atmosphere  of  the  times, — they  are  one  and  all  either  tinged  with  the  idea 
of  "emanation"  pure  and  simple,  as  in  the  Egyptian  mysteries  and  the  later 
Neo-Platonism,  or  they  are  obscured  by  a  vague  naturalism  and  undis- 
guised polytheism,  which  makes  of  Mithras  and  Demeter  little  more  than 
solar  or  lunar  heroes,  or,  finally,  they  have  lost  all  definite  theological  con- 
tent, if  indeed  they  ever  possessed  one,  as  in  the  Jewish  funeral  feasts. 
Moreover  it  is  no  small  assumption  to  suppose  that  the  Mithraic  rites  of 
the  time  of  Augustus  were  identical  with  those  of  the  Persian  Achaemenids 
or  of  still  earlier  times,  when  the  worship  of  the  great  Mazda  w^as  still 
comparatively  pure.  The  one  liturgy  that  we  possess  of  this  kind  is  of  very 
late  redaction,  and  would  rather  incline  us  to  suppose  the  opposite,  it  is 
full  of  puerilities  and  corruptions.  Thus  in  spite  of  a  similarity  of  termin- 
ologies it  is  quite  impossible  to  derive  the  Christian  concept  of  a  personal 
sharing  of  the  Life  of  God  from  any  of  the  surrounding  "life"-philoso- 
phies.  That  which  makes  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the  Eucharist  so  in- 
comparably superior  to  any  of  its  supposed  predecessors  is  the  giving  of 
God  Himself  in  Hix  own  incommunicable  purity,  not  the  acquiring  of  this 
or  that  mysterious  or  praeternatural  quality  vaguely  associated  with  a 
power  above.  And  it  is  this  which  should  always  be  uppermost  in  our 
minds  whenever  wo  attempt  to  institute  comparisons. 

The  Moral  Criterion  Should  Not  be  Omitted 

While  anything  like  an  adequate  treatment  of  this  subject  must  here  be 
relinquished,  it  is  clear  that  a  supernatural  moral  effect  requires  a  pro- 
portionately supernatural  cause.  If  then  the  worship  of  Osiris  finally  dis- 
solved into  the  lowest  of  sex-worship,  and  even  the  "brotherhood  of  love" 
was  incapable  of  stemming  the  tide  of  universal  corruption,  we  have  one 
more  reason  to  look  to  those  spotless  souls  of  the  early  Ciiristian  ages  as  a 
final  confirmation  of  our  theological  thesis.  "These  are  they  that  follow 
the  lamb  withersoever  it  goeth.  And  they  are  not  defded  with  women,  for 
they  are  virgins".  This  alone  is  a  moral  miracle,  which  can  only  be  ade- 
quately traced  to  a  heavenly  power.  The  fact  is,  they  are  living  the  life  of 
God  in  a  personal  sense,  for  the  first  lime  they  are  sharers  in  the  divine 
nature  as  such,  they  are  pulsating  with  tiie  super-conceivable  life  of  the 
Holy  Trinity, — divinae  consortes  naturae! 


CHAPTER    THE    SIXTH 

DE  DEO  CONSUMMATORE 
IN  VIA 


lustrations  of  the  Doctrine  of 
Temporal  Retribution 


THE  RUINS  OF  THE  GREATEST  MONUMENT 
IN  ANTIQUITY 

TMK  UltiANTK     MOl  NU   OF   IIIKS-XIMKOD   STANDS  AS  A   SKNTINKI,  Ol      TlIK    KIVINK  .11  STICK 

AND    A    I'KKI'KTI  AL    KXAMri.K    OK    THK    FRISTKATION    OF    IH  MAX    AJIIUTION.— TlIK    MOST 

CONSI'IflOl  S    OB.IK<T    IN    THK     KNTIRF;    MESOl'OTAMIAN     ri.AINS.— MS     l-KKSKM'     IIKKill'l 

nEIN«i    A1HM  T    130  FEKT.   AMI    VISIBI.F;   F'OR   MANY    MII.Ks    0\  KK     I  UK    I T  A  r    I.O«i.\Vi)s. 


F<»K   I'OSSIBI.K   fONNKXIONS   WITH   THK   TKADITIONAL   •TOM'EK'.   CONSl  LT    VKiOl  KOI  X.   I.A 

UIBI.E   ET   I.ES   DECOl  VEKTKS   MODERNES.    (PARIS,    1896).    VOL.    I.    1".    3;.%-40l.   AND    COMPARE 

THE    FINDINGS    OF    RAWI.INSON,    SAYCE.    BALL,    OPPEBT,    SCHRAUKR,    SKINNER.    JASTROW. 

AND  JERF;MIAS   on   THE   SAME   SI  BJEC'T. 

lOK  HOKSIITAJ3SI  M.  BAR— SAP,  "DIVISION  OF  TOXCil  ES,"  SEM.  BAK-MPTl.  IIKHK.  HAK- 
sKI'llATII  IBAHAK-SAPIIAII).  AND  THEN  ASSIMILATED  WITH  BAl.AI.  KAMIKL.  HABKI.. 
(ItAlt-il.l  .  "(iAIK  OF  <iOI>").  SKK  VKiOFROI  X.  OP.  <TT.  P.  SDK.  IMl.MWN.  <iKN.  ■.'o:.  MKKI.. 
tiKN.   ■.'(Ml.      ilOKKK<;.   <iKN.    f.U,   BAHION.  BABYLONIAN    WRIIIN<i.    N.i.   ;:    iBAK).   No.   310    IS.VP). 


RETRIBUTION  419 


In  the  preceding  chapters  we  have  treated  of  tlie  supreme  Being  chiefly 
as  the  Creator  and  the  Preserver  of  man,  we  have  looked  upon  Him  as  the 
source  of  existence,  the  hope  of  salvation,  the  object  of  sacrifice.  It  is 
now  time  to  turn  our  attention  to  a  different  aspect  of  the  divine  economy, 
that  under  which  He  rewards  or  punishes  mankind  by  sanctions  more  or 
less  rigorous  in  order  to  carry  out  the  moral  plan  of  the  universe,  the 
glorification  of  His  name,  the  fulfilment  of  His  eternal  law.  For  it  is 
clearly  insufficient  to  speak  of  God  as  the  ultimate  aim  of  humanity  unless 
he  is  capable  of  vindicating  his  authority  as  a  moral  person  by  actions, 
purgative,  punitive,  or  remunerative,  as  the  case  may  be.  If  human  justice 
requires  the  punishment  of  the  sinner  and  the  reward  of  the  just,  in  default 
of  which  human  life  would  have  no  meaning,  so  much  more  does  the 
divine  justice  necessitate  a  definite  system  of  retribution,  without  which 
the  moral  government  of  the  world  would  come  to  an  end,  and  He  Him- 
self incapable  of  carrying  out  the  great  plan.  It  is  true  that  the  nature  of 
this  recompense  is  not  thereby  specified,  nor  can  we  exclude  those  higher 
counsels  of  perfection  by  which  select  souls  serve  him  for  His  own  sake 
and  not  for  that  of  his  gifts,  and  are  thus  not  directly  seeking  the  external 
reward.  But  let  no  man  presume  to  say  that  for  humanity  as  such  phy- 
sical pain  and  pleasure  are  a  matter  of  indifference,  that  for  the  great 
majority  of  mankind,  including  the  "saints",  the  hope  of  heaven  and  the 
fear  of  hell,  have  not  ever  been  the  strongest  incentives  to  right  conduct, 
nay,  even  to  the  heroic,  however  much  their  ideas  of  beatitude  and  damna- 
tion may  have  been  colored  by  their  own  personal  phantasies.  Happiness 
of  some  kind,  even  at  the  cost  of  sacrifice,  is  the  necessary  end  of  all  being, 
whether  we  define  it  as  a  purely  spiritual  delight  or  as  flowing  over  upon 
the  senses,  and  its  opposite  in  the  form  of  failure,  calamity,  misfortune,  is 
as  much  abhorred  by  the  hunted  bison  of  the  prairies  as  it  is  by  the  dis- 
appointed anchorite  of  the  desert,  who  has  failed  to  "find  his  God",  to  ward 
off  the  attacks  of  the  demon. 

If  then  the  cycle  of  life  is  inconceivable  without  a  constant  struggle  for 
a  definite  end,  physical  or  moral,  there  must  surely  be  many  examples  of 
success  and  failure  by  which  this  universal  law  of  existence  is  illustrated. 
Will  it  be  possible  to  find  such  examples  in  the  annals  of  the  past,  to  dis- 
cover how  the  Creator  has  disciplined  the  race  by  His  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments? 


420  RETRIBUTION 

This  brings  us  to  the  subject  of  our  present  consideration.  For  as  there 
are  two  sides  to  the  dispensation  of  justice, — one  in  this  world,  and  one 
in  the  next — ,  so  there  are  two  ways  of  approaching  the  doctrine  of  retri- 
bution,— first,  as  a  system  of  temporal  recompense,  by  which  the  good 
survive  and  the  evil  perish  as  a  result  of  their  observance  or  contempt  of 
the  moral  law, — and  secondly,  as  a  system  of  spiritual  recompense,  by 
which  the  same  souls  are  blest  or  lost  in  eternity  for  identical  reasons. 

Retribution,  Temporal  and  Eternal 

But  as  there  is  no  direct  equation  between  physical  and  moral  felicity 
in  the  present  order,  as  it  quite  often  happens  that  the  wicked  prosper  and 
the  good  are  chastised  or  humiliated,  it  is  manifestly  impossible  to  treat 
the  two  subjects  under  one  head,  they  should  be  separated  if  for  no  other 
reason  than  to  emphasise  the  all-important  moral  truth  that  the  existing 
inequalities  and  social  conventionalities  are  in  no  sense  final,  that  there 
is  a  "triumph  of  failure"  of  which  economists  have  not  as  yet  taken  cog- 
nisance, that  perhaps  "the  last  shall  be  first,  and  the  first  last". 

TempoR/VL  Retribution  as  a  Moral  Example 

Nevertheless,  as  the  preservation  of  the  race  and  of  moral  goodness  in 
general  normally  stand  or  fall  together,  it  is  equally  in  harmony  with  the 
divine  wisdom  that  certain  brilliant  examples  of  physical  and  moral 
triumph  over  the  powers  of  evil  should  be  held  up  as  evidence  that  even  in 
this  world  the  good  shall  be  saved  and  shall  prosper,  while  the  end  of  the 
ungodly  is,  "they  shall  be  rooted  out  at  the  last". 

The  Deluge  and  the  Babylonian  Dispersion 

We  have  already  seen  how  the  origin  of  death  and  of  physical  misery 
is  traced  to  moral  causes,  it  is  man  that  has  brought  this  temporal  mis- 
fortune upon  himself  by  an  act  of  moral  rebellion.  But  this  is  not  all.  In 
the  later  ages  of  humanity  we  hear  of  another  great  catastrophe, — that  of 
the  deluge — ,  in  which  the  few  only  are  saved,  the  great  mass  of  humanity 
perishing  in  the  all-devouring  waters.  It  is  the  object  of  our  present  essay 
to  attempt  a  short  pre-history  of  man,  by  way  of  showing  how  far  the 
existing  traditions  on  this  head  are  borne  out  by  the  universal  folk-lore  of 
antiquity  and  can  be  harmonised  in  such  a  way  as  to  present  a  fairly  com- 
plete picture.  In  this  way  the  story  of  the  Flood  and  the  Babylonian  con- 
fusion of  tongues, — familiar  from  our  infancy — ,  may  take  on  a  new 
scientific  and  moral  value,  now  that  we  are  able  to  estimate  them  in  the 
light  of  a  more  extended  knowledge  of  nature  and  man. 


RETRIBUTION  421 

EARLY  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

Turning  again  to  the  far  East  as  the  earliest  theatre  of  human  activity, 
it  has  already  become  sufficiently  evident  that  the  idea  of  retributive 
justice  is  a  pronounced  feature  in  the  mythologies  of  a  large  portion  of 
the  aborigines.  Apart  from  the  fall,  by  which  death,  sickness,  black 
magic,  or  the  evil  eye,  were  set  free  to  roam  the  earth  and  afllict  humanity, 
we  find  the  equally  strong  persuasion  that  by  degrees  the  whole  of  the  race 
became  so  entirely  abandoned  as  to  bring  upon  themselves  a  great  world- 
cataclysm,  by  which  all  or  nearly  all  were  destroyed  as  a  punishment  for 
their  moral  obliquities.  Side  by  side  we  invariably  find  the  picture  of  some 
great  national  hero  or  popular  demi-god,  who,  with  a  small  fraction  of 
humanity,  generally  saves  himself  and  his  household  from  the  rising 
waters  of  the  ocean  or  from  a  rain  of  fire  by  his  own  virtue,  industry,  and 
foresight,  and  thus  figures  as  the  type  or  the  model  of  the  divine  deliver- 
ance.   Let  us  see  to  what  extent  this  is  borne  out  in  individual  instances. 

(A)  Peninsular  Region, — Malakka 

We  have  already  called  attention  to  the  swift  judgments  passed  by  the 
old  Heaven-God  upon  those  who  transgress  His  laws.  The  first  humans 
violate  the  decrees  of  heaven  by  contracting  irregular  unions,  which  evi- 
dently implies  some  command  of  sexual  restraint,  of  observing  the 
ordinary  laws  of  social  decency.  As  a  punishment  He  "burns  them  up 
with  His  breath".  He  "turns  them  into  trees".  He  "converts  the  demons 
themselves  into  stone", — surely  a  powerful  warning.  But  if  the  lightning 
destroys  individuals  or  at  most  smaller  groups  of  mankind,  it  is  the  great 
world-deluge  that  destroys  humanity  as  such.  Relics  of  this  idea  may 
still  be  found  among  some  of  the  natives. 

The  Flood,  the  Ark,  ane  the  Rainbow 

"According  to  the  Semang  legend  of  the  Rainbow,  a  great  dragon  or 
snake  in  ancient  times  broke  up  the  skin  of  the  earth,  so  that  the  world 
was  overwhelmed  with  water.  According  to  the  Mantra,  it  was  a  giant 
turtle  that  brought  the  water  up  from  below  through  a  hole  in  the  ground, 
from  among  the  roots  of  a  "pulai"  tree,  thus  causing  a  flood  which 
developed  afterwards  into  the  ocean.  A  Benua  account,  which  is  the  full- 
est of  the  three,  refers  besides  to  a  kind  of  vessel  in  which  the  first  parents 
of  the  race  are  alleged  to  have  effected  their  escape  from  drowning. 
According  to  the  traditions  of  both  Semang  and  Benua.  moreover,  it  is  the 
mountains  that  give  fixity  to  the  earth's  skin".' 


^  Skeat,  Pagan  Races,  II.  186.    Compare  II.  339  for  the  Mantra,  II.  356  for  the  Benua 

version. 


422  RETRIBUTION 

The  Origin  of  the  Sea  and  the  Gulture-Hero 

In  at  least  two  cases  we  have  a  fairly  delinite  account  of  the  origin  of 
the  sea  and  of  a  semi-divine  deliverer.  Among  the  Mantra  it  is  To-Entah, 
the  "Lord-knovvs-who",  who  saves  mankind  from  complete  destruction  by 
procuring  the  death  of  the  turtle  from  which  the  menacing  waters  take 
their  rise,  while  for  the  Benua  we  have  a  few  additional  data : — 

"The  ground  on  which  we  stand  is  not  solid,— it  is  merely  the  skin  of 
the  earth.  In  ancient  times  Pirman  {=Tuhan,  Peng)  broke  up  this  skin, 
so  that  the  world  was  destroyed  and  overwhelmed  with  water.  Afterwards 
he  caused  the  hills  of  Johor  to  rise  out  of  water,  this  low  land  which  we 
now  inhabit  being  formed  later.  These  mountains  in  the  south,  together 
with  Mount  Ophir,  and  other  hills  to  the  north,  give  a  fixity  to  the  earth's 
skin.  The  earth  still  depends  entirely  on  these  mountains  for  its  steadi- 
ness," etc. 

"When  the  first  hills  had  already  emerged,  a  ship  of  pulai-wood,  com- 
pletely covered  over,  and  without  any  opening,  was  left  floating  on  the 
waters.  In  this  Pirman  had  enclosed  a  man  and  a  woman  whom  He  had 
created.  After  the  lapse  of  some  time  the  vessel  no  longer  progressed 
either  with  or  against  the  current,  and  ceased  to  be  driven  to  and  fro.  The 
man  and  the  woman,  therefore,  feeling  it  to  be  motionless,  nibbled  their 
way  through  it,  and  standing  upon  the  dry  ground,  beheld  this  our  world". 

The  Repeopling  op  the  Peninsula 

"In  an  age  gone  by,  of  which  they  do  not  even  know  the  century,  a 
Mantra  chief  named  Batin  Alam,  "King  of  the  Universe",  constructed  a 
large  and  beautiful  vessel  and  set  sail  from  Constantinople  (?).  This  ship 
not  only  sailed  with  great  rapidity,  but  possessed  the  wonderful  property 
of  propelling  itself.  It  anchored  after  several  days  voyage  in  what  was 
then  a  small  port,  since  named  Malakka.  In  this  ship  had  been  brought 
all  the  requisites  for  founding  a  colony.  Batin  Alain's  ship  was  not 
destroyed,  but  still  exists  (they  say)  underneath  the  mountains  of  the 
peninsula". 

The  Moral  Cause  op  These  Visit.ations 

These  items  can  hardly  be  called  more  than  incoherent  scraps  or  frag- 
ments of  a  story  which  probably  reached  them  from  Western  sources. 
Only  among  the  nogritos  and  the  wild  forest-folk  is  a  moral  cause  seem- 
ingly implied,  the  fire  and  brimstone  no  less  than  the  flood  being  sent  by 
the  Father-God  as  a  visitation  upon  the  sins  of  humanity  (supra).  On 
the  other  hand  they  seem  to  have  heard  of  the  flood  rather  than  to  have 
actually  experiencefi  it,— they  talk  of  others  building  a  boat  and  landing, 
not  of  themselves. 


RETRIBUTION  423 

EARLY  ASIATIC  TRADITION 
(B,  1)  Andaman  Islands 

Among  (he  neighboring  Andamanese  the  recollections  of  a  past  devas- 
tation by  water  are  more  pronounced  as  well  as  original.  Here  the  race  is 
pictured  as  continually  deteriorating  in  consequence  of  their  growing  dis- 
regard of  the  laws  of  the  Heaven-God,  the  violation  of  the  flrst-fruit  taboo 
being  the  root  of  the  evil.  The  original  paradise-race,  known  as 
chaugata-bangas,  are  described  as  fme  tall  men  with  large  beards,  and 
they  are  said  to  have  been  long-lived,  but  otherwise  similar  to  the  present 
inhabitants.  In  those  days  Puluga  was  their  friend  and  companion,  He 
taught  them  all  the  arts  and  the  use  of  fire,  and  instructed  them  in  the  use 
of  speech  and  the  manufacture  of  simple  tree-stump  canoes,  which  could 
float  without  braces!  All  this  came  to  an  end  with  their  continued  dis- 
obedience of  His  commands. 

The  Puluga-Flood  as  a  Punishment 

'•At  last  Puluga's  anger  burst  forth,  and  without  any  warning  He  sent 
a  great  Flood  which  covered  the  whole  land  (e.xcept  His  own  mountain) 
and  destroyed  all  living.  Four  persons,  who  happened  to  be  in  a  canoe 
when  the  catastrophe  occurred,  were  able  to  elTect  an  escape,  Lorola  being 
the  principal  man,  and  Kalola  the  chief  woman.  When  the  waters  sub- 
sided, they  found  themselves  near  Wotaemi,  the  original  paradise,  where 
they  landed  and  discovered  that  every  living  thing  had  perished,  but 
Puluga  re-created  the  animals,  birds,  etc.  In  spite  of  this,  however,  they 
suffered  severely  in  consequence  of  all  their  fires  having  been  extinguished, 
and  they  could  devise  no  means  of  repairing  their  loss.  At  this  juncture 
one  of  their  recently  deceased  friends  appeared  in  their  midst  in  the  form 
of  a  bird  named  Luratut,  a  Kingfisher.  Seeing  their  distress  he  flew  up  to 
the  sky,  where  he  discovered  Puluga  seated  beside  the  fire.  He  thereupon 
seized  and  attempted  to  carry  away  in  his  beak  a  burning  log,  but  the 
blazing  brand  fell  on  Puluga,  who,  incensed  with  pain  (sic),  hurled  it  at 
the  intruder.  Happily  for  those  concerned  the  missile  missed  its  mark  and 
fell  near  the  very  spot  where  the  four  survivors  were  deploring  their  con- 
dition". They  were  now  once  more  equipped  with  their  domestic  fires, 
and  in  spite  of  their  resentment  of  Puluga's  policy,  were  finally  reduced 
by  him  to  submission.  "This  is  said  to  have  been  the  last  occasion  on 
which  Puluga  rendered  Himself  visible  or  held  any  communication  with 
them,  but  the  warning  He  then  gave  them  has  not  been  forgotten,  and  the 
islanders  are  to  this  day  strict  in  the  observance  of  His  commands".  As 
these  commands  cover  practically  the  whole  decalogue  including  theft, 
murder,  and  adultery,  the  moral  import  of  this  "flood"  is  obvious.- 


2  Man.  -Andaman  Islands,  95-102,  and  compare  p.   Ui  above. 


424  RETRIBUTION 

EARLY  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

This  is  one  of  the  clearest  accounts  we  possess  of  a  drowning-calamity 
in  the  earlier  days  of  mankind,  and  its  authenticity  and  indigenous  origin 
seem  to  be  demanded  by  the  antiquity  and  isolation  of  the  people.  But 
what  is  more  important,  it  puts  a  definite  ethical  content  into  the  story,  it 
is  liere  more  than  elsewhere  that  the  whole  transaction  is  looked  upon  as 
a  punishment  for  sin,  and  as  an  example  and  encouragement  for  the  faith- 
ful. From  this  consideration  alone  it  should  merit  our  study,  as  well  as 
from  the  fact  that  it  recognises  an  ante-diluvian  race  to  have  preceded  the 
present  pygmoidals  and  to  have  been  more  closely  allied  to  the  normal 
type,  though  otherwise  belonging  to  the  same  group  and  of  similar  habits 
and  industry.  It  points  to  the  existence  of  a  taller  and  more  masculine 
branch. 

(B,  2)  Ceylon 

Concerning  the  folk-lore  of  the  Veddas  Dr.  Seligman  thus  expresses 
himself: — "There  is  an  extraordinary  absence  of  legend  among  all  groups 
of  Veddas  who  have  not  been  greatly  influenced  by  the  Sinhalese.  Con- 
cerning the  origin  of  men.  natural  features  and  things,  the  Veddas  seem 
absolutely  incurious,  nor  do  their  songs  refer  to  any  of  these  subjects. 
There  are  no  stories  of  talking  animals  or  of  hovi'  their  rockshelters  were 
formed,  they  have  not  even  a  tale  of  their  own  origin.  Apart  from  a  few 
accounts  of  the  origin  of  particular  yaku  and  the  deeds  they  performed, 
the  following  two  legends, — on  the  origin  of  fire  and  the  rainbow — .  were 
all  that  we  could  hear,  though  the  most  diligent  inquiry  was  made".= 

These  stories  of  the  fire-eating  chief  and  the  rainbow-woman  are 
entirely  devoid  of  serious  import.  But  it  is  surprising  that  no  echoes,  at 
least,  of  world-inundation  should  have  reached  them.  Are  we  to  infer 
that  they  escaped  the  ordeal,  that  the  waters  should  have  spared  the  land 
of  Ceylon?  This  no  doubt  is  possible,  but  in  the  mean  time  the  case  should 
be  placed  on  file,  pending  further  investigation. 

(C)  Philippines 

Similar  remarks  apply  to  the  Philippine  archipelago,  at  least  to  that 
portion  inhabited  by  the  aboriginals,  or  Aetas.  That  the  Negritos  of 
Zambales  have  a  wholesome  fear  of  divine  justice  is  revealed  by  the  fear- 
ful consequences  that  are  believed  to  follow  the  sin  of  sacrilege,  that  is  of 
tampering  with  the  sacrificial  objects, — it  means  instant  death,  or  some 
great  misfortune.  Manifestly  our  knowledge  of  their  folk-lore  is  as  yet 
too  limited  to  pronounce  upon  the  presence  of  absence  of  any  distinct 
nature-myths." 


»  Seligman,  The  Veddas,  p.  322.    ^  Reed,  Negritos,  p.  65. 


RETRIBUTION  425 

(D)  Borneo  and  the  Eastern  Archipelago 

Flood-legends  are  common  enough  in  Borneo  and  the  adjacent  islands, 
but  it  is  an  open  question  how  far  they  can  be  considered  as  of  native 
origin  and  not  rather  as  an  importation  due  to  contact  with  higher  Malay 
and  Islamic  peoples.  Certain  it  is,  that  among  the  wilder  and  more  in- 
accessible tribes  the  traditions  on  this  head  become  increasingly  rare, 
though  the  stories  of  the  swamping  of  some  remote  ancestor  or  the  salva- 
tion of  a  few  grandees  are  sufTiciently  numerous  to  point  at  least  to  a 
common  prehistoric  tradition.  That  the  Father  in  Heaven  is  an  exacting 
Judge,  that  He  punishes  mankind  by  sending  a  rice-famine,  by  with- 
drawing the  fruits  of  the  earth,  has  already  been  shown  in  the  preceding 
pages,  and  the  reconquest  of  the  heavens  by  some  great  hero,  whether  as 
Amei  or  Kling,  is  a  good  illustration  of  the  survival  of  virtue,  the  reward 
of  the  just.  These  data  may  now  be  supplemented  by  the  following  frag- 
ments : — 

A  Dayak  Story  of  the  Flood  and  Its  Consequences 

"Trow  was  a  great  man,  and  when  the  flood  commenced,  proved  him- 
self to  be  so,  for  he  procured  a  large  wooden  mortar  for  pounding  paddy, 
and  made  a  boat  of  it,  and  taking  the  fair  Temenjen,  and  a  dog,  a  pig,  a 
fowl,  and  a  cat,  etc.  he  launched  forth  into  the  deep.  After  the  flood  sub- 
sided, Trow  having  landed  his  stock  and  cargo,  thought  long  and  deeply, 
and  after  mature  consideration  seems  to  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
to  repeople  the  earth  many  wives  were  necessary.  So  out  of  a  log  of  wood 
he  made  one,  and  out  of  a  stone  he  created  another,  and,  various  other 
articles  having  been  converted  to  a  similar  purpose,  he  married  them,  so 
that  it  was  not  surprising  that  ere  many  years  he  had  a  family  of  some 
twenty,  who  learned  to  till  the  earth  and  to  lay  the  foundation  of  various 
Dayak  tribes  including  that  of  the  Tringus".  On  this  Grant  makes  the 
following  comment: — 

"Trow,  then,  is  the  reputed  ancestor  of  the  Tringus-Dayaks.  Tuppa 
is  their  Supreme  God,  who  in  His  anger  sends  thunder  and  lightning,  and 
in  His  mercy  sun  and  gentle  rain". 

Here  we  have  a  more  distant  recognition  of  the  moral  element,  in  that 
the  condescending  Weather-God  is  looked  upon  as  the  apparent  source 
of  weal  or  woe,  which  in  turn  are  conditioned  by  man's  behavior.  But 
the  accessories  of  the  story,  with  its  carved  mortars  and  organised  polyg- 
amy, show  pretty  clearly  that  it  came  to  the  natives  from  higher  Malayan 
sources.  None  of  the  aborigines  would  speak  of  themselves  as  the  authors 
of  such  a  state  of  society. 


» H.  Ling-Roth,  The  Natives  of  Sarawak  and  British  North  Borneo,  Vol.  I.  p.  300,  Vol 
II.  p.  CCI. 


426  RETRIBUTION 

EARLY  ASIATIC  TRADITION 
Anotheii  Version  op  the  Same  Event 

On  the  testimony  of  Schwaner  we  have  received  the  following 
account: —  "The  Ott-Danums  call  the  supreme  Being  Mafiadara.  He 
created  the  earth  and  all  that  therein  is.  In  the  beginning  there  was  noth- 
ing but  water,  and  all  endeavors  to  draw  out  the  dry  land  remained  fruit- 
less, until  the  seven  Nagas  (or  jars)  were  taken  for  a  foundation,  on  to 
which  basis  Mahadara  threw  the  earth  down  out  of  heaven.  As  formerly 
there  was  nothing  but  water,  so  now  the  water  and  light  are  suppressed 
and  the  universe  is  overwhelmed  with  earth.  Mahadara  stepped  down 
from  his  seat,  and  pressed  this  together  into  firm  masses,  stones,  etc.  He 
formed  the  mountain  ranges  and  heights,  the  depths  of  lakes  and  seas,  the 
beds  of  rivers  and  brooks,  so  tliat  the  water  now  got  its  bed  in  the  dry 
ground.  Only  after  tiiat  were  men  made  out  of  the  earth,  and  liie  rest  of 
creation  developed".    Then  he  continues: — 

"According  to  the  belief  of  the  Ott-Danums  there  was  once  a  big  deluge 
on  the  island,  on  which  occasion  many  inhabitants  lost  their  lives.  But 
the  crown  of  the  Bukit  Aral  at  Mendai,  which  may  be  a  side-pocket  of  the 
Kapuas-Bohang,  remained  above  water,  and  was  the  abode  of  a  small  num- 
ber of  people  who  were  able  to  save  themselves  in  praus  until  the  waters, 
which  had  covered  the  land  for  three  months,  had  abated,  and  the  ground 
was  dry  once  more". 

"The  Ott-Danums  trace  their  descent  from  two  difi'erent  ancestors,  who 
came  down  from  heaven  in  golden  ships,  followed  by  their  slaves  in 
wooden  and  less  costly  vessels". 

Here  again  the  nucleus  of  the  story,  with  its  rising  and  sinking  river- 
beds, may  well  be  traced  to  a  vague  recollection  of  the  past  upheavals  and 
depressions  in  the  island,  accompanied  by  more  or  less  formidable  inun- 
dations. But,  as  in  the  previous  instance,  the  mention  of  naga-jars,  of 
slaves,  and  of  golden  ships,  is  a  sufTicient  proof  of  the  recent  origin  of  the 
remainder. 

(E)  Melanesia 

Similar  ideas  are  associated  with  Quat-Marawa  in  the  Banks  Islands. 
"He  cut  himself  a  large  canoe,  and  took  into  it  his  wife  and  brothers  and 
all  living  creatures,  and  shut  himself  up  witii  them  inside  the  canoe,  to 
which  he  had  made  a  covering.  Then  came  a  deluge  of  rain,  the  great 
hollow  of  the  island  became  full  of  water,  and  the  canoe  with  all  its  occu- 
pants disappeared".  Here  the  deity  has  been  mixed  up  with  the  deluge- 
hero,  but,  according  to  Godrington  "it  is  certain  that  the  story  is  older 
than  any  knowledge  of  Noah's  ark  among  the  people".  -  possibly  a  correct 
inference,  though  if  is  wanting  in  solid  proof." 


'  Codringfon,  The  Melanesians.  pp.  166-167. 


RETRIBUTION  427 

EARLY  AUSTRALIAN  TRADITION 
(F)  Australia-Tasmania 

The  prehistoric  origin  of  some  kind  of  water-myth  is  proved  by  noth- 
ing so  clearly  as  the  existence  of  these  legends  in  those  portions  of  the 
world  where  any  infiltration  from  higher  sources  seems  to  be  ruled  out. 
As  in  the  Andaman  Islands,  so  in  the  primitive  Australian  area,  the  far 
South  East,  it  seems  quite  impossible  to  derive  these  ideas  from  the  white, 
or  any  of  the  yellow  races,  and  our  most  careful  and  trusted  authorities 
are  now  unanimous  in  repudiating  it.  It  is  only  where  the  flood-heroes 
are  associated  with  a  distinctly  recent  form  of  civilisation  that  we  are 
forced  to  assume  either  the  advent  of  a  later  race  or  a  transmission  from 
some  higher  channels,  through  which  the  earlier  heroes  have  been  sup- 
lied  with  more  modern  paraphernalia,— large  water-craft,  advanced 
implements. 

Ths  Tasmanian  Deluge  and  the  Aurora  Australis 

Contrary  to  what  might  be  expected,  the  Australian  region  is  fairly  well 
supplied  with  references  or  hints,  at  least,  of  a  great  visitation  by  water. 
The  numerous  Thunder-  and  Rainbow-gods  of  New  South  Wales  and 
Victoria  are  partly  pointing  to  such  an  event,  and  in  the  area  nearest  to 
Tasmania  we  are  in  possession  of  a  fairly  realistic  flood-legend. 

"Mungan-ngaua,  the  tribal  'Our  Father',  had  a  son  named  Tundun, 
who  was  married,  and  who  is  the  direct  ancestor  of  the  Kurnai,  their 
Weintwin,  or  father's  father.  Mungan-ngaua  instituted  the  Jeraeil  (or 
initiation),  which  was  conducted  by  Tundun,  who  made  the  instruments 
bearing  the  names  of  himself  and  his  wife,  (the  bull-roarers).  When  some 
one  impiously  revealed  the  secrets  of  the  Jeraeil  to  the  women  and  thereby 
brought  the  anger  of  the  Father-God  on  the  Kurnai,  he  sent  his  fire,  the 
Aurora  Australis,  which  filled  the  whole  space  between  the  earth  and  the 
sky.  Men  went  mad  with  fear  and  speared  each  other,  fathers  killing  theif 
children,  husbands  their  wives,  and  brethren  each  other.  Then  the  sea 
rushed  over  the  land,  and  nearly  all  mankind  was  drowned.  Those  who 
survived  became  the  Muk-kurnai.  Some  turned  into  animals,  birds,  rep- 
tiles, fishes,  and  Tundun  and  his  wife  became  porpoises!  Mungan  then 
left  the  earth,  and  ascended  to  the  sky,  where  he  still  remains".' 

Allowing  for  a  few  intrusions  of  totemism,  this  thrilling  anecdote 
reveals  the  punitive  idea  of  the  deluge  with  some  force,  it  is  sacrilege  and 
wholesale  murder  that  precede  the  event,  though  the  fate  of  the  survivers 
is  hardly  enviable.  Moreover  the  absence  of  any  reference  to  higher  cul- 
tures may  well  be  taken  to  indicate  its  remote  antiquity. 


7  Howitt.  Native  Tribes  of  South-East  Australia,  p.  493. 


428  RETRIBUTION 

EARLY  AFRICAN  AND  AMAZONIAN  TRADITION 

(G)  Central  and  South  Africa 

In  spite  of  their  sense  of  sin  and  the  temporal  penalties  that  accom- 
pany it,  it  seems  strange  that  neither  the  Negrillos  of  the  Congo,  nor  the 
Bushmen  of  the  Kalahari  should  be  in  possession  of  any  account  of  so 
widespread  a  tradition  of  the  human  race.  One  would  suppose  that  the 
Being  who  vindicates  his  sanctity  by  destroying  them  with  the  lightning, 
by  "banishing  them  to  a  mysterious  region  under  the  water",  would  have 
left  some  record  of  his  dealings  with  humanity  at  large.  But  no  data  on 
this  subject  are  as  yet  forthcoming,  and  perhaps,  we  may  add,  they  are 
not  likely  to  appear  in  the  future.  It  is  in  harmony  with  the  exceedingly 
primitive  state  of  these  peoples  that,  like  their  equally  primitive  brethren 
in  the  far  East,  in  Ceylon,  Borneo,  and  Malakka,  their  recollections  of  such 
an  event  should  be  of  the  vaguest,  the  wildest  tribes  being  invariably  with- 
out any  strongly  worded  deluge-story.  As  in  previous  cases,  this  silence 
should  make  us  reconsider  its  probable  cause.  Are  they  an  ante-diluvian 
race? 

(K)  South  America  and  Patagonia 

On  the  other  hand  the  South-American  continent  is  by  comparison  rich 
in  flood-literature,  though  even  here  the  less  civilised  areas  have  preserved 
the  tradition  in  fainter  form.' 

For  the  Botokudos  no  certain  data  are  as  yet  available,  though  the 
"Great  Master"  can  be  "angry"  with  his  children  and  destroy  them  with 
the  thunder-bolt.  But  for  the  Caingang,  Bakairi,  and  other  forest-peoples 
we  possess  abundant  examples  of  retribution.  Here  it  is  more  commonly 
a  "Flood  of  Fire"  that  acts  as  the  instrument  of  the  Almighty,  and  the 
causes  assigned  for  it  are  invariably  of  a  moral  nature, — it  is  above  all 
things  the  violation  of  the  couvade  that  exposes  the  culprit  to  the  visita- 
tions of  heaven,  to  the  lacerations  of  wild  beasts,  and  finally  to  the  great 
conflagration.  This  means  that  adultery,  incest,  and  sexual  crimes  are 
the  chief  cause  of  the  divine  anger,  but  never  without  some  examples  of 
virtue.  Among  the  Tupi.  it  is  Irin  Mage,  who  is  saved  by  the  Creator 
Monan,  and  wlio  then  gives  birth  to  a  new  posterity,  who  replenish  the 
earth  with  justice. 

The  same  or  similar  ideas  may  be  traced  to  the  extreme  end  of 
Patagonia.  Among  the  Onas  of  Tierra  del  Fuego  there  is  the  belief  that 
the  paradise-race  was  succeeded  by  a  generation  of  decadents,  whose 
crimes  of  violence  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  finally  a  great  Giant 
came  down  from  heaven  and  killed  them  all,  the  flood  cutting  them  off 
from  the  mainland.* 


*  See  the  sources  under  p.  54,  57,  S8fF.  above,  esp.  Ehrenreich,  loc.  cit.  ibid.  Cooper,  1.  c. 
p.  163-164. 


RETRIBUTION  429 

LATER  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

(M,  1)  The  Mundas  op  Central  India 

With  the  ripening  ages  of  humanity  the  consciousness  of  a  great  world 
cataclysm  seems  to  become  more  vivid  and  detailed,  which  again  suggests 
that  it  belongs  to  a  comparatively  late  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  race. 
Among  the  Mundari  peoples  of  Central  India  we  find  a  much  more  explicit 
version  than  any  tliat  we  have  so  far  considered,  and  as  it  abounds  in  many 
striking  and  interesting  anecdotes,  and  throws  valuable  sidelights  on  the 
early  history  of  man,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  reproduce  it  at  considerable 
length,  though  we  have  already  given  the  main  points  in  a  preceding 
chapter.' 

THE  EARLY  MIGRATIONS  OP  MAN 

After  their  expulsion  from  the  Ajam-Garh,  or  Garden  of  Adam,  (whose 
location  is  not  defined)  the  descendants  of  our  first  parents  "wandered 
about  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  over  hills  and  dales,  through  forests 
untrodden  by  the  feet  of  man  and  over  fields  unworn  by  the  plough". 

HIS  ARRIVAL  IN  CHOTA-NAGPUR 

Finally,  on  the  arrival  of  the  Oraons  (in  India),  the  Mundas,  always 
averse  to  living  among  strangers,  made  for  the  central  plateau  of  Chota- 
Nagpur.  "It  was  the  famous  patriarch,  Risa  Munda,  who  led  his  tribesmen 
on  this  eastward  march.  And  Risa's  followers  numbered  fully  twenty- 
one  thousand". 

THE  BEGINNINGS  OP  PASTORAL  LIPE 

"From  their  encampment  at  Muruma  the  Mundas  scrutinised  the 
forests  all  around  them.  Not  a  trace  of  human  habitation  or  pasturage 
for  cattle  could  they  discern".  The  story  then  describes  how  the  different 
patriarchs  established  themselves  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and 
gave  their  names  to  the  chief  localities.  Evidently  the  Mundas  were  then 
still  in  the  nomadic  or  hunting  stage,  as  there  is  no  mention  of  farms. 

THE  REBELLION  OP  MAN  AND  THE  FIRE-PLOOD 

"The  sons  of  men  threw  off  their  allegiance  to  Sin-Bonga,  who  there- 
upon sent  a  warning  to  men  on  earth  through  his  servant-birds,  the  Crow 
and  the  Owl(?).  But  men  refused  to  obey  him.  Enraged  at  the  impious 
contumacy  of  man,  the  Sun-God  showered  down  on  the  earth  below  a 
terrible  rain  of  fire  to  destroy  mankind". 

THE  CONCEALMENT  OP  THE  SURVIVING  PAIR 

"And  the  race  of  man  would  have  been  altogether  extinct  but  for  the 
saving  pity  of  the  sister  of  the  Sun-God, — Sin-Bonga-Misi.  The  com- 
passionate goddess  carried  off  a  man  and  a  woman,  and  hid  them  under  a 
jovi-marsh! 

•Materials  in  S.  C.  Roy,  The  Mundas,   (1912),  pp.  Vll-XIIff.   (Appendix). 


430  RETRIBUTION 

LATER  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

The  Sun-God  liad  his  suspicions,  and  he  despatched  his  bird-mes- 
si'Ugcrs  to  look  out  for  any  human  being  that  might  have  escaped  the  gen- 
eral conflagration.  Long  and  patiently  did  tlie  sagacious  birds  search  for 
some  trail  of  the  existence  of  man.  They  had  well-nigh  despaired  of  suc- 
cess when  at  length  the  crow  alighted  on  a  leaf-cup  such  as  men  use.  It 
lay  on  the  marsh  and  betokened  the  presence  of  man.  But  no  human  being 
could  anywhere  be  seen.  Straightway  the  crow  picked  up  the  leaf-cup 
with  its  beak  and  carried  it  to  the  Sun-God". 

THE  MAHSH-SPIRIT  AND  THE  DIVINE  DECllEE 

"Thereupon  Sin-Bonga  himself  went  down  to  the  marsh,  where  he  was 
met  by  the  presiding  marsh-spirit.  Of  her  he  demanded  to  know  if  she 
iiad  any  human  beings  in  her  custody.  To  this  she  promptly  replied  :— 
"All  men  hast  thou  struck  down  with  fire  and  brimstone.  Where  shall  I 
get  one  now?"  But  the  Sun-God  was  not  convinced.  At  length,  however, 
he  won  the  confidence  of  the  marsh-spirit  by  promising  not  to  destroy 
mankind  again,  and  added: — "Henceforth  you  shall  have  two  parts  of  the 
sons  of  men,  and  1  shall  take  only  a  third  part  to  myself".  At  this  she 
brought  out  the  surviving  human  pair  from  inside  the  jovi-marsh,  and 
Sin-Bongn  placed  them  once  more  on  the  green  earth". 

THE  DISPERSION   FROM  AJAM-OARH 

"And  this  man  and  this  woman  were  called  Lutkum-Haram  and 
Lutkiim-Buria  respectively.  They  lived  together  as  man  and  wife  at 
Ajam-Garh,  and  the  world  was  peopled  by  their  progeny.  Since  then,  as 
a  mark  of  the  marsh-spirit's  power  over  them,  most  men  have  some  wart 
or  other  mark  on  their  skin(!)".  (Compare  the  "mark"  of  Cain  and  the 
.scuritication-rite?). 

Considerations 

I  have  already  brought  to  notice  the  essentially  native  ring  of  most 
of  these  stories,  two  of  which  are  here  pieced  together  to  form  a  com- 
posite. Their  value  lies  in  the  fact  that  from  beginning  to  end  we  find  a 
jialernal  Sun-God  who  directs  the  destinies  of  the  race  by  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments, who  is  the  immediate  cause  of  the  flood,  and  who  not  only 
allows  the  few  to  be  saved  at  the  bidding  of  the  Marsh-spirit  and  the  queen 
of  heaven,  but  even  promises  that  in  future  two-thirds  of  the  race  shall 
triumph,  in  spite  of  an  evident  confusion  of  the  first  ancestor  with  the 
deluge-hero  and  the  absence  of  any  clear  reference  to  the  moral  nature  of 
the  "rebellion"  spoken  of,  it  must  be  admitted  that  they  furnish  us  with 
important  links  in  the  pre-history  of  man,  they  seem  to  reveal  the  con- 
tinuity of  some  form  of  divine  government. 


RETRIBUTION  431 

LATER  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

Another  Agcouxt  of  the  Dispersion 

The  following  contributions  to  the  early  history  of  the  Mundas  are 
described  by  Roy  as  "more  ambitious,  but  obviously  less  authentic", 
though  he  admits  that  "the  genuine  portions  of  the  legend  can  easily  be 
told  off  from  the  excrescences  put  upon  it". 

THEY  CAME  FROM  CENTRAL  ASIA  WITH  THEIR  SUN-(i01> 

"Lutkum  Haram  was  the  first  ancestor  of  the  sons  of  men.  Lutkum's 
son  was  Hembo.  Hembo  begat  Kus,  Kus  begat  Morih.  From  Morih 
descended  the  Korku,  the  Marki,  the  Santal,  the  Ho,  or  Larka.  the  Bhumij, 
the  Konko,  the  Korwa,  the  Sinji  and  many  other  tribes  who  composed  the 
Munda  race". 

"Morih  migrated  from  his  native  land  in  Central  Asia  with  his  whole 
family  and  his  fowls.  Morih  passed  through  Tibbat-nagar  and  crossing 
the  north-eastern  Ghats  entered  Jhar-Kand-Hindustan,  the  forest-  covered 
India,  and  spread  over  the  whole  of  the  northern  country.  They  wor- 
shipped Sirma-Sing,  the  Sun-God  of  Heaven,  and  established  powerful 
kingdoms,  in  which  they  erected  big  temples  and  forts,  and  small 
mounds". 

THE  EGYPTIAN   INVASION   UNDER  SISIRIM 

"One  Sisirim,  king  of  Missour  (Egypt)  led  his  forces  against  thi' 
Mundas,  but  the  powerful  chief  Seto,  at  the  head  of  his  terrible  troops, 
repulsed  them".  This,  as  Roy  says,  may  refer  to  the  fabulous  invasion  by 
the  Egyptian  Sesostris,  and  with  less  probability  to  the  Assyrian 
Semiramis. 

THE  HINDOO  INVASION 

"Hundreds  of  years  later  the  Hindoos,  Gonds,  Oraons,  Kherwars  and 
other  tribes  entered  the  Mundawar  country  by  the  north-western  ghats,  or 
passes.  And  in  time  war  broke  out  between  the  Hindoos  and  the  Mundas. 
Some  bloody  battles  were  fought  in  the  Punjaub.  The  mighty  warriors 
of  the  ancient  Munda  race,  with  their  bows  and  arrows,  their  stones  and 
slings,  their  drums  and  tom-toms,  fell  upon  the  newcomers  like  tigers  on 
a  flock  of  sheep". 

THE  HINDOO-MUNDARI   FUSION 

"But  after  long  years  of  warfare  the  Mundaris  began  to  make  peace 
with  the  Hindoos,  Gonds,  Oraons,  and  other  races.  The  Mundas  by 
degrees  even  went  so  far  as  to  adopt  from  the  Oraons  the  worship  of  the 
bhuts  and  choose  Oraon  wives  for  themselves.  And  the  offspring  of  such 
intermarriages  formed  a  new  tribe  which  came  to  be  called  Khantias  or 
Kharias". 

That  such  a  racial  fusion  was  exceptional  and  strongly  disapproved,  is 
shown  by  the  following  episodes  preserved  in  the  national  folk-lore: — 


432  RETRIBUTION 

LATER  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

THE  RACE  IS  PRESERVED  FROM  EXTINCTION 

When  a  Khervvar  chief  had  become  enamoured  of  a  Munda  girl,  tlie 
matter  was  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  Mundari  chiefs  who  unanimously 
decided  that  such  marriages  could  not  be  permitted.  "For",  said  they,  "if 
once  we  begin  to  do  so,  our  race  will  gradually  degenerate  and  at  length  die 
out  altogether". 

THE  HELPING  HAND  OF  THE  SUN-GOD 

When  the  invading  peoples  threatened  to  use  violence  to  force  inter- 
marriage with  the  natives,  and  went  so  far  as  to  burn  down  their  houses, 
the  latter  simply  retreated  into  the  mountains.  "They  constructed  leaf- 
huts  to  shelter  themselves  against  the  rain  and  the  wind,  and  had  to  live 
solely  on  the  roots  and  fruits  of  the  jungle". 

THE  REWARD  OP  THE  JUST 

■'And  now  Sirma-Sing  made  Risa  Munda  the  leader  of  the  tribe.  One 
night  Risa  had  a  vision  of  Sirma-Siyig  in  a  dream.  He  dreamt  he  heard 
Sirma-Sing  addressing  him: — "Your  sufferings  shall  soon  be  at  an  end. 
Awake!  Arise!  And  go  to  the  extensive  and  elevated  country  to  the  south, 
where  the  Assurs  lived  in  the  days  before  tlie  deluge.  There  shall  you 
make  for  yourselves  a  permanent  home". 

THE  BURNING  OP  SWEET  INCENSE 

"Risa  Munda,  guided  by  Heavenly  Light,  led  the  Mundas  southwards 
into  an  immense  forest  tract.  There  he  raised  an  altar  (pinda),  and  burnt 
incense  in  honor  of  Sirma-Sing,  and  made  clearances  in  the  forest,  and 
settled  down  for  good". 

THE  SERPENT  AND  THE  ORIGIN  OP  THE  KILIS 

Not  only  does  Sirma-Sing  destroy  the  big  cobras  at  the  petition  of  his 
hero,  but  he  even  makes  the  reptile  useful  to  man.  "Once  upon  a  time 
Sulia,  the  Patriarch,  lay  down  underneath  an  overspreading  nar-\rve  not 
far  off  from  his  house.  After  he  had  fallen  asleep  a  huge  Nag-Serpent 
(Cobra)  proceeded  to  the  spot  and  spread  out  his  hood  like  an  umbrella  to 
protect  the  sleeping  patriarch  from  the  rays  of  the  sun.  When  ho  awoke, 
he  was  amazed,  he  thanked  Sirma-Sing,  and  got  up  and  went  his  way". 
For  this  reason  the  Nag-Kili  or  Serpent-clan  is  one  of  the  most  famous  of 
Munda  totem-groups. 


Taking  all  this  material  together,  it  cannot  but  suggest  some  important 
reflexions.  It  is  evidently  the  picture  of  a  diluvial  race  struggling  to  main- 
tain its  honor  and  the  purity  of  its  stock.  Even  if  some  of  these  items  are 
of  later  addition,  the  main  features  carry  us  far  back  into  the  past. 


RETRIBUTION  433 

NORTH-AMERICAN  TRADITION 

In  the  contemporary  African  and  Australian  region  we  have  little  to 
chronicle  beyond  what  has  already  been  remarked  for  the  earlier  period. 
The  absence  or  rarity  of  flood-legends  except  in  the  Tasmanian  area  is 
continued  in  the  succeeding  age,  the  few  exceptions  being  hardly  worthy 
of  serious  consideration,  being  for  the  most  part  due  to  foreign  contact. 
Not  that  flimsy  stories  of  cosmic  upheavals,  storms,  or  inundations  are 
entirely  wanting,  accompanied  by  the  usual  saviors  or  surviving  deliverers, 
but  very  generally  these  powers  and  personalities  have  been  so  mixed  up 
with  mythical,  totemic,  and  cosmogonic  notions,  including  the  ever- 
appearing  world-serpent,  the  snake,  the  lizard,  or  the  hyena,  that  in  the 
majority  of  cases  a  connected  flood-story  can  hardly  be  recognised. 

Uifl'erent  is  the  case  with  North  America.  This  is  pre-eminently  the 
land  of  deluge-myths,  many  of  which  have  become  fairly  popularised. 
Yet  even  here  it  is  necessary  to  distinguish  the  earlier  from  the  later  tra- 
ditions, and  not  to  treat  the  entire  continent  as  a  mythological  unit. 

(M,  4)  The  Traditions  of  the  Omah.4S  and  Their  Allies 

For  it  is  precisely  among  the  (formerly)  nomadic  tribes  of  the  prairies 
that  the  recollections  of  such  a  catastrophe  are  still  in  a  vague  and  un- 
moulded  state,  not  half  so  elaborate  as  in  the  highland  region. 

the  plumed  snake  and  the  thunder-bird 

Among  the  subjects  which,  according  to  Dixon,  belong  to  the  oldest 
strata  of  beliefs,  is  that  of  the  Water-Spirit,  also  known  as  the  Horned 
Snake  or  the  Plumed  Serpent,  who  is  always  regarded  as  a  more  or  less 
malign  being  at  war  with  the  Thunder-Bird.  This  in  itself  suggests  a  past 
conflict  between  wind  and  water,  between  Sky-Father  or  "Thunder-Man" 
and  the  eternal  serpent,  who  here  as  elsewhere  drowns  the  earth  with  a 
volume  of  brine. 

THE  rising  waters  AND  THE  WISEST  MAN 

It  is  certainly  a  notable  fact  that  even  among  the  wildest  of  our  Prairie 
Indians  the  first  humans  are  invariably  pictured  as  either  rising  out  of  the 
ocean  or  in  some  way  battling  with  the  liquid  element.  Among  the 
Omahas  it  is  believed  that  men  were  originally  bulTalos  who  dwelt  under 
the  surface  of  the  water.  When  they  came  to  the  surface,  they  "jumped 
about  in  the  water,  making  it  muddy.  Having  reached  the  land,  they 
snuffed  at  the  four  winds  and  prayed  to  them(!).  The  north  and  west 
winds  were  good,  the  south  and  east  winds  were  evil",  and  so  on.  This 
may  be  called  the  general  cosmogonic  basis  upon  which  the  story  of 
Wisest  Man  is  founded." 


"R.  B.  Dixon,  Anthropology  of  North  America,   (New  York,  1915),  p.  28S   (by  Paul 
Radin).    Dorsey,  Omaha  Sociology,  B.  A.  E.  3d.  Report,  p.  229. 


434  RETRIBUTION 

NORTH  AMERICAN  TRADITION 

The  Gree  and  the  Cherokee  Rain-Flood 

This  idea,  still  shadowy  among  tlie  plains-tribes,  is  by  degrees  more 
prominently  brought  to  the  front.  Among  the  Gree  all  are  drowned  in  a 
great  inundation  except  one  woman,  a  Kwaptahw,  or  "Virgin",  who  saves 
herself  by  gripping  the  legs  of  the  "War-Eagle",  by  whom  she  is  carried  to 
a  lofty  crag,  and  through  whom  she  gives  birth  to  twins,  the  parents  of 
the  present  population.  The  Cherokee  will  tell  you  that  all  were  destroyed 
except  one  family,  who  warned  by  the  barking  of  their  dog.  saved  them- 
selves in  a  large  boat. 

The  Chippewa  Snow-Flood 

Among  the  neighboring  Chippewa  the  physical  causes  are  assigned  to 
the  melting  of  the  snow  or  the  mountain  glaciers. — a  more  scientific  con- 
cept. At  the  beginning  of  time  there  was  a  great  Snow-Flood.  It  was 
caused  by  the  gnawing  of  a  mouse,  which  bit  through  the  mantle  of  the 
earth,  and  thus  disimprisoned  the  internal  heat.  Suddenly  the  snow 
melted,  so  that  the  tallest  pines  were  submerged  and  the  water  rose  even 
above  the  highest  mountain  peaks.  Only  one  old  man  had  foreseen  the 
calamity  and  manufactured  a  great  oanne.  \ipoii  which  he  floated  about  and 
collected  the  chief  animals. 

Other  Accounts 

But  these  are  only  a  few  of  the  well-nigh  endless  versions  to  be  foun  ! 
in  almost  every  part  of  the  continent,  and  they  do  not  of  themselves  postu- 
late a  more  than  local  origin, — they  are  not  sufliciently  explicit  in  the 
matter  of  details, — whether  as  to  time,  place,  or  circumstances — .  to  war- 
rant any  connexion  with  old-world  mythology,  there  is  too  much  variety 
in  the  heroes,  the  boats,  and  the  method  of  survival,  to  require  more  than 
a  rising  and  falling  of  rivers,  an  elevation  or  depression  of  lands.  In  this 
tliey  are  distinguished  from  higher  Algonquin,  Pueblo,  and  Eskimo  myths, 
some  of  which  almost  force  us  to  assume  an  Asiatic  transmission,  so  strik- 
ing are  the  harmonies  with  the  biblical  record.    But  of  this  more  below. 

Comments 

For  the  present  it  is  sufllcient  to  note  that  in  what  we  have  called  the 
totem-zone  of  North  America  we  find  what  seems  to  be  a  growing  degen- 
eration,— the  old  punitive  notion  of  an  avenging  Heaven-God  welded  on 
to  the  Sky-W'akanda,  the  plumed  Snake,  and  the  Buffalo-cult,  by  which 
the  moral  aspect  of  these  water-exploits  is  considerably  diminished.  They 
are  more  in  the  line  of  physical  feats  than  of  moral  examples,  though  an 
ethical  content  may  no  doubt  here  and  there  be  inferred.  It  pays  to  be  on 
good  terms  with  "the  powers  of  Heaven". 


THE  BABYLONIAN  ARK  IN  FORM  AND  IMAGERY 

KKSTOKATIOX  .\<'(  OKIMNti  TO  THK  (OMIIINKI)  IIIIIIK  \l.  WD  A  1«  II  \  Kol  0<.l(  V I  |,  M  v 
SIIOWINC;  TIIK  KAKI.V  NKOI.ITIIK  IIOI  SK-IIOAT.  Willi  NKN  KN  MOItlKS  AM)  M\|;  (,)M- 
l-AlllMKMs.     nil:     |-|.ANK-<<INVII(I  (   |KI>     1111. 1.,     (llt\H»     11<M\>.      I  I  Itll '■  W  IMIOtVs     AMI 

"IIII'MXMMIS. 

SYLLAB.     ^  ^^      ^      ,^e>^.  ^    y^^ 

niK  K-iir-i'i  .  OK  "I  i.oA  riMi  iioi  >i;".  m  mkkian:   m  \ 
(1111-:  AiK  iiri'K<  ri  ick  <ii'  thI':  i.akk-i>\\  ki.i.incs.  sikxi  is.  i  .) 


SEAL- CYLINDER  T».EFETi.RlNq   TO    NIMKOD-  NOAH  ? 


nil-,    <.ll.(i  \>lh>ll-ll  \'<ls  \  I  K  A    Moill.    i)|{ 

•nil';  <.UK\r  i.io\-iii  m >:■{  ami   iiik  iiki.i  (.K-iiKitii. 

A    l-Kri  KK   or   NOAll    sr\MH\<,    IN     INK    IMIOK    ol      IIIK   AHKc'l 

SKK       A.       .IKKKMIAS.        IIIK       ol.ll        I'KslAMKM        IN        IIIK        l.Kill  T       OK       TIIK       AMIKNT 

KAST,      (NKW     YOKK,      Itllll.      V.     -.'111.      1.      MI.OI  KOI  \,      l.A      Itllll.K      KT      I.KS      IIKCOI  \  KK  IKS 

MIIHKKNKS,      (I'AICIS,      IHKIil,      >  Ol..      I.      I'.      Ml.      (IIKKK     (lll.liAMKSII      Is     .XICMKII     «  ll'll      IIIK 

St  KI'THK,  'Zl  KAI") 


RETRIBUTION 


435 


REGENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

(N,  1)  Babylonian  Version 

It  is  in  Western  Asia,  more  especially  in  Chaldaea,  that  we  meet  with 
the  first  attempt  to  arrange  the  past  in  a  definite  system  of  cultural  eras. 

Prehistoric  Chronology 

As  an  offset  to  the  incoherent  fragments  that  have  heretofore  meant  to 
do  the  duty  of  history,  the  entire  scheme  of  human  development  is  now 
unfolded  before  us,  even  if  in  very  general,  largely  mythical,  and  semi- 
cosmic  form.  It  is  to  Berossus,  the  Babylonian  priest  of  the  fourth  century 
(B.  C.)  that  we  owe  the  first  prehistoric  culture-table,  of  which  the  follow- 
ing is  a  brief  abstract,  with  its  suggested  Sumerian-Semitic  and  Egyptian 
values." 

The  Ten  Antediluvian  World- Kings, 

with  their  Egyptian,  Palestinian,  and  Graeco-Armenian  Parallels. 

Culture-Cycles 
in  years 

Primitive  Age 
(130)  36000 
(Initiation) 

_  Competitive  Age 
S|       (105)   10800 
iSjS         (Division) 

Communal  Age 

(90)  46800 
(Confederation) 

___  Constructive  Age 
5 1         (70)  43200 
.EjS    (Consolidation) 

Contemplative  Age 
(65)  64800 
(Worship) 

__  Colonial  Age 
<A-~  (62)  36000 
p5—       (Expansion) 

Theosophical  Age 

(65)   64800 

(Illumination) 

Mystical  Age 

(67)  36000 
(Speculation) 


Babylonian  Egyptian 

World-Kings  Ennead 

1.  Adamu-Apsu  Atum-Ro 

Father-Water  Father-Sun 

2.  Adapa-Lakmu  Shu 
First  Twilight  Battling 
Man-of-Dawn  Air 

3.  Amelu-Lakamu  Tefnut 
Second  Twilight  Heavenly 

Man-of-Day  Dew 

4.  Ummanu-Kisar  Geb 
Workmaster  Producing 

Man-of-Earth  Earth 

5.  Amelaruru-Ansar  Nut 

Man-of-God  Expanding 

Man-of-Heaven  Heaven 

6.  Davinu-Anu  Osiris 

Generating  All-seeing 

Son  of  Heaven  Light 

7.  Enmeduranki-Bel  Hathor-Isis 

High-Priest  of  Revelation 

Heaven-and-Earth  of  Light 


8.  Amel-Sin-Ea 
Man  of  the 
Ocean-Moon 

9.  Ubartutu-Nina 
Servants  of 
Ishtar-Ninni 


Typhon-Set 
Man  of  the 
Ocean-Deep 

Nephtys 
Servant 
of  Isis 


Adam-Eve 
Father-Life 

Kain-Abel-Seth 

Dualism 

Nomadic-Pastoral 

Enos 

Pious 

Man  of  God 

Kainan 
Master- 
Builder 

Mahalael 
Praise 
of  God 

Jared 
Generation 
Offspring 

Enoch 
Holy  One 
Dedication 

Methuselah 

Man  of 

God 

Lamech 

Servant  of 

Jahwe-EIohim 


10.  Hasisatra-Marduk       Horus  Noah 

Utnapishtim-Ziud  Savior  Man  of  Peace 

The  supremely  Wise         Egypt  Consolation 

Total  from  the  Creation  to  the  Flood  in  bibl.  &  babyl 


Aloros 
Rising  Man 

Ataparos 

Culture 

Hero 

Amelon 
Founder  of 
Communities 

Ammenon 
Maker  of 
Tenements 

Megaloros 
Institutor 
of  Cults 

Daonos 

Patron  of 

Flocks 

Euedorachos 

Father  of 

Mystic  Wisdom 

Amempsinos 
Father  of 
Divination 

Otiartes 
Founder  of 
higher  arts 

Xisuthros 
Deluge- 
Hero 


O 


^5 


"years' 


(1656)  432000 


Industrial  Age 
(53)  28800 
(Invention) 

Heroic  Age 
K^       (500)  64800 


f  Inspiration') 


"  Sources  in  Berossus,  apud  Eusebius,  Chronicon.  Book  I.  p.  7.  31ff.  (Ed.  Schoene) 
Cuneiform  Allusions  in  Haupt,  Nimrodepos,  90-92,  and  below.  Compare,  H.  Lueken,  Die 
Traditionen  des  Menschengeschlechts,  p.  146ff.  Lenormant,  L'Origine  de  I'Histoire.  I.  224fF. 
Jeremias,  Op.  cit.  I.  238.    Nikel,  Genesis,  164fT.    Driver,  Genesis,  80ff. 


436  RETRIBUTION 

RECENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

This  table  is  given  as  a  mere  curiosity,  in  order  to  show  how  the  Baby- 
lonian data  can  be  made  to  extend  over  the  four  ice  ages  of  Penck  and 
to  be  harmonised  with  the  biblical  and  the  Egyptian  system.  The  reign  of 
the  Hebrew  patriarchs  is  thus  seen  to  be  in  demonstrable  relation  to  the 
Chaldean  World-Total,  each  "soss"  of  5  years  corresponding  to  a  Hebrew 
"year"  of  1  week,  and  thus  120  "sars"  or  86400  "sosses"  are  43200  years  (1 
sar= 72-74  sosses),  while  86400  weeks  are  1656  years,  the  exact  figures  of 
the  Massorelic  text.  But  if  the  Babylonian  computation  is  260  times  as 
high  as  the  Palestinian,  it  is  more  likely  to  be  based  on  correct  time-esti- 
mates, leading  up  to  the  supposed  pliocene  man  of  the  late  tertiary,  though 
for  those  wiio  require  a  shorter  period,  the  same  data  can  be  made  to  apply 
to  the  last  Ice-Age  exclusively.  In  any  case  the  Hebrew  figures  are  far  too 
small  to  satisfy  the  minimum  demands  of  archaeology,  and  are  intellig- 
ible only  if  wo  suppose  that  the  writer  used  the  word  "year"  in  the  sense 
of  indefinite  period, — but  of  this  presently. 

The  Ten  Kings  as  Progressive  Examples 

(1)  The  Paradise  Age 

At  the  beginning  we  have  the  rising  Man-of-Earth  or  Father-Water, 
who  as  Adamu-Aruru-Apsu,  must  be  taken  to  have  preceded  the  later  cul- 
ture-hero and  to  represent  the  Egyptian  Alum-Ra,  the  happy  times  of 
Father-Sun.  He  emerges  from  the  Oceanic  Eridu,  is  created  out  of  Earth 
(Aruru),  and  equipped  with  heavenly  wisdom  by  the  Ocean-God  Oannes 
(Ea-Apsu).  He  loses  the  Bread  and  ^^■aler  of  Life  of  Auu,  King  of 
Heaven,  and  with  it  the  gift  of  immortality." 

(2)  The  First  Dualism 

The  same  tradition  is  now  attached  to  the  second  King,  Adapa-Lakmu, 
but  with  this  difference,  that  the  Father  of  Dawn  or  Twilight  is  forced  to 
battle  with  the  elements,  and  he  cuts  the  wings  of  the  South-Wind!  This 
implies  a  condict  between  wind  and  water,  Lakmu-Lakamu,  Shu-Tafinit, 
which,  with  the  Tammuz-Islilar  couple,  represents  the  cosmic  side  of  the 
Kain-Abel  story.  The  two  brothers  are  typical  the  nomadic  and  pastoral 
life,  the  shifting  wind  and  the  life-giving  water,  or,  more  directly.  Labor 
and  Life,  Work  and  Contemplation." 

(3)  The  Illumination 

But  the  greatest  figure  in  the  ages  is  EnmediiraJiki,  the  seventh  King, 
the  "High-Priest  of  the  God  of  Heaven  and  Earth",  clearly  a  corruption 
of  the  biblical  Enoch.  He  received  from  Bcl-Shamash  tlie  Table  of  the 
Gods  and  the  key  to  the  mysteries  of  the  universe.  .-Vs  such  he  is  the  father 
of  hidden  wisdom,  of  divination.'* 

"The  essence  of  the  Adapa-myth  in  Jensen,  Keilinschr.  Bibhoth.  IV.  1,  92flF.  See  above 
p.  213.  For  Adamu-Aruru=Adapa,  see  Hommcl,  P.  S.  B.  A.  1893,  p.  243ff.  ^^  For  Tam- 
mwr— I'u»iiu-/t(/o=A.Vni(-.^fc/M,="Everlasting  Son".  See  Pinches.  O.  T.  p.  82flF.  For 
Sumerian  parallels  to  Cain-Abel,  see  S.  Langdon.  Sumerian  Epic  of  Paradise,  (Phila.  1915), 
p.  52,  and  compare  Delitrsch,  A  H  B,  p.  588-589,  Kanu.  Kanaku.  Ka-du.  for  cane,  seal, 
impression,  work;  p.  113,  afl'i.  ablu,  for  son,  offspring.  But  ka  and  ob  arc  prehistoric,  see 
Index.      <«Text  in  Zimmern,  Beitrage,  p.  116-121,  Baru,  No.  24  obverse. 


THE  DELUGE-TABLETS 

SPECIMEN  OF  GILGAMESH.  XI.  6-20. 
DESCRIBING  THE  "DIVINE"  ORIGIN  OF  THE  FLOOD 


2E 


Ul-UP— -TS-KA      (tUU)  <J)U3AMEi         A-M^fTNI-Sl^ T1 

U  p|_nife  — -n        Sa        (LAN!  KA-A-^      UU- UK-St-KA 

(AU/)&u-ni-iP-T>»*.  ALU  ik* -n-TU-iu  >«r-TA—  Wi-wn^-n  W-MU 

ALU    ^-U         lA— BIB. —    MA  ILANl  MR-BU  — ^ 

A MA    2a-KAN    A-BU-B1        UB  -  LA  LtBB^C^-^"" ♦'^  "^♦♦'  KABUTI 

[kn^»v-^  ABU-au-NU(iui)  a-kiu—  um   ma-lik-s\h«u  ku-wvbu  (iui)BCU 

^UZALU— &U-MU    (\\-\i)    NIM— IB         CUOU- LA-5u-VJU    (ILU^  EN-KU— Q< 
^ILU)NIN-l<y-AZ^<S(lUJ)     E— A  IT—   TI-Su-NU       TA-SiB  — MA 

^_MAT— SU-NU      u-&A-AH-t^-AA(<A  tCI-IK— Kt-^    KI-IK-Klfe-Kl   - 

Kl  —  IK  —  KJ— feu    St-MI-MA         I dA—  RU       HI— IS-SA Aft 

AMILU      Su— m  — IT»-rA-KU— U  MAr(M)  UBAR.— (tLU)     TU-TU 

U-  KUR  3mi  BI-NI  \SU  EUPPU  MU&-^'R         Mi5t\I  ^ — •     NAP^WI 


TEXT:     DEMTZSCH.  A88YRI8CHE    LESESTl'CKE,  (rEIPZIG.    188S).    P.    101-102.  HAITT.    MSI- 

KODErOS.    (LEIPZIG,    1801),    P.    OiSIT.      TB.XNSLFTER.VTION    .\Nn    TR.VNSl.ATION:    P.    .lENSEN, 

K.  B.   (BKUMN,  1900),  VI.  230.      WINCKLEK,  KT.  SilT.      DIIORMK,  CHOIX   I)E  TEXTK.S,    (P.VKIS, 

1007),    P.    lOlff.     TKANSL.\TION.'i   ONLY;    PINCHES,    OT.    101-102.     JEKEMLVa,    OT.    I.    247(1, 


RETRIBUTION  437 

RECENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

(4)    The   DEOENEEt^TION 

But  the  divine  message  is  soon  distorted  and  becomes  tlie  basis  of  false 
wisdom,  of  occultism,  of  nature-worship,  symbolised  by  Amel-Siii,  "the 
Man  of  the  Moon".  Even  Methuselah,  the  "Man  of  God",  is  possibly  sin- 
ister, the  "Man  of  Violence"  (?).  In  the  ninth  king,  Ubartutu-Lamech,  this 
is  carried  still  further.  He  is  the  Servant  of  God,  who  institutes  farming, 
music,  metallurgy,  fine  art,  but  at  the  expense  of  polygamy;  he  glories  in 
his  many  wives  and  his  bloody  conquests, — the  dualism  has  now  reached 
its  climax. 

(5)  The  Punishment 

Finally  the  anger  of  heaven  is  aroused  and  all  are  destroyed  in  the  great 
Flood  with  the  exception  of  the  Hero  and  his  followers.  Hasisatra-Marduk 
representing  the  Wise  man  of  the  Bull,  the  Horns  of  Egypt,  the  Noah  of 
the  Hebrews,  the  Sisyphus,  or  Xistithros  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 

The  Mesopot.\mi.a.n  Deluge 

In  the  eleventh  tablet  of  the  Gilgamesh-Epic  we  are  told  how  the 
"Source  of  Life"  (Uta-Napishti)  received  a  revelation  from  the  Ocean-God 
in  a  dream,  warning  him  of  the  impending  calamity  and  commanding  him 
to  construct  the  big  ship.  Hasisatra  tells  the  story  to  Gilgamesh,  the  post- 
diluvian Nimrod: — " 
Col.  I. 

8.     "Father-of-Life,  {the  Wise),  thus  spake  to  him,  Gilgamesh: — 

/  will  unfold  to  thee,  Gilgamesh,  the  mystery  of  my  life, 
10.      The  secret  of  the  Gods  will  I  impart  to  thee:— 

Shurippak,  the  city  which  thou  knowest, 
H.      Which  lies  upon  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates, 
That  city  was  of  old  the  realm  of  Gods, 
And  they  determined  in  their  hearts  to  make  a  flood. 
Among  them  was  their  father,  Anu,  [shining  Heaven), 
15.      And  their  counsellor,  mighty  hero,  Bel, 

And  their  herald  Ninib,  bearer  of  the  throne. 
And  their  prince  En-nu-gi,  leader  of  the  host. 
The  Lord  of  Wisdom,  Ocean,  had  communed  with  them. 
And  he  repeated  their  command  unto  the  earth: — 
20.       0  Earth,  thou  Earth!    0  Town  of  sacred  fame! 
Hearken,  thou  Earth,  and  Town,  thou  understand! 
0  man  of  Shurippak,  servant  of  God  above. 
Destroy  thy  house  and  build  a  mighty  ship, 
Lonve  vhnf  than  hast,  and  seek  for  thine  own  life!" 


'5  Text  collated  from  Delitzsch  Haupt,  Jensen,  Winckler,  etc.  See  opposite  page.  Com- 
pare also  the  translations  of  Pinches,  O.  T.  p.  101-102.  and  of  Jeremias,  1.  c.  p.  247.  The 
above  is  a  free  metrical  version. 


438  RETRIBUTION 

RECENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

These  opening  lines  siiow  at  least  that  the  flood  is  of  celestial  origin, 
though  the  moral  cause  can  only  be  inferred  from  the  end  of  the  story. 

The  Construction  of  the  Ark 

Coming  to  the  details  of  the  narrative,  it  is  quite  interesting  to  see  how 
it  follows  or  anticipates  (?)  the  biblical  account,  even  down  to  the  cubits 
or  "ells",  by  which  it  is  finished,  the  "stories"  by  which  it  is  adorned,  and 
the  pitch  or  asphalt  by  which  it  is  cemented,  though  we  can  hardly  expect 
an  agreement  in  numbers,  and  the  detail  of  the  "door"  and  "windows"  is 
missing.  Thus  the  biblical  300x50x30  cubits  are  represented  by  120  ells 
of  height,  while  the  3  stories  of  Genesis  correspond  to  6  or  7  stories  of  the 
Epic. 

The  Introduction  of  Living  Beings 

77.  "With  all  that  I  had  I  filled  the  ship,  with  all  that  I  had  of  silver  I 
filled  it,  with  all  that  I  had  of  gold  I  filled  it,  with  all  that  I  had  of  living 
creatures  I  fdled  it.  I  brought  tip  into  the  ship  my  male  and  female  house- 
hold, cattle  and  beasts  of  the  field,  artisans,  all  did  I  bring  in".  There  is 
no  mention  of  the  "twos"  and  "sevens"  of  Genesis,  nor  of  clean  or  unclean, 
nor  of  Jehowah  "shutting  him  in",  for  Utna  shuts  his  own  door. 

The  Duration  of  the  Flood  and  the  Bird-Flights 

121.  "Six  days  and  six  nights  lasted  the  wind,  the  storm- flood  and  the 
hurricane  swept  the  land.    On  the  seventh  day,  the  hurricane  ceased",  etc. 

133.  "After  twelve  double  hours  the  land  arose  and  upon  Ml.  Mzir  the 
ship  rested".  For  six  days  it  remained  in  this  position,  and  on  the  seventh 
the  hero  sends  out  a  dove,  a  swallow,  and  a  raven,  the  two  first  of  which 
return,  while  the  latter  flics  away.  Thus  the  7+7=14  days  of  duration 
are  paralleled  by  the  Hebrew  40  days  of  rain  and  the  7+7+7=21  days  of 
waiting  on  Mt.  Ararat,  during  which  Noah  sends  out  one  raven  and  three 
doves  with  similar  purpose.  In  both  cases  the  entire  period  may  have 
lasted  one  year,  (Comp.  Gen.  8,  14). 

The  Cause  of  the  Flood 

Finally,  there  is  a  distinct  intimation  of  human  sin  as  its  moral  cause: 
168.    "Thou  sage  of  the  gods,  0  Bel!— Why  hast  thou  made  this  flood? 
etc.  .  .  .  The  sinner  ha^  committed  sin,  the  evil-doer  his  misdeed— Be 
merciful,  let  him  not  be  cut  off!    Yield,— let  him  not  perish!" 

Though  the  nature  of  this  sin  is  not  further  specified,  these  words  of 
the  Ocean-God  reveal  a  pleading  divinity  whose  role  of  mercy  cannot  but 
be  commended,— they  show  the  pitying  side  of  the  deity,  and  tiie  need  of 
help.    Even  if  the  call  is  now  too  late,  the  few  may  yet  escape  destruction. 


THE  DELUGE-TABLETS 


THE    r»  LLI  NC  OPTHE  SHIP 
[mimvw.    1-&U— u      eJ-si-cN-si    mimvv\    i-4u-u      e —si -en-si  mspu 

MIM\t\    I— [^iu-U  fJ SI EN-*1|  yiiRASU 

MIMMA     I— ^U-[u  E St— m}-^  ZEB,      tvlAPSATI  kA— LA-VW 

US-TE—  LI A [Na]eUPP|  KA—   lA       KIM-Tl-IA.       U    SA-LAT-IA. 

BU-ULSEP4    U- MA-AM  SEN     MARI  UM-MA-A-Hl    kA-U-Su-HU  U-^-Lt 


THE    3>U-R>^TION      OR  THE    F\_OOU 

m   ¥  JK^ <^  ___.^  ^    If  ^ 

VI         UR-  RA      -      ___—    _ MU  &A A. -n 

lU—    LA.K      5a— A-    RU       A-BU  — EU        ME-HU— U         I  —  SAP-fAH  kiATU 


SlBtl-U    U-MU    I-Na      KA-Sa-Av— a>(      IT feu-U     A-BU-BU 

133  If-q  <T[«11T^  ^^^^Tf      •-^I^^#= 

A— NA       Sm    (.xA-A-AN)      1— TH-LA-A  KA-   gu  U 

A—  NA     ^ADU      N\    —    SIR  I   TE--MH>  ELIPT'IJ 


THE   MORAL  CAUSE    OF  THE  FLX)CI> 

148      ^CT  ^W-y-  y^^m^      M^K   ^  |-H<p| 

AT TA  AB  KA,I-  I  LAN  I  KU     —      RA    C^u) 

KJ   I  Kl     r      -  LA    TAM   —  TA-UK-MA  A-BU-BU    TAS  -  KUN 

Be- EL        Hl-T'       e-MlD   HI  — TA"  A-iu  BE-EL    KIL-LA-TI   E-WID  KIL-IAT-Su 


■RU  —  UM-ME      A-A        IB-BA-T1  — IIC        Ju  -  »U- UI>     A-A 


THE  HOUSE  OF  THE  SEVEN    FOUNDATIONS  OF 
HEAVEN  AND  EARTH 

.    II,.\NE|.,.    ,    VA\S   Ol     THE   MKEK,    AND   KNOWN    AS 


e—    UR-IM1N-AN~  Kt 


g;ou»  ^ 

CSAMA3) 


YELLOW       (MA-RJDUK)    JUPITER 


.oxns,oN..  A....K.,.N. .....  ..„  ...,..;;;.^■:.v\,:v:v;;;;.:.:;'^;'v;:  ■;.;;..::;::;;;•;:■ 

I  It AO.  I  ..)\. 
BABVI.O.N    lNi>    IDHMIIA,     ,|.KII/|.i.     l.„,,  .  fUl  M.     \,».N 


THE  BORSIPPA  TOWER-INSCRIPTION  OF 
NEBUKADNEZAR  II.  (b.  c.  604-56I) 

SHOWIXa   THK   PROBABLE    ANTIQUITY   OF  THE   DESTROYED   STRLCTUEK   OB   BEFEBBDTO 
POSSIBLY   TO   80SIE   REMOTE   PREHISTORIC   EVENT. 

K.  1685  +  K.  1886,  COL.  I,  «6-32,  COL.  U,  14-17. 

26      I — .NU-Ml— Su         e  -  UR.-IMIW-AN— K|         Z»  —  KU  — RA — AT 


BAR  — SA.T»    (kO 

^      ^ATwm  rwA — Ay— T*.i       i— tu-^u-ma 


42.     AMMATU      U  —  2A— AK. K» 1RU-MA 

UU lA— A     R»  —  e  — 4a— A— &A 


Ul_—  -ru    U UM       -R.!  — E —  KU  — -TtM  IN— NA- MU-U-MA 


lA     iu— TE-^U--RU      MU  —  SI— e       M« C—  Sa 

Coi_. 

I. 

l^"     A— NA    £•— Bi— Si — &^ 


U  U  Ul LU U        -RU—  e— S»  — 3a      <VV— -  TA  A&-KU-UN 


(JtiJ)  NA-SI  —  UM    MARU-u£       KI  I—  KIM      Su- 


-UK  kA  —  Al tAM        ^i  —     I Ta.| 

i5i— —  rr — LU — Tu      na— ■r^_amo'-u)  maruuk 

•AT  THAT  TIME  E-lR-nnN-AN-KI.  THE  STEP-TOWER  OF  BORSIPPA  WOTCH  AN  ANCEENTC 
KING  HAD  BlILT  AND  RAISED  TO  A  HEIGHT  OF  42  ELLS  BtTWTIOSE  APEX  HE  HAD 
NEVER  C03IPLETED.  HAD  FROM  REMOTE  AGES  FALLEN  I'fTO  DECAl  AND  HAD  LOST  FTS 
DRAIN-PIPES  ••  "TO  BUILD  IT  UP,  AND  TO  RAISE  ITS  SPIKE  INTO  THE  AIR,  I  APPLIED  BIT 
HAND.     O     NEBOI     THOU      MGHTilL    SON.    THOU     SI  BLIJIE    HERALD.    THOU     VICTORIOUS 

FAVORITE   OF   MARDUK!" 
TEXT:     DELITZ8CH.  A88YRI8CHE  LE8E8TUCKE   (191S>.  P.   142.     MEI8SNER,  DIE  KEILSCHRI^. 
(1913).  P.  82.      (TRANSLATIONS  IBID.)    FOR  UL-TU   UM  REKUTIM—'FROM  THE  DAYS  OF  TiO: 
DELLGE".    SBB   DBUTZSCH,    ASS.    HANDW.    P.    60«.    (REKUTU     DISTANCE),    P.    627     (BLKKU. 
^^^  «,„   ^  RAKKATU.  MARSH,  INUNDATION). 


THE  SO-CALLED  'BABEL'-TABLET 

•I'PPOHED    TO    DES(  RIBE    THK    ANOER    OF    A    DIVINE    BEING    AT    THE    PLOTTINUH    Or    EVIL 
MEN.   FOM,OWEI)  BY   A   •CONJTSION    OF  TONOl  E8'.    K.    Mil. 

-.SjLl-kJU      AB- 

rn-ieiR.     FATHeT»(?)J 

T\-'iV      LIR BA-^U       lU-Xe  — 1K1 — MA 

H'S      HEART    T'LOTXeD     tVI  1_ 

A  -Bl  KA—  LA        ILANI  I-      =1  —    TIU 

-THE    FATHER.    CFAUL  THE  GODS   HE    KATE3> 

-n-SU    LIB—  BA-Au      IL—  Tf  IM NA 

MIS       HEART       T=»LOTTeX)      EVIL 

("■babyi-On]  W/i^^  ■vo  KE^n     TO    F-oT».ce-r)      la^ov*. 

i^^^^n^^Ti^  ^  ^  M  ^^ 

I     TiA  -  »U  U  U EiA--Al_—  UU        UliL- LA. 

TsMAUL.  Ai>uyi     qpie-AT  Ta.  e^^sr^e-P!.tM^        •se  f*vi  CE  i^^) 

.BAb]|UU  CK»)         SA-MI— m     A— NA      IL.—   Kl  IM 

E>.AB]YI-OM       WAS   VOKeD   TO      P^C'FS.CED    l_A.30Fl 

U         T>^A>  :Bu  —  U  U BA- Al_  — LU   .T>UL  — LA 

fSMALLlAND        <:if=»,^A.-T        T5.E  NDEfa-trO  3  C  »=!.  V  I  C  E  (?) 

-  I  3m-MA  -  AS>  31   — l«AA.        KA,— LA     U  — Ml  I  — §U— U^ 

r-rHROuav{lTV4EIB.  SvAIUlMQC,     ALL  I>AV    WAS    HC    ArT'L\CTtrD 

l)_NA        T-A    -  AX  —    2:1  >M— T\  — 4l-MA     I  -  NA  KlA-Al- l_l 

rTHROUGH]"rHEtl^     LANtCTN-TATIOIvlS     UF^ON   [Wta]cOUCH 

IJ  u  L  U t^-^"""  ~r^A  4 1  IT    TA 

(_  (Ja  U^   G^  —    -n  —   §U-MA   TE-MC-   GA-AM       I  — SA-PA-Ay 

[imJtHC   ANCJeROPHIS    HEAFCr     He' STOPPED  THE11*.  SUT'-PLICA-TION^?^ 

La-ka"\  ^u -bla-al-wu-ut  rA-Li  —  e   T^A  -NI-^U    ,^  — WU-UN 
[Vo]  C\  E  R.THPXVV  TTHE    KINi<St>OM      Hr    SHT    HIS    FACE 

[he  CHANjQeD^HElRjUNDeRirrAMOlNft.THEIK  COUNSEl.  WAS   ACTEHTD 

Ti:XT  AM)  TKANHfRIITION  A4('(>HI>INO  TO  KINO.  THK  8KVEN  T.IBI.KTS  Ol'  (BKXTION, 
vol..  I.  V.  MO.  FOR  THF.  VARIANT:  I-BV-Al.-M  Til. -I. A  (IN  LINK  0) — •TIIFV  VVORKKI)  AT 
HIE  .MOt  ND"  (THE  STFf -TOWK.K) .  SKE  DKl-ITZSrli.  AKHVRISCMK  I  FJtFJS- 

llliKK.   NO.   mn.   AK.NVK.    H  AMMVOKTF.KIII  (  II.    I'.   JIB    (  ni,I..»  —  .MOINIX.      lOR    EXAt  T    .MEAN- 
IN*. K   1)1     TK.M  \    iMINIIi     \M>    rVMI      ( l..\N<il  .\C.E>    WEE    lOEM.    IIANOVV.    IT.   t»:,    IM. 


RETRIBUTION  439 

RECENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

(6)  The  Restoration  and  the  Reward  of  Virtue 

The  story  of  the  descent  upon  the  mountain  is  in  the  main  parallel  to 
the  biblical  version,  but  not  without  important  difTerences. 

The  Sacrifice 

The  words  in  which  the  animal  sacrifice  is  described  are  more  real- 
istic than  inspiring,  though  they  convey  a  very  similar  sentiment: — 
"The  gods  smelled  the  odor,  the  gods  smelted  a  siveet  fragrance, 
the  gods  gathered  like  flies  around  the  sacnficer". 
On  the  other  hand  the  Rainbow  and  the  divine  Covenant  are  missing, 
instead  of  which  we  have  a  wrangling  of  divinities  and  a  translation  of 
the  hero: — 

The  Apotheosis 

"Formerly  was  Vtnapishtim  man.  For  evermore  shall  Utyiapishtim 
and  his  wife  be  praised,  like  unto  us  the  gods.  Far  away  shall  Utna- 
pishtim  dwell  at  river's  mouth!"  "Then  did  they  bring  me  far  away,  and 
at  the  river's  mouth  they  let  me  dwell". 

This  refers  to  the  distant  Eridu  or  the  Isles  of  the  Blest,  whither  Gilga- 
mesh  had  wandered  to  search  for  the  Herb  of  Life,  and  where  he  meets 
our  deluge-hero,  who  then  confides  to  him  the  entire  story. 

(7)  The  "House  of  the  Seven  Foundations  of  Heaven  and  Earth." 

The  same  idea  of  divine  punishment  may  be  contained  in  a  fragment,  in 
which  the  tower-story  seems  to  be  hinted  at.  It  tells  of  certain  "tyrants" 
evil-minded  men,  who  rose  in  rebellion  against  the  God  of  Heaven.  They 
tried  to  construct  a  step-tower,  but  the  wind  destroyed  the  structure,  and 
"Anu  confounded  them,  great  and  small,  and  confused  their  language". 

Even  if  this  refers  to  the  liberation  of  Babylon  from  nothing  but  local 
usurpers,  it  is  surely  an  interesting  incident,  and  we  know  from  other 
sources  how  widely  diffused  the  tradition  on  this  subject  is.  .\t  present  it 
seems  most  probable  that  the  temple  of  Bel  in  Borsippa  is  the  structure 
referred  to.  It  was  known  as  E-ur-imin-an-ki,  or  "House  of  the  seven 
foundations  of  Heaven  and  Earth"  and  was  said  to  "pierce  the  skies".^* 

Age  and  Value  of  the  Legends 

These  are  the  most  important  sources  we  possess  for  the  prehistoric 
period,  the  more  recently-discovered  fragments  and  the  "Sumerian"  ver- 
sion adding  nothing  that  is  essentially  new,  and  much  that  is  doubtful  and 
unsatisfactory.  They  show,  however,  that  the  main  current  of  the  flood- 
legend  is  immensely  ancient. — how  ancient  it  will  be  our  final  endeavor  to 
estimate." 


i«  See  the  accompanj'ing  tablets,  and  p.  419.  ''  See  the  above  sources  and  comp.  S. 
Langdon,  The  Sumerian  Epic  of  Paradise,  the  Flood,  and  the  Fall  of  Man,  (Philadelphia, 
1915).     Publications  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  Babylonian  Section. 


+40  RETRIBUTION 

RECENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

(N,  2)  Egyptian  Version 

At  first  sight  it  would  appear  that  the  Nile-region  is  without  any  clear 
tradition  of  a  water-calamity,  the  inundations  of  the  sacred  ri%'er  being 
regarded  as  a  blessing  rather  than  a  curse,  the  source  of  fertility.  On 
closer  inspection,  however,  it  will  be  found  that  the  cosmic  Ennead,  or 
Holy  Nine,  represent  a  divine  struggle,  in  which  Atum-Ra,  or  Father  Sun, 
is  continually  punishing  or  purifying  his  creation,  even  if  that  creation 
be  regarded  as  an  emanation  of  his  own  substance,  as  his  own  "heart". 

HoRus  AS  A  Moral  Example 

Apart  from  a  promise  of  redemption,  implied  in  the  triumph  over 
Apophis  and  the  translation  of  Shu,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  story 
of  the  martyred  Osiris,  imprisoned  in  a  chest  and  floating  down  the  river, 
followed  by  the  compassionate  Isis  and  the  avenging  or  redeeming  Ilorus, 
embodies  the  main  outlines  of  a  flood-tradition,  the  more  so,  as  it  is  Set, 
the  Ocean,  or  Typhon-God,  that  slays  the  founder  of  Egypt,  and  is  in  turn 
slain  by  his  victorious  brother.  This  means  that  Osiris  stands  for  pre- 
diluvial  humanity,  the  original  "Light",  Isis  is  the  mediator  or  rcvealer 
of  that  Light,  Set  is  the  rebellious  son,  the  all-consuming  Ocean,  and 
Horus  is  the  righteous  offspring  who  conquers  the  waters,  and  establishes 
a  new  dynasty.    The  legend  is  thus  seen  to  have  obtained  a  cosmic  setting. 

Addition.\l  Evidence 

The  following  fragments  may  help  to  shed  some  light  on  the  subject: — 
"In  the  beginning  the  Sun-God  was  king  of  the  earth.  But  since  he  had 
grown  old,  men  no  longer  believed  in  his  authority.  At  his  command  the 
goddess  Hathor  began  a  slaughter  amongst  mankind.  But  he  saved  a  few 
by  cunning.  He  caused  beer  to  be  brewed  and  to  be  mixed  with  the  blood. 
Hathor  drank  of  the  mixture,  and  could  no  longer  recognise  mankind  to 
destroy  them". 

"Thou  tookest  a  seat  upon  the  Cow,  thou  didst  hold  her  horns,  and 
didst  swim  here  upon  the  great  flood  of  the  sacred  Mehur.  There  were  no 
plants.  He  began  when  he  united  himslf  with  the  earth  and  when  the 
waters  rose  to  the  mountain". 

The  first  is  an  extract  from  the  Book  of  the  Cow,  and  as  Hathor-Isis 
was  supplied  by  Toth  with  a  cow's  head,  the  connection  is  evident.  By 
protecting  5eN0cean.  the  goddess  could  be  said  to  be  the  cause  of  the 
fiood.  The  second  is  a  hymn  to  Amon-Ba,  in  which  a  similar  deluge 
seems  to  be  referred  to,  though  a  derivation  from  Asiatic  sources  is  to  be 
suspected." 


••  See  Jeretnias.  op.  cit  p.  254,  quoting  Brugsch  and  Wiedeman.    Compare  also  Book  of 
the  Dead.  ch.  175,  and  p   265  above 


MIGRATIONS  OF  THE  ARK  AND  TOWER-MOTIF 


6HIPOPTHE  ClOtJS   AND    -TOWER     —    BAHYl-ON\A 


OaiR-lS  —  TANAMUZ.      CHEST    -  EQYFT 


THE  STEP- 


VYRAMm  OFSAKKARAH—  NtUE-DEUTA.ECSYPT 


PHRVaiAN  C01N-AS»AM«NOT».       SURVVvma  FAIR-MEKICO 


•pVRAMlK    OFTHESUN—    MEXICO 


RETRIBUTION  441 

REGENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

(N,  4)  Palestinian  Version 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  treat  of  the  Hebrew  ideas  of  justice  and  recom- 
pense, except  in  so  far  as  tlie  prehistoric  section  of  Genesis,  (chap.  1-12), 
offers  some  interesting  views  of  the  early  development  of  humanity. 

The  Ten  Antediluvian  Patriarchs 

I  have  already  called  attention  to  the  undoubted  parallelism  between 
the  ten  antediluvian  patriarchs  and  the  Babylonian  and  Egyptian  World- 
Kings,  a  parallelism  admitted  even  by  the  most  conservative  critics.  There 
remains  to  consider  a  few  of  these  figures  in  greater  detail. 

Adam  and  Eve,  or  the  Primitive  Age 

It  has  been  shown  in  a  previous  chapter,  that  whatever  outward  simil- 
arity the  Adam-Eve  picture  may  possess  with  other  Asiatic  images,  it  can- 
not be  derived  from  any  of  its  mythological  competitors,  but  rather  pre- 
supposes a  personal  illumination  of  the  author,  by  which  the  real  "'primi- 
tive" was  brought  before  his  eyes.  As  such  it  shows  us  the  first  human 
pair  as  a  naked  couple  which  is  singularly  free  from  absurd  anachronisms, 
from  phantastic  ornaments,  it  is  the  only  perfectly  true  account. 

Gain  and  Abel,  or  the  Age  op  Division 

In  like  manner  the  Gain-Abel  episode  is  the  first  true  portrayal  of  the 
rising  dualism  of  humanity,  stripped  of  its  nature-myths,  with  their  wind 
and  water-gods.  It  shows  what  is  directly  provable  by  archaeology,  that 
in  the  upward  evolution  of  man  there  is  a  gradual  invasion  of  violence, 
the  blood-revenge  appearing  quite  early,  though  not  in  the  very  earliest 
stage.  The  first-fruits  of  Gain  are  not  as  acceptable  as  the  firstlings  of 
Abel,  not  on  account  of  doctrinal  but  of  moral  reasons, — the  nomadic  and 
restless  Gain  is  a  type  of  the  pragmatic  busy-body,  the  self-seeking  tiller 
of  earth,  while  the  pastoral  and  contemplative  Abel  is  simply  the  "keeper" 
of  fiocks,  he  uses  the  animal  and  vegetable  world  as  a  channel  to  a  higher 
wisdom.  Gompare  the  Marlha-Mary  of  the  gospels  and  the  parable  of  the 
Sower  (Mt.  13).  Hence  the  double  list  of  Patriarchs,  (P.  and  J.),  with  cor- 
responding tendencies.'* 

Enoch,  or  the  Age  op  Enlightenment 

But  if  the  mark  of  Gain  can  be  read  in  the  literature  of  all  ages,  so  can 
that  of  the  pious  Seth,  and  the  two  lines  meet  in  Enoch,  the  man  of  "dedi- 
cation",— a  builder  in  the  line  of  Gain,  and  a  mystic  in  the  line  of  Seth. 
"And  Enoch  walked  with  God,  and  he  was  not,  for  God  took  him".  This 
is  all  that  is  said  of  this  great  "High  Priest  of  Heaven  and  Earth",  the  first 
mortal  that  was  too  holy  to  live,  the  father  of  apocalyptic  wisdom.'" 


'•  For  Cain  as  the  nomadic,  and  Seth  as  the  Messianic  hero,  see  Skinner,  Genesis,  111, 
139.    '"  Comp.  the  apocryphal  Book  of  Enoch  of  later  Judaism. 


442  RETRIBUTION 

RECENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

Lamech  and  the  Age  op  Invention 

But  if  Enoch  represents  the  contemplative  age,  Lamech  embodies  the 
industrial  life.  He  is  the  father  of  Jabal,  Jubal,  and  Tubal-Cain, — repre- 
senting farming,  music,  and  metallurgy,  doubtless  a  popular  Hebrew 
expression  for  the  rise  of  those  higher  industrial  and  esthetic  arts  which 
reached  their  climax  in  the  Magdalenian  and  Azylian  period  of  the  last 
Ice  Age,  with  its  painted  bisons,  its  superfine  llinls,  and  its  perfected 
musical  instruments.  More  was  accomplished  in  this  short  period  than 
in  all  the  previous  ages  of  humanity  put  together,  and  the  author  was  evi- 
dently conscious  of  a  sudden  upward  development.  His  further  items  on 
the  introduction  of  polygamy  and  of  increasing  physical  violence  admit 
of  equally  powerful  corroboration, — the  glacial  peoples  were  one  and  all 
(decadent — ,  but  he  does  not  leave  us  without  giving  the  other  side  of  the 
picture, — there  was  another  Lamech,  who  was  the  father  of  "Consolation", 
the  traditional  Noah. 

Progressive  Cultural  Eras 

It  is  thus  sufllciently  clear  that  the  inspired  writer  wishes  his  readers 
to  understand  that  humanity  rose  into  being  fully  equipped,  but  required 
many  ages  to  recover  its  lost  inheritance.  The  "fallen"  man  is  entirely 
nude,  then  he  makes  "aprons",  then  "coats  of  skins",  then  he  cuts  him- 
self with  the  tribal  "scar"  (the  mark  of  Gain?),  and  divides  into  "tiller" 
and  "keeper",  nomad  and  pastor,  the  collector  of  fruits  and  the  hunter  of 
animals.  Still  later  he  founds  communities,  he  makes  tenements,  he  or- 
ganises public  worship,  he  "calls  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord".  Finally 
he  "walks  with  God",  he  begins  to  reflect,  he  invents  new  arts,  he  is  the 
"father  of  those  who  live  in  tents  and  keep  cattle",  of  "those  who  handle 
the  harp  and  organ",  of  "every  delicate  workman  in  brass  and  iron". 
Throughout  there  is  an  intentional  scheme  cultural  progress,  which  is  in 
striking  harmony  with  the  main  results  of  ethnology,  and  though  he 
speaks  in  the  language  of  a  higher  cultural  age,  this  is  evidently  done  to 
make  the  narrative  more  popular,  more  universally  clear. 

Chronology 

For  the  same  reason  the  chronology  of  the  sacred  author  is  surely  sug- 
gestive, if  we  understand  him  to  use  the  Hebrew  "year"  as  a  division  of 
the  Babylonian  "sar",  and  to  be  speaking  of  enormous  cultural  periods, 
and  not  simply  of  the  births  and  deaths  of  individual  heroes.  For  this  the 
succeeding  table  of  nations  offers  abundant  precedent.  But  if  he  uses 
family  patronymics  in  the  sense  of  "persons",  the  whole  longevity-prob- 
lem falls  to  the  ground,  and  the  biblical  figures  are  seen  to  take  on  a  new 
and  slartlingly  interesting  aspect. 


RETRIBUTION  443 

REGENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

The  Nephilim  and  the  Great  Gorruption 

Whatever  be  the  etymology  of  the  word  translated  "Giants",  it  is  cer- 
tain that  the  writer  understood  Nephilim  in  the  accepted  sense  of  a  race 
of  abnormal  stature  that  was  supposed  to  have  inhabited  Canaan  (Comp. 
Nu.  13,  33).  Nevertheless  the  context  shows  that  his  primary  purpose  was 
a  moral  one.  It  is  the  intermarriage  between  the  "sons  of  God"  and  the 
"daughters  of  men"  that  produces  this  race  of  abnormals,  and  this  is  good 
evidence  that  the  giants  are  moral  rather  than  physical,  the  benei-ha- 
elohim  are  pious  men  of  the  line  of  Seth,  while  the  benoth-ha-adam  are 
corrupted  daughters  of  the  line  of  Gain, — a  clear  reference  to  the  preced- 
ing dualism.  In  this  way  the  "whole  earth  was  filled  with  violence", — a 
well-evidenced  proposition. 

The  Biblical  Deluge 

The  following  points  should  be  noted  in  the  Mosaic  account  of  the 
deluge : — 

(1)  The  Flood  is  a  punishment  for  the  sins  of  men,  the  growing  cor- 
ruption. 

(2)  Its  causes  are  the  "windows  of  heaven"  and  the  "fountains  of  the 
deep". 

(3)  Its  extent  is  apparently  universal,  but  not  certainly  so,  "the  whole 
land". 

(4)  Its  duration  is  altogether  1  year  and  11  days,  divided  into  periods 

(5)  The  ark  rests  upon  the  "mountains  of  Ararat",  not  necessarily  on 
the  peak. 

(6)  Noah  and  his  family  are  the  only  human  survivors,  in  all  8  persons. 

(7)  Of  animals  only  the  land  and  air-specimens  are  taken,  by  twos  or 
sevens. 

(8)  Noah  sends  forth  1  raven,  and  3  times  a  dove. 

(9)  Noah  descends  and  ofTers  a  sacrifice, — "the  sweet  savor." 

(10)  Animal  and  vegetable  food  are  allowed  to  man,  but  not  "blood". 

(11)  Jehovah  promises  never  again  to  "destroy  the  earth". 

(12)  Its  sign  is  the  Rainbow,  "Behold  I  do  set  my  arc  in  the  heavens". 

A  Comparison 

Coming  now  to  a  comparison  of  this  witli  the  Babylonian  version,  we 
cannot  but  be  struck,  at  first  sight,  with  the  extraordinary  resemblances 
between  the  two  narratives,  even  down  to  many  details,  (see  p.  438). 
This  concerns  more  especially  the  construction  of  the  ark,  with  its  stories, 
cubits,  and  windows  (though  the  numbers  are  doubtful)  and  still  more 
the  bird-flights,  the  dove,  the  swallow,  and  the  raven  being  a  counterpart 
of  the  Mosaic  raven,  swallow  (?),  and  dove,  supposed  to  be  given  in  reverse 
order.  This  and  the  general  setting  of  the  story,  with  its  rains  and  its  hur- 
ricanes, its  Nizirs  and  its  Ararats,  its  punishment  of  the  many  and  its  sal- 
vation of  the  few,  cannot  but  suggest  that  they  are  two  versions  of  a  single 
original. 


444  RETRreUTION 

RECENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

The  Variations 

For,  although  the  moral  element  is  equally  conspicuous  in  both,  and 
many  of  the  coincidences  are  indeed  striking,  the  polytheistic  coloring  of 
the  one  is  in  strong  contrast  to  the  monotheistic  setting  of  the  other,  and 
the  equally  pronounced  variations, — whether  in  the  matter  of  time,  place, 
or  circumstance — ,  show,  with  the  omission  of  the  important  detail  of  the 
rain-bow  and  the  covenant,  that  the  one  cannot  be  directly  derived  from 
the  other. 

The  Blessing  of  Shem  and  Japhet 

Furthermore,  the  subsequent  history  of  man  is  missing  in  the  cunei- 
form records.  The  translation  of  the  hero  to  the  Isles  of  the  Blest  is  no 
doubt  inspiring,  but  it  gives  no  account  of  the  origin  of  racial  and  linguis- 
tic differences.  The  short  but  thrilling  story  of  Noah  and  his  three  sons  is 
evidently  meant  to  teach  a  moral  lesson,  the  triumph  of  the  Aryan  and 
Semitic,  over  the  Hamitic  races, — a  prophecy  only  too  truly  fulfilled, — 
"Blessed  be  Shem,  and  Canaan  shall  be  his  servant",  an  indirect  statement. 

The  Tower  op  Babel  and  the  Dispersion 

As  to  the  cause  of  the  subsequent  dispersion  of  man,  we  have  nothing 
but  fragments  in  the  Babylonian  story  of  the  tyrant,  though  a  moral  rebel- 
lion against  the  God  of  Heaven  seems  to  be  hinted  at,  followed  by  a  con- 
fusion of  tongues.  The  biblical  writer  seems  to  imply,  however,  that  the 
reason  why  Elohim  destroyed  the  tower  and  confounded  their  speech  was 
because  it  was  against  His  e.xpress  command  to  multiply  and  "replenisli 
the  earth",  men  were  not  to  concentrate  in  one  city,  they  were  to  colonise 
the  entire  world.  In  this  way  the  story  obtains  a  definite  social  and  moral 
content,  though  the  "bricks  for  stone"  and  "slime  for  mortar"  reveal  its 
Babylonian  atmosphere. 

The  Table  op  Nations 

The  groat  scientific  importance  of  the  table  of  nations  is  now  generally 
recognised.  It  is  true  that  the  list  is  summary,  fragmentary,  and  decidedly 
"popular".  It  confines  itself  entirely  to  the  post-diluvial  dispersion  of  the 
Caucasic  race,  being  apparently  unmindful  of  the  Mongolian  or  the 
Negritic  peoples.  Perhaps  there  is  a  purpose  in  this.  But  the  threefold 
expansion  of  the  early  Caucasians,  to  Europe,  Northern  Africa  and 
Arabia, — corresponding  to  Japhet,  Ham.  and  Shem — ,  is  singularly  true 
to  the  facts  as  is  the  derivation  of  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  civilisation 
from  Nimrod,  the  "son  of  Cush",  a  non-Semitic  or  Sumerian  "hunter" 
(Gilgamesh).  Moreover  it  is  certain  that  "father"  and  "son"  are  here  used 
pafronymically,  for  entire  nations. 


RETRIBUTION      ^  445 

REGENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

(N,  5)  Persian,  Hindoo,  and  Chinese  Versions 

It  will  be  interesting  to  see  how  the  substance,  or  at  least  the  outline 
of  a  retribution-system  may  be  recognised  in  the  folk-lore  of  other  Asia- 
tic peoples,  but  always  in  faded,  fragmentary,  and  largely  mythical  form. 

YiMA  AND  THE  IRANIAN  SnOW-FlOOD 

According  to  tiie  Pablavi  Bundahesh,  which,  though  late,  is  founded 
upon  ancient  Avestic  traditions,  the  world  has  gone  through  four  great 
cycles,  each  of  3000  years  and  accompanied  by  one  sign  of  the  zodiac, — 
to  wit: — 

(1)  The  Age  of  the  Heavenly  Prototypes,  or  Exemplary  Ideas 
(Fravashis). 

(2)  The  Age  of  the  Seven  Spiiits,  or  the  Age  of  Creation,  (Ameshas), 
during  which  heaven,  water,  earth,  plants,  animals,  and  man,  make  their 
appearance. 

(3)  The  Age  of  the  Seven  Demons,  or  the  Age  of  Conflict,  (Daevas), 
during  which  Ahriman  destroys  everything,  man  and  beast,  from  the  face 
of  the  earth.  This,  however,  is  followed  by  two  periods,  one  of  hght,  and 
one  of  darkness: — 

(a)  The  Period  of  Light,  or  the  Golden  Age,  in  which  the  demons  are 
conquered. 

(b)  The  Period  of  Darkness,  or  the  Silver  Age,  in  which  the  demons 
triumph. 

In  this  period  is  placed  the  deluge.  It  is  Yima  who  is  told  by  Ahur- 
aniazda  to  save  himself  from  the  flood  of  snow,  which  he  is  about  to  send 
as  a  punishment  for  the  sins  of  mankind.  He  rescues  all  he  can  in  a 
walled-up  place,  (not  in  a  ship),  and  thus  escapes  the  catastrophe. 

(4)  The  Age  of  Restitution,  or  the  Triumph  of  Justice.  This  is  thp 
time  in  which  Zoroaster  appears  with  a  promise  of  future  redemption 
(Mesianic  cycle)." 

Manu  and  the  Indian  Deluge 

In  Aryan  India  we  find  that  "as  far  back  as  the  Vedic  age  the  legend 
was  established  in  all  its  essential  features"  (Usener). 

The  Brahmana  "of  the  hundred  paths"  relates  how  a  fish  came  into  the 
hands  of  Manu,  the  first  man,  while  he  was  washing,  and  said  to  him: 
"Take  care  of  me  and  I  will  save  you".  "From  what  wilt  thou  save  me?" 
"A  flood  will  carry  away  all  this  creation,  and  I  will  save  you  from  that". 
Manu  nursed  the  fish  until  it  had  become  a  great  big  fish,  and  then  the  fish 
spoke  to  him  again :  "In  a  short  time  the  flood  will  come,  so  prepare  your- 
self a  ship,  and  turn  to  me.  When  the  flood  rises,  enter  into  the  ship  and 
I  will  save  you".  Manu  did  as  he  was  told,  and  the  fish  hauled  the  ship 
to  the  mountain  of  the  North,  where  it  afterwards  rested.  The  flood  had 
carried  away  every  creature;  only  Manu  remained,  and  by  his  marriage 
with  Ida,  the  ofl"spring  of  his  own  sacrifice,  the  present  population  arose,— 
the  "generation  of  Manu".''* 

23  Bundahesh  (S,  B.  E.  XXXVII)  p.  26ff.  =*  Compare  also  th»  Mahabarata,  where  the 
same  story  is  fixed  on  a  later  hero.    Jeremias,  op.  cit.  p.  2S6ff. 


446  RETRIBUTION 

RECENT  ASIATIC  TRADITION 

The  Chinese  Flood 

It  seems  to  be  well  ascertained  that  tlie  so-called  Chinose  flood  is  a 
cosmic  amplification  of  an  old  rivrr-story.  wtiich  may  have  had  a  remote 
foundation  in  fact.  The  inundations  caused  by  the  draining  and 
damming  of  the  Hoang-Ho  river-basin,  are  believed  to  have  furnished  the 
basis  for  a  popular  flood-legend  which  grew  by  degrees  info  a  national 
epic  preserved  in  various  collections.  These  are  all  comparatively  recent, 
though  undoubtedly  pre-Christian,  and  the  story  itself  mounts  up  to  the 
times  of  Yu,  about  2300  B.  C." 

Western-Aryan  Versions 

Turning  once  more  to  the  West,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  the  same 
fundamental  notions  of  divine  recompense  as  in  the  previous  ages  of 
humanity. 

Deucalion  and  the  Graeco-Roman  Flood 

In  his  Metamorphoses,  Ovid  pictures  the  human  race  as  passing  through 
four  ages  of  successive  deterioration,  beginning  with  the  usual  golden  age. 
and  relating  the  sad  story  of  Deucalion  and  Pyrrhn  in  beautiful  hexameter 
verse.  This  came  to  the  Romans  from  Greek,  and  this  again  from  Jewish- 
Babylonian  sources.  According  to  Appollodorus,  Zens  wished  to  destroy 
the  human  race  by  a  great  inundation,  but  by  the  counsel  of  Prometfieits, 
Deucalion  manufactured  a  wooden  chest,  filled  if  with  eatables,  and  entered 
it  with  his  wife  Pyrrha.  Only  a  few  saved  themselves  by  flight  to  the 
mountains.  After  nine  days  and  nine  nights  Deucalion  landed  upon 
Parnassus,  left  the  stranded  vessel  and  offered  a  sacrifice  to  Zeus.  He  then 
prayed  to  the  Father  of  gods  on  behalf  of  humanity,  and  human  beings 
again  arose  by  his  throwing  the  "bones  of  his  mother"  over  his  head,  that 
is,  the  stones  of  the  mountain,  changed  info  men!" 

The  Scandinavian  Blood-Deliioe 

In  the  Old  Norse  Edda  it  is  said  that  "the  sons  of  Bur  killed  Ymir, 
whereupon  so  much  blood  fiowed  from  his  body,  that  the  whole  generation 
of  Frostgiants  was  drowned.  Only  one  escaped  with  his  dependents. 
He  entered  into  his  boat  and  saved  himself  in  it"." 

Other  Accounts 

These  are  but  a  few  specimens  of  what  is  evidently  a  widely  diffused 
legend.  The  Syrian  version  is  among  the  clearest,  and  in  Phrygia  coins 
have  been  discovered,  bearing  the  inscription  "Noe"  in  Greek  letters,  doubt- 
less of  Jewish  or  Christian  origin.  This  and  the  Tower-story  has  travelled, 
in  fact,  to  the  farthest  lands,  which  argues  for  a  very  early  distribution  of 
their  main  subject-matter.'' 

"Shu-KIng,  1,  10,  n.  II.  4.  1.  26  (Apollodorus,  I.  712ff.  27)  Snorrc's  Edda.  Gylfagin- 
ning,  7.  28.  Compare  Jcrcmias,  op.  cit.  I.  pp.  254-259,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  these 
references.     Also,  ibid.  p.  310-31.3,  for  the  Greek  fable  of  the  titans  tower-myths,  etc. 


RETRIBUTION  447 

REGENT  AMERICAN  TRADITION 

Passing  over  the  Polynesian  area, — which  is  well  supplied  with 
similar  accounts—,  let  us  consider  the  remaining  facts  as  they  present 
themselves  nearer  home.  For  it  is  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  and  the  Alaskan 
regions,  including  the  prehistoric  Mexican,  that  we  meet  with  a  more 
graphic  account  of  the  great  world-calamity  than  we  would  be  inclined  to 
suspect  from  an  area  which  is  so  far  removed  from  its  supposed  center  of 
propagation. 

(N,  7)  (a)  Colorado-California  Region 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  mythology  of  the  Pueblos  traces  all  things 
to  a  divine  Fatherhood,  from  which  the  twin-theme  of  wind  and  water, 
and  the  triple  theme  of  heaven,  earth,  and  ocean,  are  then  developed. 

POSHAIYANKYA  AND  THE  RISING  WATERS 

But  in  the  story  of  the  creation  of  the  wisest  man  it  is  implied  that 
human  beings  already  exist  on  the  earth,  and  that  through  some  moral 
fatality  they  were  in  imminent  danger  of  being  engulfed  in  the  world- 
ocean.  Then  Poshaiyankya  emerges  from  the  ocean  as  the  "foremost  man" 
and  calls  to  the  Sun-father  for  help.  For  "he  came  among  men  and  the 
living  things,  and  he  pitied  them"  (!).  "For  alone  then  did  Poshaiyankya 
come  from  one  cave  to  another  into  this  tvorld,  then, — island-like — ,  lying 
in  the  midst  of  the  world-waters,  vast,  wet,  and  unstable.  He  sought  and 
found  the  Sun-Father,  and  besought  Him  to  deliver  the  men  and  the 
creatures  from  that  nethermost  world."  This  is  an  evident  proof  of  the 
"divine"  origin  of  the  waters. 

The  Raven  and  the  Macaw 

Although  the  hero  saves  himself  and  his  race  by  flying  "from  cave  to 
cave  and  alighting  on  some  mountain  peak",  it  was  apparently  a  fearful 
ordeal,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  help  afTorded  by  the  raven  and  the 
macaw,  the  divine  messengers  he  would  have  missed  his  footing  and 
humanity  would  have  perished." 

The  Pawnee  Giants  and  the  Deluge 

Still  more  explicit,  but  perhaps  more  modern,  is  the  Pawnee  version  of 
the  beginnings  and  the  destiny  of  man.  They  aver  that  the  first  man  and 
woman  were  good,  and  to  them  was  given  the  sacred  corn.  But  "there 
were  giants  in  those  days",  very  large  Indians,  who  did  not  believe  in  the 
Sky-Father,  and  refused  to  serve  him.  By  degrees  they  became  more 
virulent,  and  finally  Tirawa  destroys  them  by  a  deluge  of  water  and 
creates  a  new  posterity.  This  race  vi^as  by  comparison  small,  but  He  still 
watches  over  them,  and  to  those  who  obey  His  laws  He  promises  a  blessed 
life.  It  cannot  be  said  with  certainty  to  what  extent  this  legend  is  native, 
though  it  might  well  have  been  so.'" 


29  F   H.  Gushing,  Zuni  Creation-Myths,  B.  A.  E.  (Washington),  13th.  Report,  p.  378ff. 
aoGrinnell.  Pawnee  Hero  Stories.  CN.  Y.  1889).  pp.  354-356. 


448  RETRIBUTION 

REGENT  AMERICAN  TRADITION 
The  Maidu  Story  of  A'  nosma  and  the  Raft 

On  the  Pacific  slope  of  the  Rockies  the  idea  of  a  definite  pair  who 
saved  themselves  on  a  kind  of  Hoat,  reveals  a  more  vivid  picture. 

"In  the  beginning",  say  the  Maidu,  "there  was  no  sun,  no  moon,  no 
stars.  All  was  dark,  and  everywhere  there  was  only  water.  A  raft  came 
floating  on  the  water.  It  came  from  the  North  (sic),  and  in  it  were  two 
persons, — A'7iosma,  or  Turtle,  and  Pehe-ipe,  or  Father-of-the-Secret- 
Society.  The  stream  flowed  rapidly.  Then  from  the  sky  a  rope  was  let 
down,  and  on  it  came — 

Earth-Initiate  as  the  Renovator  of  Creation 

His  face  was  covered,  but  his  body  shone  like  the  sun.  "Where  do  you 
come  from?"  says  Turtle.  "I  come  from  above!"  Later  Earth-Initiate 
makes  dry  land,  trees,  birds,  and  animals.  He  makes  man  and  woman 
out  of  red  earth  and  water,  but  Coyote  and  his  dog  Rattlesnake  spring  out 
of  the  ground.  Coyote  recognises  the  Creator;  for  "Coyote  could  see  Earth- 
Initiate's  face!"" 

(b)  Alaskan  Region 

We  may  save  ourselves  the  trouble  of  enumerating  all  the  Eskimo 
versions  of  the  same  event,  as  well  as  those  of  their  Northern-Pacific 
neighbors.  They  are  all  either  very  similar  to  the  above,  or  abound  in 
such  startling  details  of  the  "ark"  and  the  fate  of  its  survivors,  that  a  con- 
tact with  Asiatic  legends  is  almost  certain.  They  form  the  connecting 
bridge. 

(c)  Mexico  and  the  South-American  Region 

For  the  same  reason  it  is  no  reflection  on  the  power  and  interest  of  the 
Mexican  versions,  if  we  frankly  admit  that  they  are  a  very  late,  though 
pre-Columbian,  importation.    Only  one  example  need  be  given. 

Tezpi  and  the  Aztec  Story  of  Flood,  Tower,  and  Confusion 

The  Michoacan  story  of  Tescipactli  and  Yochiquelzal,  and  how  they 
saved  themselves  in  a  boat  shaped  like  a  box,  reveals  a  distinctly  Oriental 
coloring,  even  down  to  the  bird-flights  and  the  prominence  of  the  fish- 
theme,  (Bab.  Ocean-god).  The  same  of  the  pyramid,  built  by  the  giants, 
and  which  threatened  to  touch  the  sky,  but  was  destroyed  by  the  fires  of 
heaven.  A  more  native  touch  is  suggested  by  the  dumb  children  of  the 
survivors,  who  learned  from  a  dove  how  to  speak,  and  this  caused  a 
linguistic  confusion!  This  may  serve  as  a  good  specimen  of  most  of  the 
remaining  South-American  traditions  in  their  more  recent  form,  and 
extending  at  least  as  far  as  Peru.  Want  of  space  forbids  a  further  dis- 
cussion of  these  interesting  legends." 


>'R.  B.  Dixon,  Maidu  Myths.  Bull.  Amer.  Mus.  Nat.  Hist.   (New  York.  1902).  p.  39ff. 
"  Sources  in  Bancroft.  Bowditch,  Habler.  etc.  pp.  302.  386  above 


RETRIBUTION  449 

ANALYSIS  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

Such  then  are  the  chief  mythological  and  biblical  data  with  which  we 
must  now  deal, — a  list  of  prehistoric  phenomena  which  is  by  no  means 
exhaustive,  but  which  covers  a  sufficiently  vi'ide  area  to  furnish  us  with  a 
basis  at  least  for  forming  a  comparative  estimate  of  their  meaning.  And 
as  it  is  very  evident  that  a  physical  catastrophe  in  the  shape  of  a  "deluge" 
forms  as  it  were  the  climax  of  most  of  the  legends,  it  will  be  our  first  duty 
to  see  how  far  such  an  event  can  be  proved  to  have  occurred  from  the 
folklore  as  such,  and  apart  from  the  biblical  and  geological  data.  Let  us 
make  a  brief  review  of  the  matter  so  far  collected. 

Among  the  most  primitive  peoples  the  tradition  is  wanting 

It  cannot  fail  to  be  noticed,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  further  we  ascend 
into  remote  antiquity,  the  more  dim  grows  the  recollection  of  such  an 
event,  at  least  in  the  classic  form  in  which  we  now  have  it.  It  is  wanting 
among  the  aborigines  of  Malakka,  among  the  Veddas,  among  the  Philip- 
pine negritos.  among  the  Bakatans  of  Borneo  and  the  Toalas  of  Celebes, 
among  many  of  the  Australian  and  most  if  not  all  the  Central  African 
peoples.  In  South  America  it  is  strong  only  in  the  highland  or  Cordilleran 
belt  (Peru). 

But  it  appears  very  early  as  the  "Origin  of  the  Sea" 

At  the  same  time,  the  frequent  accounts  of  a  rising  of  waters,  of  an 
enveloping  of  the  earth  by  the  ocean,  of  the  floating  of  a  few  ancestors 
on  logs  or  rafts,  are  primarily  of  cosmogonic  nature, — they  are  intended  to 
explain  the  origin  of  the  sea,  and  are  founded  no  doubt  on  vivid  recollec- 
tion of  past  upheavals  and  depressions  of  land,  of  the  rise  and  disappear- 
ance of  continents.  That  many  of  these  stories  should  wear  a  punitive 
aspect,  is  indeed  quite  natural,  and  so  in  the  Andamanese  and  Tasmanian 
versions,  as  in  some  of  the  Brazilian  legends,  it  is  the  divine  anger  that  is 
the  cause  of  a  flood  in  extremely  remote  times,  they  have  no  connexion 
with  a  single  world  event  proceeding  from  a  recent  center  of  action. 

And  this  is  accompanied  by  a  "Deluge  of  Fire" 

It  is  also  no  less  remarkable  that  in  the  very  earliest  layer  of  tradition, 
it  is  fire  rather  than  water  that  is  the  instrument  of  the  divine  justice,  it  is 
thunder  and  lightning  that  destroys  or  purges  mankind,  whether  in 
Australasia,  Africa,  or  South  America.     (Compare  the  accounts). 

Are  They  a  Pre-Diluvial  Race? 

Now  these  facts  should  be  our  first  object  of  careful  consideration. 
As  we  are  dealing  with  an  age  which  is  immensely  remote,  does  it  not 
seem  quite  probable  that  these  are  pre-glacial  traditions,  that  they  antedate 
the  Mosaic  account  by  very  long  periods? 


450  RETRIBUTION 

ANALYSIS  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

In  later  ages  Fire  and  Water  hold  their  own 

Those  impressions  can  be  traced  with  equal  force  in  the  succeeding 
age,  where  it  is  especially  among  the  Kolarian  aborigines  of  Central 
India, — precisely  the  least  advanced  section — ,  that  the  Fire-Flood  is  so 
prominent.  How  could  this  legend, — with  its  sun-gods  and  marsh-spirits, 
its  serpents  and  its  kills — ,  be  derived  from  any  Babylonian,  let  alone 
Jewish  or  Christian  sources?  The  absence  of  ships  and  of  water  is  alone 
sufficient  to  condemn  it.  Only  in  North-America  does  the  liquid  element 
reappear,  but  it  is  connected  with  plumed  snake  and  bulTalo,  with  thunder- 
bird  and  war-eagle,  with  barking  dog  and  gnawing  rat, — items  which  have 
little  in  common  with  Oriental  tradition. 

The  diluvial  peoples  have  passed  throiirih  Fire-  and  Water-floods 

It  is  thus  equally  clear  that  among  the  more  advanced  totem-peoples, 
the  ideas  connected  with  this  event  are  so  palpably  colored  with  mythical 
and  the  local  as  to  make  a  recent  Asiatic  importation  highly  improbable. 

In  the  latest  period  there  is  evidence  of  a  universal  Flood 

But  when  we  come  to  the  most  recent  cycle  of  development,  the  matter 
assumes  a  different  aspect.  We  have  seen  that  wherever  this  subject  is 
referred  to  at  all,  it  generally  appears  in  such  a  distinctively  Mesopotamian 
dress,  that  a  direct  derivation  from  Western  Asia  is  in  most  cases  forced 
upon  us.  It  is  true  that  here  also  the  earlier  versions  are  still  somewhat 
vague,  national,  and  incoherent,  whether  in  Egj'pf,  Persia,  or  China,  but 
in  every  case  the  later  recessions  show  an  approximation  to  the  Chaldean 
account  and  have  evidently  been  influenced,  in  part  at  least,  by  a  common 
tradition.  This  is  still  more  striking  in  .\ryan  India.  Europe,  and  Poly- 
nesia, and  reaches  its  climax  in  Alaska,  Mexico,  and  Peru, — a  plain  proof 
the  Mosaic  deluge  belongs  to  the  last  cycle  of  human  expansion — ,  the  early 
neolithic  or  bronze  age.  Though  exact  time  measurements  are  of  course 
out  of  the  question,  we  have  reasonable  grounds  for  making  the  following 
statement: — 

The  post-diluvial  races,  whether  Aryan,  Semitic,  Polynesian,  or  Neo- 
American  have  preserved  a  tradition  which  points  to  a  single 
universal  event  in  a  Western-Asiatic  region,  in  other  words  to  the 
historical  Mesopotamian  Deluge. 

It  is  not  so  much  the  exact  wording  or  setting  of  the  story  as  the  ex- 
traordinary combination  of  certain  details, — the  world-fish,  the  ark,  the 
animals,  the  flight  of  the  dove,  the  descent  upon  the  mountain,  the  tower 
of  giants,  the  confusion  of  tongues — ,  which,  though  not  universally 
present,  are  still  common  enough  to  suggest  a  single  source  of  dis- 
semination. 


RETRIBUTION  451 

ANALYSIS  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

Having  obtained  a  clironological  setting  for  the  biblical  deluge,  it  will 
be  our  next  endeavor  to  ascertain  how  far  the  biblical  data  warrant  us  in 
affirming  that  the  preceding  scheme  is  correct,  that  in  the  mind  of  the 
author  the  deluge  of  Noah  is  but  the  culmination  of  many  previous  visita- 
tions from  heaven,  of  separate  punishments  of  the  sins  of  man,  and, — more 
especially — ,  whether  he  conceives  that  calamity  to  have  been  universal, 
either  as  regards  the  earth  or  the  human  race. 

The  biblical  author  speaks  of  a  "universality" 

Whatever  technical  distinctions  we  may  choose  to  make  between 
"land"  and  "earth"  as  covered  by  a  single  expression,  the  very  elastic 
eretz,  there  can  br"  no  doubt  from  the  general  description  and  the  frequent 
use  of  superlatives  that  the  writer  is  doing  his  best  to  convey  the  impres- 
sion that,  as  far  as  he  Jaiows,  "all  flesh  died  that  moves  upon  the  face  of 
the  earth,  both  of  fowl,  and  of  cattle,  and  of  beast,  and  every  creeping  thing 
that  creepeth  upon  the  earth,  and  every  man",  that  "Noah  alone  remained, 
and  they  that  were  with  him  in  the  ark"  (Gen.  7,  21,  23).  All  this  sounds 
like  a  universality. 

But  he  seems  to  exclude  the  earthly  paradise 

On  the  other  hand  there  are  several  indications  that  he  conceived  of 
human  beings  as  still  living  in  other  parts  of  the  earth.  The  manner  in 
which  the  terrestrial  paradise  is  described  in  Gen.  2,  11. — with  its  flowing 
rivers  and  geographical  names — ,  seems  to  show  that  he  looked  upon  the 
Garden  of  God  as  still  in  existence,  as  still  capable  of  idontiflcation.  Again 
the  rapidity  with  which  the  earth  "dries  up"  and  returns  to  the  normal  is 
inconsistent  vt'ith  a  simultaneous  destruction  of  all  life  in  all  places. 
Furthermore,  in  referring  to  the  destruction  of  man  by  the  waters,  no  ac- 
count is  given  of  the  line  of  Cain,  or  of  what  bi^came  of  them.  And  it  is 
especially  the  biblical  figures  that  incline  us  to  believe  that  the  writer  is 
speaking  of  racial  branches.  The  fact  that  Methuselah-Lamech  both  die 
in  the  year  of  the  deluge  and  that  the  Kanite  branch  of  the  Lamechs  had 
a  numerous  offspring,  of  which  nothing  is  said  beyond  the  fact  that  they 
were  the  "fathers"  of  modern  industry, — all  this  suggests  a  partial  survival. 

And  yet  there  are  implications  of  universal  punishment 

Nevertheless  it  must  be  frankly  admitted  that,  taking  the  biblical  record 
in  its  obvious  and  generally  accepted  sense,  it  surely  implies  that  "the  end 
of  all  flesh  is  come",  that  all  must  be  punished.  If  then  a  part  of  humanity 
has  survived  the  deluge  of  Noah,  as  seems  to  be  implied  in  the  context,  it 
will  stand  to  reason  that  they  must  have  been  punished  in  the  past  to  fulfil 
the  demands  of  divine  justice. 


452  RETRIBUTION 

ANALYSIS  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

The  Testimony  of  Biblical  Experts  on  the 
Extent  op  the  Deluge 

"The  universality  of  the  flood  in  regard  to  man  is  taught  by  the  text  in 
sevpral  places,— 6,  5.  7,  21.  8,  17.  etc.  From  this  it  follows  that  the  family 
of  Noah  is  in  this  respect  the  representative  of  the  first  human  pair —  But 
the  bible  does  not  teach  in  any  place  that  the  flood  extended  over  the  ivhole 
earth, — nowhere  is  it  said  in  the  text  that  God  wanted  the  waters  to  break 
over  the  entire  earth.  We  decide  for  a  limitation  of  the  flood  geographi- 
cally, because  this  alone  can  be  extracted  from  the  text  without  violence"' 

"The  flood  of  the  bible  could  not  with  its  short  duration  have  efTected 
any  essential  or  universal  changes  in  the  earth's  surface,  nor  did  it  do  so. 
According  to  the  biblical  story,  the  mountains  were  covered  by  the  waters 
and  then  reappeared,  the  earth  required  only  to  dry  in  order  to  resume  her 
form,  and  the  dove  returned  with  a  fresh  olive-leaf.  It  is  assumed  as  self- 
evident  that  the  entire  plant-world  appeared  as  it  did  before,  and  the  de- 
scription of  the  site  of  the  garden  of  God  clearly  supposi's  that  features  of 
the  earth's  surface  were  not  essentially  changed". — "Furthermore,  the 
biblical  deluge  did  not  embrace  the  entire  earth.  It  was  supposed  indeed 
to  be  universal,  in  so  far  as  all  living  things  were  destroyed.  But  that  this 
"earth"  of  the  writer  was  a  much  smaller  space  than  what  we  understand 
by  the  term  is  evident  from  the  narrow  geographical  horizon  of  the  ancient 
Hebrews,  which  embraced  only  fractions  of  Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe".' 

"The  geographical  universality  of  the  flood  may  be  safely  abandoned. — 
The  question  whether  all  men  perished  in  the  deluge  must  be  decided  by 
the  teachings  of  the  bible  and  of  its  authoritative  interpreter.  As  to  the 
teachings  of  the  bible,  the  passage  which  deals  exprofesso  with  the  flood 
(Gen.  VI-IX),  if  taken  by  itself,  may  be  interpreted  of  a  partial  destruction 
of  man.  It  insists  on  the  fact  that  all  inhabitants  of  the  "land",  not  of  the 
"earth"  died  in  the  waters  of  the  deluge.  It  does  not  explicitly  tell  us 
whether  all  men  lived  in  the  land",  etc' 

Although  each  of  these  writers  holds  an  ethnographic  universality, 
either  from  text  or  tradition,  it  is  plain  that  a  limitation  with  regard  to 
man  is  regarded  as  textually  admissable,  while  a  geographic  universality 
is  rejected  by  all.  When  we  consider  that  such  noted  Catholic  apologists 
as  Schanz,  Zahm,  and  de  Harlez  have  boldly  come  out  for  a  survival  of 
diluvial  races  not  mentioned  in  the  biblical  text,  we  feel  increasingly 
confident.  It  is  clear,  however,  that  a  considerable  variety  of  opinion  still 
prevails  on  this  subject,  and  until  it  is  positively  determined  that  every 
vestige  of  human  life  disappeared  in  the  flood,  we  can  rightfully  admit  a 
partial  survival.  For  the  present,  this  question  must  be  left  open  to  further 
investigation,  to  be  finally  submitted  to  the  revealed  mind  of  the  Church. 


»  Hoberg,  Die  Genesis  nach  dcm   Literalsinn  erklart,    (1908),  pp.   79-80.   (Cath.)     '  Dill- 
mann.  Die  Genesis   (1892).  p.  131.     ^  Maas,  Art.  Deluge.   rCalh.  Encycl.  1910). 


RETRIBUTION  453 

ANALYSIS  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

There  remains  to  consider  what  physical  or  geological  event  could  have 
furnished  the  basis  for  so  widespread  a  tradition  of  the  human  race.  As 
this  is  a  subject  which  is  beyond  my  powers  to  estimate,  I  will  give  a  few 
examples  of  the  explanations  attempted  in  order  to  bring  out  their  essen- 
tial inadequacy. 

The  Defective  Theories  of  Various  Writers  on  the  Ultimate  Cause 

OP  the  Flood 

"It  would  not  be  impossible,  however,  to  regard  the  flood  as  a  natural 
occurrence  which  has  for  its  purpose  a  supernatural  end. — The  character- 
istic marks  of  the  diluvial  period  were  the  glaciation  of  a  large  part  of  the 
earth's  surface  with  formidable  local  inundations.  The  contributive 
causes  of  these  phenomena  are  not  yet  satisfactorily  explained,  but  they 
furnish  a  precedent  for  the  actual  occurrence  of  the  biblical  flood".* 

"The  foundation  of  the  flood-story  is  without  doubt  the  obscure  recol- 
lection of  a  great  land-devastation  by  water.  This  flood  falls  namely  into 
the  period  of  human  history,  and  has  therefore  nothing  to  do  with  the 
geological  diluvia.  The  long  diluvial  period  of  the  geologists,  to  which 
the  surface  of  the  earth  owes  her  present  configuration,  lies  beyond  all 
human  remembrance,  though  its  imprisoned  fossils  tell  of  previous 
inundations".' 

"It  still  seems  more  natural  to  suppose  that  a  single  physical  event  lies 
at  the  bottom  of  all  flood-myths.  Only  in  this  manner  can  the  similarities 
between  the  ethnic  and  biblical  traditions  be  explained".^ 

"The  most  reasonable  line  of  explanation  is  that  the  great  majority  of 
the  legends  preserve  the  recollection  of  local  catastrophes,  such  as  inun- 
dations, tidal  waves,  seismic  floods,  accompanied  by  cyclones,  etc.  of 
which  many  historic  examples  are  on  record,  while  in  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  cases  these  local  legends  have  been  combined  with  features  due 
either  to  the  diffusion  of  Babylonian  culture  or  to  the  direct  influence  of 
the  Bible  through  Christian  missionaries".  (According  to  Andree,  40  are 
indigenous  while  20  are  more  or  less  colored  with  Babylonian  additions 
or  imagery).^ 

"Connected  with  the  last  ice-age  or  its  immediate  aftermath  are  no 
doubt  those  destructive  physical  occurrences,  which  in  their  partly  catas- 
trophal  invasion  decimated  the  land  of  Chaldaea,  and  buried  forests, 
animals,  and  human  beings  in  their  floods,  their  slime,  and  their  mineral 
deposits,  and  of  which  the  hoary  traditions  of  the  East  are  so  eloquent".' 
Coming  from  an  acknowledged  expert,  these  words  are  certainly  signifi- 
cant, though  they  do  not  bring  us  any  nearer  to  the  proximate  or  ultimate 
causes  of  the  biblical  flood.  They  simply  show  that  certain  extraordinary 
natural  phenomena  have  taken  place,  and  to  this  extent  they  remove  the 
very  common  objection  that  such  things  are  incredible,  that  they  never 
occurred. 

*  Hoberg,  Genesis,  82.  » Dillmann,  Genesis,  131.  » Nikel,  Genesis,  183.  '  Skinner. 
Genesis,  175,  following  Andree,  Die  Flutsagen  ethnograhisch  betrachtet,  (Braunschweig. 
1891)  p.  143flF.     sObermaier.  Der  Mensch  der  Vorzeit,  ('1912'),  p.  525. 


454  RETRIBUTION 

ANALYSIS  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 
Even  Radical  Authors  Require  a  Partial  Submergence 

"Delitzsch.  Dillman.  Huxley.  Haupt.  and  Jaslrow.  following  the  geologist 
Siiss,  of  Vienna,  consider  that  it  is  based  upon  dim  recollections  of  an 
aclxial  extraordinarij  inundation  of  the  loner  Euphrates  over  the  plain  of 
Babylonia.  Both  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  when  the  snows  in  the  upper 
basins  of  the  two  rivers  melt  in  spring,  regularly  overflow  their  banks,  and 
transform  a  large  part  of  the  alluvial  plain  into  an  inland  sea"  etc.° 

And  One  Connected  With  the  Last  Ice-Age 

"It  was  maintained  by  tiie  late  Prof.  Prestwitch  on  the  ground  of  cer- 
tain geologic  indications,  chiefly  the  'Rubble-Drift',  that  long  after  the 
appearance  of  palaeolithic  man,  there  vv-as  a  submergence  of  the  crust  of 
the  earth,  chiefly  in  W.Europe,  but  also  in  N.W.Africa,  and  extending 
perhaps  as  far  east  as  Palestine,  causing  a  great  inundation  of  the  sea, 
which,  though  of  short  duration,  destroyed  a  vast  amount  of  animal  and 
some  human  life,  so  that  some  species  of  animals  became  extinct,  as  for 
instance  the  Hippopotamus  in  Sicily"  etc.  Prof.  Dawson  also  speaks  of  a 
great  "diluvial  catastrophe",  which  took  place  shortly  after  the  close  of  the 
glacial  period,  and  destroyed  palaeolithic  man",  etc,  for  him  the  biblical 
deluge.'" 

And  Accompanied  by  a  Cultural  "Break" 

"But  even  where  they  come  into  close  contact,  as  in  Liguria  and  Gaul, 
the  men  of  the  palaeolithic  age  always  present  the  sharpest  contrast  to 
their  neolithic  successors.  The  physical  types  are  absolutely  distinct,  ex- 
cept where  intormodiate  forms  already  point  at  interminglings.  All  the 
elements  of  their  respective  cultures  also  differ  so  profoundly  as  almost  to 
suggest  some  violent  dislocation  or  sudden  cataclysm,  such  as  those  of  the 
early  geologists,  rather  than  an  orderly  sequence  in  accordance  witii  the 
accepted  principles  of  organic  evolution".  "Assuming  the  survival  of 
primitive  man  into  the  New  Stone  Age,  it  is  obvious  that  in  any  case  his 
culture  was  interrupted  and  prevented  from  continuing  its  natural  evolu- 
tion by  the  irruption  of  neolithic  man  into  Europe.  One  hesitates  to  speak 
positively  on  such  a  ditficult  question,  but  it  may  be  said  that  all  the  known 
facts  point  to  extinction  in  Britain  and  absorption  on  the  mainland"." 

"The  arrival  of  neolithic  culture  and  industries  in  Western  Europe 
marks  one  of  the  most  profound  changes  in  all  prehistory  and  introduces 
us  to  a  new  period  which  must  be  treated  in  an  entirely  dilTerent  historic 
spirit"." 

"Between  this  palaeolithic  culture  and  that  of  the  early  neolithic  age 
there  is  historically  no  connection,  even  if  a  few  technical  achievements, 
such  as  the  working  in  flint,  may  have  survived  the  catastrophe"." 

'Driver,  Genesis,  p.  107.  '"Idem.  p.  102-103.  Prestwitch,  on  certain  phenomena  belong- 
ing to  the  close  of  the  last  geological  period,  {N.  Y.  1895).  Sir  J.  W.  Dawson,  Mcciing- 
Place  of  Geology  and  History,  (l«y4),  two  important  works.  "  Keane,  Ethnology,  pp.  110, 
US.  »»Osborn,  Men  of  the  Old  Stone  Age,  p.  493.  ''Ed.  Meyer.  Geschichte  dcs  Alicrlums 
(1910),  I.  1  p.  247. 


RETRIBUTION  455 

ANALYSIS  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 
A  Universal  Cataclysm  Seems  to  be  Postulated 

Now  taking  all  this  evidence  together,  and  looking  aside  from  minor 
questions  on  the  nature,  time,  and  extent  of  individual  floods,  it  seems  to 
be  abundantly  clear  that  some  form  of  divine  visitation,  whether  by  fire  or 
water,  is  too  universal  a  tradition  among  the  peoples  of  the  earth  not  to 
have  some  remote  foundation  in  physical  fact.  Geology  and  comparative 
mythology  are  unanimous  in  declaring  that  since  the  rise  of  the  human 
species,  whether  in  glacial  or  pre-glacial  times,  there  have  been  elevations 
and  depressions  of  land,  accompanied  by  Hoods  and  atmospheric  dis- 
turbances, of  which  we  can  hardly  form  a  picture,  but  which  must  have 
destroyed  vast  portions  of  vegetable  and  animal  life,  including  the  human, 
in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  earth's  surface.  Hence  the  almost  universal 
tradition  of  some  violent  destruction  of  man  in  the  remote  past. 

But  Not  Simultaneously  in  all  Places 

And  this  leads  us  to  the  necessary  conclusion  that  the  visitations  spoken 
of  were  successive  rather  than  simultaneous.  The  purely  local  coloring  of 
the  early  accounts  and  their  separation  from  the  later  traditions  by 
enormous  intervals  of  space  and  time  requires  us  to  assume  that  they 
belong  to  entirely  dilTerent  ages,  that  each  is  speaking  of  a  local  event 
which  for  them  was  the  instrument  of  the  divine  justice. 

The  Mosaic  Deluge  is  a  Supernatural  Phenomenon 

But  it  is  different  with  the  classic  account  that  comes  to  us  from  the 
land  of  the  Chaldaea-Palestine.  Here  we  are  undoubtedly  dealing  with 
positive  history,  and  on  its  own  showing  it  traces  its  "rains"  to  super- 
natural causes,  its  "doves"  and  its  "rainbows"  to  a  direct  interference  of 
the  Creator.    Ordinary  floods  and  earthquakes  cannot  explain  it. 

Its  Physical  Extent  Was  Considerable 

Whatever  be  the  value  of  the  findings  of  geological  experts,— and  upon 
this  I  am  not  able  to  speak—,  it  is  evident  that  some  of  the  most  distin- 
guished moderns,  including  the  celebrated  Obermaier,  have  borne  testimony 
to  a  convulsion  of  nature  at  the  end  of  the  last  Ice  Age  which  must  have 
extended  at  least  from  the  British  Isles  to  the  Perso-Arabian  highlands. 

It  Destroyed  a  Large  Part  op  the  Pleistocene  Fauna 

This  is  one  of  the  few  explanations  of  the  disappearance  of  certain 
species  that  were  peculiar  to  the  last  glacial  epoch.  The  final  extinction 
of  the  Cave-Bear,  the  Mammoth,  the  woolly  Rhinoceros,  and  the  Irish  Elk, 
not  to  speak  of  the  prehistoric  Lion,  Tiger,  Bison,  Hyaena,  and  Hippopota- 
mus, can  hardly  be  accounted  for  except  by  some  great  physical,  and  prob- 
ably supernatural,  catastrophe.'* 

"John  Lubbock,  Prehistoric  Times,  (N.  Y.  1910),  p.  268.  Even  if  successive  rather 
than  sudden,  the  disappearance  of  most  is  still  a  mystery.  Compare  Osborn,  op.  cit.  pp.  21 
(extinction  of  great  mammals),  498   (neolithic  mammalian  life). 


456  RETRIBUTION 

ANALYSIS  AND  RECONSTRUCTION 

It  Also  Destroyed  Diluvial  Man  Over  Very  Wide  Are.\s 

Furthermore,  if  the  most  powerful  animals  were  unable  to  battle  with 
the  invading  floods,  it  is  hardly  probable  that  man  himself  could  survive. 
There  is  a  strange  hiatus  between  palaeolithic  and  neolithic  man,  both  in 
physique  and  culture,  which  points  at  least  to  a  partial  extinction  of  the 
diluvial  type.  Although  this  gap  is  not  as  wide  as  was  once  supposed, 
being  partly  bridged  by  the  Azylian  industry  and  a  few  hybrid  forms,  it  is 
still  wide  enough  to  justify  the  assertion  of  Keane,  Osborn,  Obermaier,  and 
others,  that  there  is  such  a  profound  dissimilarity  between  the  two  epochs, 
especially  in  their  artistic  aspect,  that  some  breach  of  physical  continuity 
is,  in  view  of  the  accompanying  physical  disasters,  an  almost  necessary 
inference  of  reason. 

This  May  Have  Occurred  Between  8  and  10000  B.  C. 

As  we  have  an  approximate  knowledge  of  the  beginnings  of  the  New 
Stone  Age,  we  can  fix  the  calamity  for  the  8th.  or  9th.  millenium  before 
Christ,  though  this  can  lay  no  claim  to  historical  exactitude. 

The  Neolithic  Culture  Spread  From  the  East 

In  the  subsequent  repopulation  of  Eurasia  everything  points  to  a  near- 
eastern  center.  Neolithic  man  certainly  entered  Europe  from  the  East  or 
South,  and  the  distribution  of  the  early  Flenusian  industry  shows  that  it 
followed  in  the  wake  of  the  proto-Caucasian  peoples,- — Aryan.  Semitic, 
Hamitic,  or  Egyptian,  as  the  case  may  be.  This  is  good  evidence  that 
Western  Asia  is  the  cradle  of  the  New  Stone  culture,  and  it  is  from  this 
region  precisely  that  the  story  of  the  surviving  few  comes  to  us  in  its  most 
vivid  and  authentic  form.  We  have  but  to  picture  some  early  Semitic  or 
Sumeriau  settlers  constructing  u  huge  craft  and  replenishing  it  with  a 
few  only  of  the  more  recently  domesticated  animals,  and  the  miracle  is  ac- 
complished,—the  higher  life  of  the  world,  whether  faunal  or  human,  has 
been  handed  down.  Is  this  story  so  incredible  because  it  is  reasonable, 
because  in  the  midst  of  a  drowning  world  it  represents  one  of  the  few 
possible  means  of  escape? 

The  tradition  leaves  wide  room  for  other  survivals 

If  then  the  story  be  taken  at  its  face  value,  it  will  be  seen  that  it  em- 
bodies more  than  a  solar  myth,  as  some  have  supposed,  but  that  it  is 
founded  on  definite  geological  and  ethnical  facts  which  admit  of  fairly 
precise  statement.  Indeed  it  fits  the  cultural  and  physical  data  better  than 
any  other.  And  when  it  is  remembered  that  it  gives  no  ex  professo  ac- 
count of  all  or  even  the  principal  visitations  of  heaven  in  other  quarters, 
the  most  important  objection  to  its  historical  truth  will  have  been 
removed." 


"  A  successive  destruction  and  restoration  of  life  appears  to  be  universally  demanded. 
Geology  is  full  of  cataclysms. 


RETRIBUTION  457 

SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSION 

This  completes  the  constructive  side  of  our  argument.  It  has  been 
worth  while  to  enter  into  this  subject  in  somewhat  weary  detail,  because 
it  forms  such  a  prominent  feature  in  nearly  every  mythology  of  man,  that 
any  account  of  his  religious  beliefs  would  be  incomplete  without  it.  It 
is  almost  like  a  second  creation  of  the  race,  and  as  it  is  not  without  im- 
portant dogmatic  and  moral  bearings,— the  "ark"  being  the  symbol  of  a 
unique  salvation — ,  it  is,  to  say  the  least,  interesting  to  search  for  its 
historical  and  physical  basis.  With  this  great  central  event  now  well 
focussed,  we  may  finally  group  the  remaining  data  in  such  a  way  that  a 
definite  scheme  of  ascending  development  may  be  revealed  in  the  general 
frame-work. 

Outlines  for  a  Pre-History  of  Man 

In  the  very  earliest  period  of  man  there  is  a  comparative  quiet,  there  is 
little  in  the  way  of  startling  events,  whether  physical  or  moral,  to  disturb 
his  peace.  Except  for  the  recollection  of  a  paradise  lost,  accompanied  by 
the  thunder  and  lightning  of  the  Almighty,  he  speaks  of  an  age  of  com- 
parative innocence  and  is  still  living  in  part  on  the  primitive  level.  Rising 
in  the  "Isles  of  the  Blessed"  in  the  distant  ocean,  we  can  see  him  leading 
the  simple  life  of  our  first  parents,  gathering  the  first-fruits  of  the  earth, 
and  drifting  from  isle  to  isle,  from  continent  to  continent.  On  his  rafts  or 
tree-fioats  he  takes  the  leading  oceanic  currents  and  is  carried  to  India  and 
Tasmania,  to  Madagascar  and  Patagonia,  then  part  of  the  sinking  conti- 
nent, the  lost  Lemuria.  As  yet  he  has  not  advanced  beyond  the  family 
unit  and  he  simply  uses  nature  for  what  she  is  worth, — he  is  living  in  the 
Primitive  or  Patriarchal  stage  of  existence. 

But  this  romantic  life  is  soon  replaced  by  a  more  strenuous  one.  It 
is  not  enough  to  sit  under  shady  palm-trees  and  enjoy  the  breath  of  heaven, 
there  must  be  progress,  competition,  adventure.  And  so  a  clan-division  for 
the  exploitation  of  nature  appears  very  early  and  is  based  upon  conflicting 
interests, — the  one  occupied  with  the  vegetable,  the  other  with  the  animal 
world, — "Wild  Yam"  and  "Buffalo".  In  this  a  collision  of  rights  is  un- 
avoidable and  soon  rushes  into  a  blood-revenge  which  covers  the  aggressor 
with  scars,  the  possible  origin  of  the  practice  of  scarification.  The  punish- 
ment for  the  crime  is  perhaps  that  "mark"  of  Gain,  which  has  ever  dis- 
tinguished the  nomadic  from  the  pastoral  life,  the  scarified  outlaw  from 
the  painted  or  tattooed  hunting-chief.  At  the  same  time,  the  sign  is  also  a 
protection,  the  divine  fugitive  is  forgiven,  the  wandering  life  shall  continue 
for  many  centuries,  to  come;  it  will  be  the  "Competitive  Age"  till  the  end 
of  time.  If  there  is  one  thing  tiiat  speaks  to  us  most  eloquently  in  the  in- 
spired biblical  record,  it  is  the  truly  beautiful  and  genuinely  realistic  por- 
trayal of  the  origin  and  dispersion  of  man  under  the  aegis  of  a  never- 
failing  Providence. 


458  RETRIBUTION 

SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSION 

With  the  foundation  of  tribal  communities  and  village-life  the  preced- 
ing nomadism  is  somewhat  modified,  (Communal  and  Constructive  Age). 
Definite  groups  of  peoples  begin  to  assert  themselves  and  to  form  leaf-hut 
settlements  presided  over  by  a  graduated  system  of  ruling  chiefs.  On  this 
social  level  humanity  remains  for  indefinite  periods,  but  in  the  mean  time 
there  is  a  growing  expansion  of  the  tribal  into  the  national  life  with  a 
corresponding  difTerentiation  of  ofilces  and  organisation  of  cults,  (Colonial 
Age). 

Still  later  we  note  the  rise  of  philosophy  and  the  higher  arts.  These, 
at  first  modest,  develop  into  the  gigantic  totem-system  and  the  highly 
evolved  Magdalenian  industry.  (Theosophical  and  Industrial  Age).  Man 
now  advances  by  leaps  and  bounds,  he  controls  sun,  moon,  and  stars  by  his 
magic,  and  the  primitive  clan-groups  have  developed  into  the  enormous 
class-phratries, — "Eagle-Hawk"  and  "Crow".  Concomitantly  his  center  of 
gravity  has  shifted  more  and  more  to  the  West,  it  is  India  and  finally 
Mesopotamia  that  becomes  his  rallying-point.  But  the  first  breezes  of  the 
impending  storm  are  beginning  to  be  felt.  The  divine  anger,  already  ex- 
perienced in  many  previous  "rains  of  fire  and  water",  now  again  bursts 
upon  the  world  and  drowns  a  sin-laden  humanity  in  its  purgatorial 
waves, — the  end  of  the  world  has  surely  come ! 

But  not  yet.  The  wise  man  of  peace  and  providence  has  saved  his  race 
from  the  impending  doom  and  repeopled  the  earth  with  a  new  humanity. 
He  descends  into  the  plain,  builds  his  tower,  and  would  now  once  more 
approach  the  heaven  of  heavens  by  a  flight  of  steps.  But  the  divine  pur- 
pose is  different,  his  plan  is  again  frustrated,  his  language  confused.  He 
is  to  carry  the  message  of  faith  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  not  to  shut  himself 
up  in  a  fortress.  And  so  he  follows  the  divine  summons  and  gives  birth  to 
the  great  classic  nations  of  antiquity,  the  future  rulers  of  the  world.  This 
is  the  last  or  the  "Heroic  Age",  which  is  to  continue  for  64000  Babylonian 
years! 

Now  in  reviewing  this  material,  we  cannot  but  be  impressed  by  its 
moral  lessons  and  its  pedagogic  value.  It  shows  that  from  the  very  dawn 
of  human  history  man  has  never  been  without  the  consciousness  of  a 
liigher  destiny,  of  a  "divinity  that  shapes  his  ends".  He  has  been  trained 
from  infancy  to  youth  and  manhood  by  a  series  of  providential  visitations, 
in  which  virtue  is  rewarded  and  vice  punished  by  notorious  individual 
and  national  examples.  The  pre-history  of  man  is  still  to  be  written,  but 
the  preceding  may  serve  as  a  first  attempt  to  interpret  the  more  recent 
scientific  data  in  the  light  of  their  more  promising  evidence. 


CHAPTER    THE     SEVENTH 

DE  DEO  CONSUMMATORE 
IN  TERMING 


The  Doctrine  of  Eternal  Retribution  and  the  Future  Life 


THE  SAVAGE  PICTURE  OF  THE  FUTURE  LIFE 

BEING     A     DATAK     BCRIAt-BAMBOO.     REPRESENTrNO     MTTBOLOGICAL     SCENES     IN     THB 
8PIRIT-WOBLD,    BORNEO 

LOWER   PANEL:   THE   INDERWORLD,   WITH   SERPENTS,   FISHES   AND   CROCODILES 

»nDDLE   PANEL:     THE   PRESENT    WORLD,   SOIL-BOATS    DESPATCHING    THE    DEAD 

IPPER   PANKL:     THE   IITIRE    WORLD,   SOIL-TREES   GIVING    BIRTH    TO    A   NEW    CREATION 


■ioloIoIcroWo\o!yiii=^>^^ololoToIotoToT^T5r 


>^oxoXcx^i°roT 


^^^^^EEH 


^""^ 


ORIGINAL      IN     POSSESSION     OF     THE     IMPERIAL     ETHNOLOGICAL     »n8ElM     OF     LETDEN, 

NETHERLANDS.     FAC61SIII.E     REPRODI  CTION     MADE     FROM     THE     COPY     FIRNISUEI)     BY 

BOLAND  B.  DIXON,  OCEANIC   MYTUOLOOY,    (BOSTON,   1917),   PL.   XVIU 


LIFE  ETERNAL  459 


We  are  nearing  the  end  of  our  present  treatise.  We  tiave  seen  that  life 
and  death,  survival  and  destruction,  are  the  normal  means  by  which 
humanity  is  spurred  to  virtue  and  deterred  from  vice.  Even  the  daring 
hero  and  the  man  of  exploits  will  suffer  many  pains,  if  it  leads  to  final 
triumph,  the  assurance  of  a  lasting  happiness.  But  if  success  and  failure 
are  largely  conditioned  by  the  moral  struggle  or  the  psychic  force  that  is 
put  into  human  action,  it  is  no  less  evident  that  the  converse  of  this  prop- 
osition is  not  always  true,  that  some  of  the  most  far-seeing  reforms  and 
greatest  blessings  that  have  ever  accrued  to  humanity  have  been  instituted 
by  physical  and  social  failures,  men  that  have  died,  that  humanity  might 
live.  In  other  words,  it  is  the  martyr, — whether  as  priest,  soldier,  or 
saint — ,  that  gives  the  saving-clause  to  the  Darwinian  system,  which  forces 
us  to  conclude  that  the  survival  of  the  physically  fit  is  no  test  of  intrinsic 
moral  value  unless  accompanied  by  fidelity  to  a  higher  supernatural  norm 
of  conduct.  It  is  only  among  the  few,  the  sainted  kings,  emperors,  and 
pontiffs,  that  a  poverty  of  spirit  can  be  combined  with  a  world-conquest, 
and  this  is  sufficient  to  show  that  the  case  is  exceptional,  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  average. 

Moreover,  it  is  essential  to  the  demands  of  divine  justice  as  such  that 
the  complete  sanctions  to  the  moral  law  should  be  placed  in  another  exist- 
ence, one  in  which  the  individual  shall  be  assessed  at  his  true  value,  and 
be  rewarded  or  punished  according  to  intrinsic  merit.  This  is  the  doctrine 
of  Eternal  Retribution,  and  it  forms  as  it  were  the  complement,  or  rather 
the  corrective,  to  the  temporal  dispensation,  it  is  the  means  by  which  the 
good  and  the  evil  are  finally  sorted  out. 

The  four  last  things  are  commonly  described  as  Death,  Judgment, 
Heaven,  and  Hell.  These  are  so  closely  related  thai  they  can  be  treated 
under  one  head,  though  the  subject  of  death  admits  of  an  external  aspect 
in  the  shape  of  the  funeral, — for  which  see  "Sacrifice".  But  our  present 
purpose  is  a  more  specific  one.  It  concerns  the  primitive  aspect  of  the 
Hereafter  with  special  reference  to  three  very  important  considerations: — 

(1)  The  question  of  Purgatory  as  an  intermediate  state  of  chastise- 
ment. 

(2)  The  doctrine  of  Physical  Resurrection,  and  its  relation  to  trans- 
migration, reincarnation,  and  other  forms  of  bodily  survival. 

(3)  The  relation  of  pre-Christian  beatitude  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
Beatific  Vision  of  God  in  Heaven. 


460  LIFE  ETERNAL 

As  to  the  first  subject,  that  of  a  moral  cleansing  in  a  world  "between", 
it  can  surely  be  no  matter  of  indifference  to  feel  that  for  the  vast  majority 
of  the  human  race  moral  aberrations  are  not  always  sufTlciently  wilful  to 
merit  a  castigalion  by  unending  fire,  an  eternal  hell.  The  child  of  defective 
upbringing,  the  family  of  unhealthy  surroundings,  the  unfortunate  of  mi.s- 
guided  ancestry,  the  victim  of  mental  debility,  of  constitutional  abnormal- 
ity,— all  these  are  types  of  mankind,  whose  failings,  though  materially 
great,  are  "formally"  small,  it  is  a  question  how  far  they  are  culpable. 
Even  the  man  of  normal  habits  may  be  under  the  infiuence  of  a  physical 
stimulus  over  which  he  has  for  the  time  no  control.  But  if  science  herself 
points  to  a  semi-imputability  in  many  cases  that  are  apparently  grave,  it 
will  stand  to  reason  that  heaven  and  hell  are  too  far  apart  to  receive 
them, — they  must  be  saved, — "yet  so  as  by  fire". 

As  to  the  second  question,  it  is  a  subject  over  which  mankind  at  large 
cannot  fail  to  be  curious.  The  appearance  of  the  risen  body  at  the  last 
day,  with  its  mysterious  praeternatural  qualities,  this  is  enough  to  keep 
any  psychologist  busy  for  the  rest  of  his  life,  and  it  will  be  correspond- 
ingly important  to  know  how  far  this  is  a  part  of  the  prehistoric  traditions 
of  man,  how  far  it  is  supported  by  the  common  persuasions  of  humanity. 
Even  if  vague  or  adumbrative,  it  will  tend  to  support  the  universal  hope. 

But  apart  from  these  technical  considerations,  the  whole  subject  of  the 
future  life  abounds  with  absorbing  interest.  What  will  be  my  fate  after 
death?  What  shall  I  see?  What  shall  I  do?  Wherewith  all  shall  I  be 
occupied?  These  questions  are  sometimes  more  pedantic  than  edifying,  we 
are  apt  to  forget  that  the  principal  object  of  beatitude  is  after  all  the  Divine 
Being  Himself.  But  the  revealed  matter  on  this  subject  being  by  compari- 
son small  and  confined  to  the  bearest  essentials,  it  can  do  not  harm  to  dis- 
cover how  the  universal  pulse  of  humanity  has  fell  on  this  matter  from 
time  immemorial,  how  it  has  pictured  the  paradise  of  the  blest.  If  it  can 
be  shown  that  primitive  man  has  thought  on  this  subject  in  all  its  essen- 
tials as  we  do,— minus  of  course  the  full  supernatural  beatitude—,  it  will 
be  one  more  proof  that  the  initial  deposit  of  faith  has  not  been  entirely  lost, 
that  there  has  been  some  continuity  in  the  revelation  of  God  to  man.  How 
far  this  has  been  the  case,  it  will  be  the  object  of  the  following  pages  to 
investigate. 


LIFE  ETERNAL  461 

THE  PRIMITIVE  NOTIONS 
The  literature  on  this  subject  being  rather  copious,  it  will  be  impossible 
to  more  than  outline  the  chief  characteristics  of  each  period  of  belief  witti 
a  view  of  bringing  out  the  principal  points  of  controversy.  Let  us  collect 
as  much  matter  as  conveniently  possible,  and  see  to  what  conclusions  the 
data  will  seem  to  lead  us. 

(A)  The  Aborigines  of  Mal.\kka 

As  we  have  direct  testimony  that  the  Semang-Sakai  traditions  form  in 
all  essentials  a  unit,  we  may  take  the  following  as  representative  of  the 
earliest  layer  of  beliefs  in  this  part  of  the  continent.* 

All  souls,  whether  of  man  or  beast,  go  straight  to  the  Thunder-God, 
[Kari-Peng) ,  to  receive  their  sentence.  Good  souls  proceed  to  the  region 
of  sunset,  but  the  entrance  both  to  Paradise  and  Purgatory  are  close 
together. 

Purgatory  itself  is  a  vast  cavern,  shut  in  by  rocks,  in  the  mountain- 
chain  which  forms  the  world's  end.  Good  souls  pass  these  ramparts  of 
rock  and  reach  the  other  side  of  the  world,  where  they  dwell  with  the  wind- 
spirits,  the  servants  of  Kari.  The  ruler  of  Purgatory  is  a  huge  black  being, 
called  Kamoj,  who  beats  wicked  souls  as  they  wander,  cold,  hungry,  and 
thirsty,  with  a  heavy  club. 

The  doorkeeper  of  Paradise  is  a  gigantic  being  like  themselves.  His 
duty  is  to  prevent  the  souls  of  other  races  from  entering  their  own  heaven. 
By  his  side  there  is  a  beast  of  immense  strength,  which  keeps  out  the  souls 
of  tigers,  another  which  keeps  out  the  souls  of  wicked  men,  and  a  third 
which  keeps  out  of  the  souls  of  snakes  and  scorpions.  There  are  also  two 
other  giants,  armed  with  bamboo  spears,  and  these  keep  watch  over  the 
lightning-conducting  flowers  that  belong  to  the  Thunder-God. 

A  S.WAGE  Picture  of  the  Future  Life 

"In  Paradise  the  souls  eat  fruits  alone,  and  the  children's  souls  are  able 
to  move  about  unmolested.  All  souls  are  visible  to  each  other,  though 
invisible  to  mortal  eyes.  They  do  not  change,  nor  do  they  marry,  but 
remain  for  ever  in  Paradise,  and  never  return  to  earth  again.  The  bodies 
of  the  dead  do  not  rise  again.  The  souls  of  innocuous  beasts  go  after  death 
to  a  place  near  Paradise,  but  the  souls  of  tigers,  snakes,  and  scorpions  go 
to  Purgatory,  where  they  torture  and  feed  upon  the  souls  of  the  damned. 
Some  say,  however,  that  they  join  the  other  animals  in  a  harmless  life, 
where  they  feed  upon  fruits  and  plants  and  do  no  injury  to  man.  Only 
the  scorpions  and  serpents  frighten  the  souls  of  man,  but  cannot  hurt 
them." 


1  In  the  main  the  report  of  H.  Vaughan- Stevens,  to  be  found  in  Skeat,  Pagan  Races,  Vol. 
II.  pp.  209,  218.  Note:— The  terms  "heaven,"  "hell"  and  "purgatory"  must  of  course  be 
understood  in  their  prehistoric  and  qualified  sense  throughout  this  portion  of  our  work. 


462  LIFE  ETERNAL 

THE  PRIMITIVE  NOTIONS 

Purgatory  and  the  Paradise-Bridge 

According  to  Skeat,  "all  three  races  have  versions  of  the  widely-spread 
tradition  of  the  Paradise-Bridge,  which  leads  across  a  boiling  lake  into 
which  the  souls  of  the  wicked  are  precipitated.  There  are  separate  hells 
for  various  races  of  mankind,  and  yet  others  for  animals  and  snakes". 
This  agrees  in  the  main  with  the  preceding  account. 

AN   ordeal   by    fire   AND   WATER 

After  death,  the  Sakai  say  that  Granny  Lanyut,  or  the  "Queen  of  Hell", 
washes  their  sin-blackened  souls  in  hot  water.  All  men's  souls  must  be 
purified,  and  after  death  they  proceed  to  the  infernal  regions,  where  they 
are  washed  by  the  queen-mother.  She  then  makes  them  walk  along  the 
horizontal  edge  of  a  monstrous  chopper,  which  stretches  over  a  big  vessel 
where  water  is  kept  at  boiling-point.  Bad  souls  fall  in,  good  ones  escape 
and  proceed  to  the  Island  of  Fruit-trees.  Here  they  wait  till  Peng  sends 
them  a  friend  of  the  same  sex  to  show  them  the  way  to  the  "Husks  of  the 
Clouds".' 

PLACES  OF  punishment  DIFFER  IN   DURATION  BUT  NOT  IN   NATURE 

From  this  it  is  evident  that  the  same  boiling  waters  serve  the  purpose 
of  purification  as  well  as  of  permanent  punishment.  The  "bad  souls  that 
fall  in"  are  contrasted  with  the  "good  ones  that  escape",  and  as  all  have 
to  be  purified,  it  follows  that  some  are  punished  perpetually. 

A  PRELIMINARY  ESTIM.\TE 

Now  the  value  of  these  interesting  data  is  already  apparent.  So  far 
from  finding  a  vague  and  nebulous  idea  of  the  life  to  come,  it  is  on  the  con- 
trary a  well-rounded  and  clear-cut  picture  of  a  swift  and  decisive  judg- 
ment, followed  by  an  equally  swift  retribution.  The  passing  of  the  soul 
through  the  boiling  waters  is  a  clear  hint  at  purgation,  while  its  arrival 
before  the  judgment-seat  of  the  Almighty  presupposes  a  purification  from 
sin.  This  and  the  doctrine  of  future  recognition  in  an  unchanging,  non- 
marrying,  fruit-eating  Paradise,  shared  even  by  the  infant  and  the  animal 
world,  is  in  fact  inspiring,  though  there  is  absolutely  no  hint  at  seeing  the 
Sky-Father  "face  to  face", — it  is  a  purely  naturalistic  recompense. 

NO  DOCTRINE  OF  METEMPSYCHOSIS 

Again,  though  "the  bodies  of  the  dead  do  not  rise  again",  the  soul  is 
luminous,  red,  and  praetcrnaturally  visible,  something  like  "astral  body", 
the  Malayan  scmanf/at,  "siiaped  like  themselves".  Moreover,  if  tlic  penglima 
has  the  power  of  jumping  into  the  tiger  after  death,  the  metempsychosis 
is  only  temporary,  as  it  is  a  firm  persuasion  that,  once  in  the  garden  of 
fruits,  they  "never  return  to  the  earth".* 


•Skeat,  II.  239.    >  Coinp.  Skeat,  II.  191,  194,  where  the  instances  are  given. 


LIFE  ETERNAL  463 

THE  PRIMITIVE  NOTIONS 
(B,  1)  The  Andamanese 

But  if  the  preceding  account  be  suspected  of  an  infiltration  from 
Malayan  sources, — which,  as  we  have  seen,  is  now  very  difTicult  to  main- 
tain— ,  a  comparison  with  the  Andamanese  traditions,  which  are  so  strik- 
ingly similar,  will  make  it  increasingly  probable  that  the  ideas  are  native. 
The  future  life  and  the  end  of  the  world 

On  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Man  we  have  received  the  following  vivid 
account  of  what  the  natives  profess  to  believe  on  this  subject: — * 

"The  future  life  will  be  but  a  repetition  of  the  present,  but  all  will  then 
remain  i?i  the  prime  of  life,  sickness  and  death  will  be  unknown,  and  there 
will  be  no  more  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage.  The  animals,  birds 
and  f\sh  will  also  reappear  in  the  new  world  in  their  present  form". 

"This  blissful  state  will  be  inaugurated  by  the  great  earth-quake,  which 
according  to  Puluga's  command  will  break  the  paradise-bridge  and  cause 
the  earth  to  turn  over.  All  alive  at  the  time  will  perish,  exchanging  places 
with  their  deceased  ancestors". 

another  purgatory  with  a  paradise-bridge 

"Between  the  earth  and  the  eastern  sky  there  stretches  an  invisible  cane- 
bridge,  which  steadies  the  former  and  connects  it  with  paradise.  Over 
this  bridge  the  souls  of  the  departed  pass  into  paradise  or  to  a  place  which 
is  situated  below  it,  which  might  be  described  as  a  purgatory,  for  it  is  a 
place  of  punishment  for  those  who  have  been  guilty  of  heinous  sins,  such 
as  murder.  Like  Dante  they  depict  it  as  very  cold( !)  and  therefore  a  most 
undesirable  region  for  mortals  to  inhabit". 

hades  and  the  resurrection 

"Hades  is  a  gloomy  jungle  under  the  earth,  and  it  is  hither  that  the 
spirits  of  the  departed  are  sent  by  Puluga  to  await  the  resurrection" (!) 

andamanese  theory  op  the  soul 

Man  is  made  up  of  body,  soul,  and  spirit.  The  color  of  the  soul  is  said 
to  be  red,  and  that  of  a  spirit  black,  and  though  invisible  to  human  eyes  it 
partakes  of  the  form  of  the  person  to  whom  it  belongs. 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  is  in  the  main  the  Malakkan  system  over  again, 
there  is  a  direct  judgment  by  a  personal  Thunder-God,  and  his  ultimate 
enjoyment  in  the  Garden  of  Fruits.  The  only  difTerences  concern  the 
uncertain  nature  of  hell  and  purgatory  as  distinct  punishments,  the  three- 
fold constitution  of  man,  and  the  more  explicit  teaching  on  the  supposed 
"resurrection"  of  the  body(?). 


*Man,  Andaman  Islands,  pp.  93-95. 


464  LIFE  ETERNAL 

THE  PRIMITIVE  NOTIONS 

(B,  2)  The  Veddas  of  Ceylon 

With  all  the  doubts  that  were  formerly  expressed  on  the  nature  of  the 
Vedda  religion  and  its  supposed  ancestor-cult,  the  plain  and  obvious  mean- 
ing of  the  reports  that  have  been  handed  in  require  us  to  assume  that  a 
system  of  judgment  and  divine  recompense  is  a  part  of  their  content. 

KANDE-YAKA   AS   THE  LORD  OK  THK   DEAD 

The  following  extract  from  Dr.  Seligman  should  make  this  clear: — • 
"Many  of  our  informants,  especially  the  less-sophisticated,  (sic!  refer- 
ring to  the  Hennebeddas,  and  other  wilder  tribes),  pointed  out  that  soon 
after  death  the  spirit  of  the  deceased  resorted  to  Kande  Yaka  in  order  to 
obtain  his  permission  to  accept  offerings  from  their  living  relatives,  and  to 
obtain  power  from  him  to  assist  them  in  return  for  their  offerings  or  to 
injure  them  in  the  event  of  their  bad  behavior".  This  certainly  seems  to 
imply  some  power  of  judgment,  of  dealing  with  humanity  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  moral  conduct.  We  have  also  some  idea  of  their  picture  of 
heaven : — 

THE  PARADISE  OP  A  HAPPY   HUNTING-GROUND 

"Thus  Kande  Yaka,  who  is  of  especial  assistance  in  hunting,  becomes 
Lord  of  the  Dead.  In  fact  Kande  Yaka,  the  Spirit,  scarcely  differs  from 
Kande  Wanniya,  the  mighty  hunter,  still  living  and  showing  kindness  and 
helpfulness  towards  the  people  among  whom  he  lived".  If  "spirit"  and 
"hunter"  are  therefore  identical  terms,  it  is  plain  that  the  Vedda  paradise 
is  a  happy  hunting-ground,  where  physical  and  moral  evil  are  apparently 
unknown. 

THE  'communion   OF  SPIRITS" 

In  few  regions  is  there  such  a  strong  feeling  of  intercommunion  be- 
tween living  and  dead :  "Salutation!  Salutation!  Part  of  our  relatives  hav- 
ing called  on  you,  we  give  you  ivhite  rice.  You  eat  and  drink.  Do  not 
think  evil  of  us.  We  also  eat  and  drink  the  same  food!"  "Our  father  who 
luent  to  that  world,  come  to  this  world,  come  very  quickly!"  This  and  the 
absence  of  ghost-worship,  of  what  is  called  "spiritism",  makes  the  Vedda 
faith  in  Ihe  hereafter  a  simple  but  dignified  concept,  the  fate  of  the  wicked 
being  simply  a  deprivation  of  heavenly  delights,  while  their  purgatory 
consists  in  the  soul's  "delay"  before  it  reaches  the  Great  Spirit. 

(C)  Philippine  Negritos 

All  we  know  of  the  Aela  belief  is  that  "the  spirits  of  all  who  die  enter 
this  one  spirit,  or  Anito.  who  has  his  abiding  place  in  the  rock".  This  and 
the  "punishment  of  the  wrong-doer"  suggests  at  least  an  immediate  judge. 
Hul  wp  cfuinol  make  any  positive  statements  in  default  of  exact  data.* 


•Seligman,  Veddas.  131-132.  275-276.    'Reed.  Xegritos  o(  Zambales.  p.  65. 


LIFE  ETERNAL  465 

THE  PRIMITIVE  NOTIONS 

(D)  The  Dayaks  op  Borneo 

From  what  can  be  known  of  the  Ukits,  Punans,  or  Bakatans,  it  appears 
that  they  "reverence  the  supreme  Being  as  the  Kenyas  do,  and  have  similar 
ideas  with  regard  to  the  soul  of  man  and  its  behavior  and  destination  after 
death".  As  we  are  fairly  well  acquainted  with  the  beliefs  of  the  surround- 
ing tribesmen,  the  following  will  represent  the  picture  for  the  Dayaks  in 
general. 

THE  ARRIVAL  IN  BORDERLAND 

"In  the  borderland,  says  the  Dayak,  between  this  world  and  the  next,  is 
situated  the  house  of  the  bird,  bubut,  a  bird  here  and  a  spirit  there,  cover- 
ing his  identity  in  human  form.  (Compare  the  omen-bird  of  the  Kayans). 
Every  human  spirit  in  the  extremity  of  sickness  comes  to  this  place.  If 
it  goes  up  into  the  house,  by  the  influence  of  the  bird,  it  returns  to  the  body 
which  thereupon  recovers,  but  if  it  avoids  the  house,  then  it  is  well  on  its 
way  to  the  other  world". 

THE  BRIDGE  OF  FE:aR  AND  THE  HILL  OP  FIRE 

"There  is,  however,  another  chance  for  it  at  the  'Bridge  of  Fear',  a 
see-saw  bridge  stretching  across  the  Styx,  and  difficult  to  pass  over.  If 
the  soul  makes  the  passage  successfully,  it  is  gone  past  recovery,  if  it  falls 
into  the  water,  the  cold  bath  wakes  it  up  to  a  sense  of  its  real  position" ( !). 

"After  this  the  soul  has  to  pass  the  'Hill  of  Fire'.  Evil  souls  are  com- 
pelled to  go  straight  over  the  hill  with  scorching  fire  on  every  side,  which 
nearly  consumes  them,  but  good  ones  are  led  by  an  easy  path  round  the 
foot  and  so  escape  the  pain  and  the  danger". 

THE  PALACE  OF   ETERNAL   DELIGHTS 

The  Kayans  know  of  at  least  five  different  stages  in  the  world  to  come, 
corresponding  to  underworld,  earth,  souls,  spirits,  and  supreme  spirit,  the 
latter  described  as  "Our  High  Father",  Amei  Tingei,  an  intensitive  of  Ama, 
Amaka,  etc.  This  being  is  an  all-knowing  and  severe  judge,  who  pun- 
ishes the  violations  of  the  moral  law,  known  as  Adat,  by  consigning  the 
culprit  to  one  or  other  of  the  lower  regions.  On  the  other  hand,  to  those 
who  are  good  and  obey  his  laws,  he  promises  a  "great  abundance  of  rice 
and  delicious  fruits".  This  is  the  Apu  Lagan,  or  spirit-heaven  above  the 
clouds,  where  there  is  no  sickness  or  death,  and  where  he  rules  with  the 
antus,  his  spirit-messengers,  over  the  whole  creation.  This  is  the  last  and 
highest  stage  of  beatitude,  in  which  the  awakened  soul  or  bruwa  rises  to 
the  splendors  of  an  apparently  timeless  existence, — it  is  Amaka' s  Palace 
of  Eternal  Delights,  the  place  where  he  feeds  his  children  with  his 
enchanted  fruits. 


'Materials   in   Hose,  J.  A.   I.   XXXI.   p.   195.   Perham.   in   Ling-Roth,   Borneo.   I.   210ff. 
Nieuwenhuis,  Quer  durch  Borneo,  I.  pp.  96-103. 


466  LIFE  ETERNAL 

THE  PRIMITIVE  NOTIONS 

THE  SEMANGAT  IS  EVIDENTLY   AN   "ASTRAL  BODY" 

From  the  description  of  the  life  to  come  and  the  nature  of  the  bruwa, 
or  disembodied  soul,  it  is  evident  that  the  latter  assumes  an  external  shape, 
it  is  a  rarified  or  diaphanous  body,  not  a  pure  spirit  or  antu.  The  eating 
and  drinking  in  the  enchanted  forest  reveals  its  physical  character. 

THE  ABOVE  DATA  GIVE  THE  LIE  TO  METEMPSYCHOSIS 

Moreover  it  is  certain  from  the  above  authentic  accounts  that  a  conver- 
sion into  lower  animals  cannot  be  considered  the  primitive  belief.  At 
most  there  is  a  short  residence  in  the  "soul-bird"  or  the  popular  "hawk", 
but  no  permanent  migration  into  worms  or  caterpillars.  On  the  contrary, 
the  passage  of  the  bridge  of  fear  or  the  hill  of  fire,  is  clearly  of  the  nature 
of  a  purgatory,  which  leads  either  to  a  consuming  hell  of  torment,  or  an 
unending  heaven  of  happiness.  The  analogy  with  the  preceding  beliefs 
is  again  apparent. 

(E)  The  Papuans  and  Melanesians 

We  have  abundant  illustrations  of  the  same  fundamental  notions 
among  the  Papuan  populations  of  the  eastern  archipelago.  Both  the  Aru- 
Islanders  and  the  inhabitants  of  New  Guinea  have  a  vivid  belief  in  a  judg- 
ment to  come,  followed  by  a  swift  reward  or  punishment,  sometimes  in 
strikingly  biblical  terms.  Even  the  Mafulu  have  "no  idea  of  reincarnation, 
or  of  the  ghost  passing  into  any  animal  or  plant",  which  confirms  our 
previous  findings.' 

As  to  the  Melanesian  peoples  of  the  Banks  Islands,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  the  worship  of  the  vui,  or  ghost-double,  should  have  transformed 
what  was  once  the  heaven  above  into  a  dismal  and  disagreeable  cavern 
under  the  earth. 

PANOI,  OR  THE   MELANESIAN   HADES 

"The  ghost,  when  it  leaves  its  former  dwelling-place,  makes  its  way  to 
Panoi,  to  which  there  are  many  entrances  in  various  islands,  some  under- 
ground and  unknown,  some  well  known,  as  the  volcanic  vents  on  the 
burning  hills". 

"The  true  Panoi  is  a  good  place,  and  there  is  a  bad  place  besides  which 
is  sometimes  meant  when  the  word  Panoi  is  used.  This  division  is  very 
important,  namely,  that  there  are  some  ghosts  who  enter  Panoi,  and  some 
who  are  not  allowed  to  enter,  these  last  being  of  bad  character",  etc. 

Dr.  Codrington  emphasises  this  point  as  "showing  the  native  notions 
of  right  and  wrong  so  often  denied  to  them",  for  the  bad  are  those  who 
steal,  lie,  murder,  or  commit  adultery.  These  wander  back  to  the  earth, 
homeless,  malignant,  pitiable.  But  although  a  moral  judgment  is  here 
implied,  it  is  clear  that  the  intrusions  of  spiritism  have  destroyed  its  per- 
sonal and  permanent  character.' 


•  Williamion,  The  Mafulu,  p.  266.    •  Codrington,  The  Melanesians.  p.  273ff. 


LIFE  ETERNAL  467 

THE  PRIMITIVE  NOTIONS 

(F)  The  early  Australuns 

More  vivid  again  are  the  reports  that  reach  us  from  the  Australian 
region.  These  are  extremely  numerous,  but  the  following  may  serve  as  a 
typical  example  of  a  belief  which  is  fairly  widespread." 

THE   MOUNTAIN   OF   JUDGMENT 

"On  emerging  from  the  grave  the  spirit  finds  the  spirits  of  his  dead 
relations  waiting  to  go  with  him  to  Ub-Ubi,  that  is,  the  sacred  mountain 
whose  top  towers  into  the  sky,  nearly  touching  Bullimah.  The  new  spirit 
recognises  his  relations  at  once", — that  is,  those  who  had  gone  before. 

ONCE  MORE  A  PARADISE-BRIDGE 

"At  the  top  of  Ubi-Ubi  he  finds  certain  spirits  whose  business  it  is  to 
bridge  over  the  distance  a  spirit  has  to  traverse  between  the  top  of  the 
mountain  and  Bullimah,  the  great  Baiame's  sky-camp.  One  of  these  spirits 
seizes  him  and  hoists  him  on  to  his  shoulders,  then  comes  another  and 
hoists  the  first,  and  so  on,  until  the  one  holding  the  spirit  can  lift  him  into 
Bullimah".    The  natives  then  say,  "a  spirit  has  entered  Bullimah!" 

HELL  AS  REINCARNATION 

"Baiame  is  entreated  to  let  the  dead  enter  Bullimah,  as  he  had  kept  the 
tribal  laws,  (Boorah),  that  is,  of  course,  if  he  had  been  initiated.  The 
spirits  of  the  uninitiated  wander  until  they  are  reincarnated  and  never 
enter  Bullimah".  But  this  can  hardly  apply  to  women  and  infants,  whom 
we  know  from  other  sources  to  be  capable  of  a  better  fate. 

baiame's  throne  of  TRANSPARENT   CRYSTAL 

"Baiame  dwells  in  the  north-east  in  a  heaven  of  beautiful  appearance. 
He  is  represented  as  seated  on  a  throne  of  transparent  crystal,  with  beau- 
tiful pillars  of  crystal  on  each  side.  Gregorally  is  his  son,  who  watches 
over  the  actions  of  mankind,  and  leads  the  souls  of  the  dead  to  Baiame". 

PRAYERS  FOR  THE   DEAD   IMPLY   INTER-COMMUNION 

"Baiame  still  exists",  says  Mrs.  Parker.  "I  have  been  told  by  an  old 
native  that  prayers  for  the  souls  of  the  dead  used  to  be  addressed  to  Baiame 
at  funerals, — certainly  not  a  practice  derived  from  Protestant  mission- 
aries" (sic). 

This  is  about  as  vivid  a  picture  as  we  could  desire  of  a  realistic 
retribution  in  the  world  to  come.  The  souls  passage  of  the  "great  gulf" 
is  evidently  a  kind  of  purgatory,  while  the  fate  of  the  damned  shows  that 
reincarnation  is  a  punishment,  not  a  normal  destiny.  On  the  contrary, 
the  blessed  see  or  live  with  Baiame  for  ever,  they  do  not  return. 

10  Parker,  The  Euahlayi  Tribe,  pp.  8,  89,  90.  Howitt,  South-East  Australia,  pp.  501-502ff. 
where  further  examples  are  given. 


46»  LIFE  ETERNAL 

THE  PRIMITIVE  NOTIONS 

(G)  Central  African  Negrillos 

A  wholesome  fear  of  divine  judgment  and  of  the  moral  consequences 
of  human  action  is  nowhere  more  pronounced  than  in  the  heart  of  "dark- 
est Africa".  A  few  illustrations  will  show  the  negrillo  feeling  on  this 
subject." 

WAKA    AS    AN    EXAimNO    .TUUOK 

"Seen  Waka?"  "Who  could  ever  see  Waka?"  "But  He  sees  us  with- 
out difTiculty.  Sometimes  He  descends  into  our  camps,  and  makes  one  of 
us  die.  Then  wo  place  him  deep  into  the  earth,  him  whom  He  has  deprived 
of  life,  and  the  rest  of  us  go  away  at  some  distance.  For  it  is  dangerous  to 
rest  under  the  eye  of  God!"  But  more  than  this,  a  threefold  destiny  seems 
to  be  implied. 

THREE   DISTINCT    STATES? 

"Listen,  when  one  of  us  comes  to  die,  his  shadow  descends  into  the  earth 
and  plunges  deeper  and  deeper — (purgatory).  Then  it  lifts  itself  by 
degrees,  and  rises  higher  and  higher,  up  to  God.  If  the  man  has  been 
good,  God  says  to  him :  'Stay  here,  you  will  have  grand  forests  and  lack 
nothing' — (heaven) — But  if  the  man  has  been  bad,  if  he  has  stolen  the 
wives  of  others,  if  he  has  committed  murder,  or  poisoned  his  fellow  man, 
God  throws  this  post  into  the  fire — (hell)— But  where  is  this  fire?— It  is 
above (!)".  Though  the  location  of  these  places  is  somewhat  confused, 
this  ignorance  is  redeemed  by  the  remark:  "You  whites  ought  to  know 
more  about  this". 

PERHAPS  THE  FUTURE  LIFE  MAY  BE  SHARED  BY  THE  BODY 

Although  there  is  no  explicit  statement  to  that  effect,  the  description 
of  the  heavenly  "forests"  recalls  the  old  hunting-thomo  of  the  east,  and 
suggests  that  the  heavenly  and  earthly  life  are  duplicates.  Moreover  the 
power  of  invisibility,  agility,  and  so  on,  that  they  claim  to  di^rive  from  cer- 
tain herbs,  may  well  be  applied  to  the  "risen  body"  as  a  glorified  sub- 
stance; they  believe  that  some  day  they  will  "pass  through  doors." 

(H)  The  Bushman  Beliefs 

"Death  is  but  a  sleep!" — so  runs  the  Bushman  proverb,  and  indeed  their 
wretched  existence  in  the  Kalahari  desert  is  enough  to  make  most  of  them 
dream  of  a  better  state.  This  ideal  of  happiness  is  again  to  be  found  in  the 
enchanted  "bush",  whore  Kanng,  the  "Lord",  gives  them  both  hands  full. 
Nor  can  it  be  obtained  without  a  moral  probation  or  judgment.  For  Kaang 
"causes  to  live,  and  causes  to  die",  and  to  those  who  disobey  his  laws,  he 
banishes  to  a  "mysterious  region  under  the  wafer".  All  this  sounds  like  a 
severe  judgment,  ns  does  the  banishment  of  the  wicked  to  live  off 
scorpions!  But  the  growing  degeneracy  of  these  people  requires  a  more 
terrible  sanction." 


••LeRoy.  Les  Py(?mees,  pp.  176.  180.  188ff.     "Stow.  South  Afrira.  p    117,  l.Vfflf 


LIFE  ETERNAL  469 

THE  PRIMITIVE  NOTIONS 

(K,  L)  The  Amazonian  and  Ft'EniAN  Primitives 

Passing  over  to  the  South-American  continent,  it  is  again  necessary  to 
distinguish  the  earlier  from  the  later  strata  of  beliefs,  and  not  to  confuse 
the  simple  impressions  of  the  wild  foresl-folk  with  the  elaborfite  astronomi- 
cal ideas  of  the  highland  races." 

It  is  still  too  early  to  speak  with  any  confidence  on  the  higher  Botokudo 
beliefs,  though  a  personal  survival  after  death  seems  to  be  a  very  general 
conviction.    Nay  more  there  are  indications  of  impending  judgment. 

AN    ORDEAL    IS   EXPECTED 

Whatever  be  the  significance  of  the  arrow-shooting  into  the  air,  accom- 
panied by  occasional  laceration  and  prayers  to  the  "angry  Master"  for  pro- 
tection, it  points  to  a  fear  of  future  retribution,  of  falling  into  the  hands 
of  a  scrutinising  soul-searcher.  This  and  the  custom  of  religious  inter- 
ment favor  the  view  that  they  regard  the  future  life  as  realistic. 

THE  PARADISE  OF  THE  ANCEISTORS 

A  more  definite  concept  is  found  among  the  Bakairi  and  other  Shingu- 
tribes.  Here  we  have  the  explicit  statement  that  "the  good  go  to  the  para- 
dise of  the  ancestors",  over  which  Kamushini  rules  as  the  "grandfather" 
of  the  human  race.  This  is  evidently  a  glorious  place,  resplendent  with 
light  and  happiness,  and  here  the  Sun-Father  feeds  them  with  all  manner 
of  fruits,  and  produces  life  by  cutting  human  beings  out  of  trees  and 
arrows ! 

A  SUDDEN  GHANOE  OP  CLIMATE 

This  might  have  been  the  fate  of  mankind  in  general;  but  in  the  trans- 
formation-scene which  follows,  heaven  and  earth  were  separated  by  a 
rebellion  of  the  inhabitants,  and  from  that  time  on  the  gates  of  heaven  have 
been  closed  to  all  but  the  heroic  few,  while  the  great  majority  arc  doomed 
to  roam  the  earth  or  the  underworld  as  a  penance  for  their  sins. 

THE  FATE  OF  THE  OBDURATE 

For  those,  however,  who  wilfully  outrage  the  laws  of  heaven  by  fla- 
grant crimes, — murder,  adultery,  contemptuous  blasphemy,  etc. — there  is 
a  special  place  of  punishment,  where  they  are  gnawed  upon  by  ferocious 
animals  and  torn  to  pieces  by  wild  beasts, — a  sufficient  deterrent  from  a 
life  of  sin. 

Among  the  Yivaros  of  the  Andean  slopes  we  find  very  similar  impres- 
sions, there  are  strong  warnings.  The  good  go  to  Tungura,  the  abode  of 
Iguanchi-Pillan,  the  thunder-god,  while  the  wicked  are  destroyed  by  fire 
and  water,  or  devoured  by  scorpions.  Here,  however,  the  moral  element  is 
not  so  pronounced. 

i»  Ehrenreich,  Uber  die  Botokudos,  in  Zeit  Ethn.  1887,  p.  34-35.    Von  den  Steinen,  op. 
cit.  p.  348ff.    Rivet,  Les  Indiens  Yivaros.  Anthropologic,  XIX.  pp.  235-256. 


470  LIFE  ETERNAL 

THE  PRIMITIVE  NOTIONS 

RELIGIOUS    IMPRESSIONS    AMONG    THE   Fl'EGIAN    PEOPLES 

From  what  we  have  seen  in  the  former  chapters  it  will  be  admitted  that 
anything  like  a  decisive  verdict  on  the  subject  of  Fuegian  religious  con- 
victions is  beyond  our  reach.  All  we  can  expect  is  a  greater  or  less  evi- 
dence in  favor  of  this  or  that  tendency  of  belief,  with  an  occasional  assur- 
ance that  some  important  point  may  be  regarded  as  well  established.  This 
concerns  the  subject  of  immortality  as  much  as  any  other." 

A  Yahgan  Theory  of  the  Breath  of  Life 

The  following  represents  one  of  the  Yahgan  convictions  in  this  mat- 
ter:— "He  thinks,  when  a  man  dies,  his  breath  goes  up  to  heaven,  but  for 
what,  he  has  no  notion.  He  denies  the  upward  ascent  of  breath  to  other 
animals.  He  supposes  the  sun  and  moon,  male  and  female,  to  be  very  old 
indeed,  and  that  some  old  man,  who  knew  their  maker,  had  died  without 
leaving  information  on  this  subject.  Hence  the  ignorance  of  the  present 
generation". 

This  apparently  trifling  story  reveals  at  least  that  a  higher  or  "heavenly" 
destiny  is  within  the  reach  of  man,  and  that  if  he  does  not  know  the  nature 
of  this  destiny,  some  remote  ancestor  was  perhaps  in  possession  of  the 
secret. 

The  Delightful  Forest  of  the  Alacalufs 

But  if  an  essential  connexion  between  ethics  and  immortality  is  diffi- 
cult to  prove,  there  is  no  lack  of  inducements  to  work  for  a  happy  future. 
Among  the  Alacalufs  at  least  "the  good  go  to  a  delightful  forest",  and  this 
is  sufllcient  evidence  that  a  life  of  virtue  does  not  go  unrewarded. 

the  imprisonment  of  the  WICKED 

On  the  other  hand  judgment  is  just  as  severe  in  the  other  direction: — 
"The  wicked  go  to  a  deep  well,  where  they  cannot  escape."  \\'e  see,  there- 
fore, that  the  main  outlines  of  this  picture  are  after  all  common  to  all  primi- 
tive peoples.  There  is  a  strong  hell  corresponding  to  a  no  less  realistic 
heaven,  while  the  vagueness  of  the  frontiers  leaves  room  for  an  inter- 
mediate stale,  though  of  this  we  have  in  the  present  case  no  direct  evi- 
dence. 

NO  RETURN   TO  THE  ANIMALS 

Only  among  one  section  of  the  islanders,  those  that  go  by  the  name  of 
Onas,  has  the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis  been  reported  to  exist.  This  is 
rather  surprising  in  view  of  its  general  absence  among  the  allied  groups; 
but  the  higher  state  of  the  Ona  culture  points  perhaps  to  remote  Patagonian 
influences. 

>  Rev.  J.  M.  Cooper,  D.  D.,  Analytical  Bibliography  of  the  Tribes  of  Tierra  del  Fuego 
and  adjacent  islands  Bulletin  63  of  the  Bureau  of  .American  Ethnolog)-.  (Washington, 
1917),  p.  148ff.  The  first  of  these  reports,  on  the  Yahgans,  comes  to  us  on  excellent  au:hority, 
as  does  that  on  the  Onas.  For  the  Alacalufs  the  material  is  not  so  firmly  substantiated  and 
there  appears  to  be  some  doubt  about  their  views  of  the  hereafter. 


LIFE  ETERNAL  471 

THE  LATER  DEVELOPMENTS 

(M,  1)  The  Kolarian  Aborigines  op  Central  India 

So  far  we  have  met  with  conceptions  of  a  future  state  which  all  exhibit 
a  marked  similarity  of  structure.  Whatever  minor  difTerences  they  may 
reveal  in  the  external  symbolism  by  which  the  future  life  is  described,  they 
are  unanimous  in  picturing  that  life  as  a  permanent  deliverance  from 
nature, — it  may  be  similar  to  our  present  existence,  but  it  is  either  very 
much  better  or  incalculably  worse,  even  the  hypothetical  "limbo"  presup- 
posing a  place  of  punishment  far  removed  from  earthly  conditions. 

THE  beginnings  OP  A  DOCTRINE  OP  TRANSMIGRATION 

By  degrees,  however,  the  idea  of  distinct  and  permanent  states  begins 
to  grow  dim,  and  there  is  a  feeling  that  nature  herself  contains  the  secret 
of  reward  and  punishment,  that  she  is  the  supreme  mistress  of  the  fate 
of  mankind.  This  idea  does  not  rush  upon  the  stage  of  human  thought  in 
its  full  maturity,  but  gradually  insinuates  itself  into  the  old  theology  and 
transforms  the  preceding  "heavens  and  hells"  into  reappearances  in  nature 
under  higher  or  lower  forms,  the  essence  of  the  doctrine  of  transmigra- 
tion. 

The  Munda  Concept  of  the  Future  Life 

To  judge  from  the  explicit  statements  of  a  very  trusted  authority  on 
the  Mundari  beliefs  in  this  matter.  Dr.  Roy,  the  following  represents  the 
genuine  conviction  of  the  tribes  of  Chota  Nagprur,  India: — " 

"According  to  the  good  or  bad  life  led  by  a  man  during  his  present  life, 
he  will  be  sent  back  to  the  world  by  Sin-Bonga,  {the  Sun-god),  either  as  a 
man  or  as  a  beast,  as  a  bird  or  as  an  insect.  On  death,  the  roa,  or  soul,  is 
carried  away  by  the  Jom  Raja,  (or  devouring  king),  the  god  of  death,  to 
his  abode  in  the  south,  (sic).  Such  is  the  Munda's  idea  of  rebirth,  which 
is  yet  in  a  rudimentary  stage,  and  not  half  so  elaborately  worked  out  as 
by  his  Hindoo  neighbors".  This  testimony  is  of  considerable  value,  not 
only  because  it  bears  witness  to  the  actual  existence  of  the  belief,  but 
because  it  implies  its  independence  from  Hindoo  sources. 

IS  there  a  genetic  relation  between  man  and  totem? 

And  this  leads  us  to  the  important  question  as  to  how  far  the  soul  is 
identical  with  the  totem-ancestor  and  shares  the  fate  of  its  natural  vicissi- 
tudes. If  "man"  and  "earth"  are  identical  terms,  it  will  follow  that  the 
human  species  is  no  better  than  the  grass  that  withereth,  it  is  indeed  a 
"variable"  term.  And  this,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  is  a  very  general  con- 
viction among  all  those  peoples  who  have  confused  the  God  of  Heaven  with 
their  phantastic  "guardians." 


ii>  Materials  in  S.  C.  Roy,  The  Mundas  and  their  country.  (Calcutta,  1912),  p,  417ff. 
Compare  also  Frazer,  Totemism  and  Exogamy,  Vol.  II.  pp.  284-318,  for  the  Munda  and 
Oraon  totem-groups  and  their  relation  to  the  Santals,  Khonds,  and  other  Oravidian  organisa- 
tions, especially  on  the  question  of  totemic  affinities. 


472  LIFE   ETERNAL 

THE  LATER  DEVELOPMENTS 

In  a  recent  article  from  the  pen  of  Father  Schmidt,  the  Rev.  author 
apparently  makes  out  that  the  Mundas  do  not  believe  in  the  identity  of  a 
man  with  his  totem,  but  rather  in  a  close  or  parallel  relation  vv-hich  is 
founded  on  some  common  ancestor  in  the  remote  past."  This  is  no  doubt 
very  possible  and  may  indeed  have  been  the  original  idea.  But  taking  the 
above  report  as  it  stands  and  the  additional  findings  of  Roy  and  Frazer, 
it  appears  diflicult  to  hold  that  this  is  actually  and  universally  the  case." 

A    MAN    DESCENDS   FROM    HIS   TOTEM    INTO    WHICH    HE   KETURN8 

According  to  Roy,  "all  the  members  of  the  same  kili,  or  sept,  are  des- 
cended from  one  common  ancestor",  and  "so  great  is  the  Munda's  respect 
for  his  totem  that  he  will  not,  if  he  can,  allow  his  totem  to  be  eaten  even 
by  men  of  other  castes,  in  his  presence".  This  and  the  tribal  nomencla- 
ture suggests  at  least  that  totem  and  ancestor  were  orginally  one  and  the 
same  thing.  Again,  speaking  of  the  Oraons,  their  neighbors,  Frazer  makes 
the  following  characteristic  remark: — "In  regard  to  the  totems  generally, 
Mr.  Hahn  tells  us  that  they  are  held  sacred  in  some  way  or  other,  and  that 
the  respect  shown  to  them  is  regarded  as  homage  paid  to  ancestors.  Hence 
it  would  seem  that  the  Oraons,  like  many  other  lotemic  peoples,  conceive 
themselves  to  be  descended  from  their  totems".  If  then  a  genetic  relation 
is  insinuated  by  these  beliefs  and  practices,  it  is  rendered  increasingly  cer- 
tain by  the  fact  that  the  dead  return  to  the  totem  or  are  so  closely  con- 
nected with  them  as  to  reappear  on  earth  under  the  vegetable  or  animal 
form. 

THE   SURVIVAL   OF   PERSONALITY? 

Now,  it  is  a  fact  that,  in  spite  of  a  possible  transmigration,  the  dead 
are  addressed,  treated,  and  fed,  as  if  they  were  disembodied  spirits,  they 
are  still  in  existence  as  persons.  This  is  simple  enough  when  the  dead 
return  eventually  as  human  beings,  and  are  simply  hovering  around  to 
await  the  hour  of  reincarnation,  of  resurrection  to  a  higher  and  better  life. 
In  this  case  the  totem  is  "torch-bearer",  or  a  similar  title  indicative  of  hope, 
bright  prospects.  But  when  the  deceased  are  forced  to  reappear  as  tigers, 
crocodiles,  snakes,  wild  cats,  or  sweet  potatoes,  we  are  confronting  a  difli- 
cult problem  in  psychology.  As  these  are  all  punitive  states,  they  are  in- 
deed appropriate  enough;  but  we  must  assume,  either  that  conscious  per- 
sonality is  entirely  lost  in  the  process,  or,  if  it  survives,  that  the  unnatural 
union  of  the  rational  and  animal  soul  is  so  painful  as  to  constitute  a  real 
torment.    For  the  present  we  must  leave  this  question  undecided. 


'•  See  Anthropos,  VIII.  (1913),  p.  273.     "  Roy,  1.  c.  400.  406.     Frazer.  II.  290. 


LIFE  ETERNAL  473 

THE  LATER  DEVELOPMENTS 
(M,  2)  Bantu  or  East- African  Phase 

The  preceding  beliefs  might  appear  at  first  sight  incredible;  it  seems 
impossible  that  man  as  a  rational  being  could  have  harbored  such  thoughts. 
But  that  they  are  neither  legendary  nor  in  any  sense  exceptional  is  shown 
by  the  very  wide  distribution  which  they  have  enjoyed  and  still  enjoy  over 
a  large  part  of  the  earth's  surface.  The  proof  that  the  natives  really  mean 
what  they  say  when  they  talk  of  "grandfather  hippopotamus"  is  furnished 
by  an  abundance  of  data  from  four  continents,  which  makes  a  poetical  or 
symbolical  interpretation  very  difficult  to  maintain. 

To  take  an  illustration  from  the  more  advanced  African  peoples,  it  will 
be  seen  that  this  idea  of  assuming  an  entirely  alien  species  is  realistic  in 
the  extreme,  it  represents  in  fact  the  normal  destiny  of  humanity.  Let  us 
allow  a  few  of  the  East-African  tribes  to  speak  for  themselves." 

MIGRATION    INTO   THE   HYAENA 

"The  Nandi  expose  the  bodies  of  their  dead  near  their  huts,  in  order 
that  they  may  be  eaten  by  the  hyaenas.  Hencn,  naturally  enough,  the  Nandi 
imagine  that  hyaenas  hold  communication  with  the  spirits  of  the  dead  and 
can  talk  like  human  beings."  To  imitate  the  cry  of  the  hyaena  means 
banishment  from  the  tribe  or  disgrace  for  life,  followed  by  propitiations. 

"The  same  association  with  the  dead  probably  explains  the  widespread 
veneration  in  which  the  hyaena  is  held  by  the  Wanyika  of  East  Africa. 
We  are  told  that  the  greatest  funeral  ceremonies  held  by  the  Wanyika  are 
those  which  they  get  up  on  the  death  of  the  hyaenas.  They  regard  the 
animal  with  the  most  singular  superstition.  They  look  upon  it  as  one  of 
their  ancestors,  or  in  some  way  associated  with  their  origin  and  destiny. 
The  death  of  the  hyaena  is  the  occasion  of  universal  mourning". 

From  this  it  is  sufficiently  clear  that  as  most  of  these  peoples  come 
from  the  hyaena,  they  normally  go  back  to  the  same.  They  allow  them- 
selves to  be  eaten  by  the  animal  in  order  to  share  its  mysterious  powers. 

REINa\RN.\TI0N  IN  OTHER  FORMS 

"The  great  majority  of  the  tribes  of  the  interior  have  now  lost  the 
ancient  belief,  but  they  still  hold  in  veneration  the  animal  that  their  an- 
cestors regarded  as  a  possible  embodied  spirit.  Thus  the  Bakwena  are 
crocodiles,  the  Bataung  lions,  the  Baphuti  little  blue  antelopes".  "The 
Bantus  believed  that  the  spirits  of  the  dead  visited  their  friends  and 
descendants  in  the  form  of  animals", — there  are  numerous  examples  in 
which  this  extraordinary  belief  is  directly  attested. 


1'  Examples  from  Frazer,  Totemism  and  Exogamy,  Vol.  II.  pp.  441-443,  389ff. 


474  LIFE  ETERNAL 

THE  LATER  DEVELOPMENTS 

"The  Zulus  and  other  Kaffir  tribes  believe  the  dead  to  be  reincarnated 
in  serpents — the  Banyai  on  the  lower  Zambesi  think  that  the  souls  of  their 
chiefs  enter  into  lions  and  hyaenas,  and  therefore  never  kill  these  creatures, 
so  that  the  country  swarms  with  Ihem.  When  thoy  mpef  a  lion  or  hyaena 
they  salute  it  in  their  customary  fashion  by  clapping  their  hands.  ( !) — The 
Barotse,  a  people  akin  to  the  Zulus,  imagine  that  the  souls  of  chiefs  trans- 
migrate into  hippopotamuses",  and  so  on. 

A  SUGGESTED  THEORY  OF  BANTU   TOTEMISM 

Frazer  propounds  a  theory  which  he  thinks  will  account  for  most  of 
these  strange  phenomena,  especially  for  the  choice  of  the  totems: — 

"Some  tribes  on  the  upper  Zambesi  suppose  that  every  man  trans- 
migrates at  death  into  an  animal,  and  that  he  can  choose  in  his  lifetime  the 
particular  creature  into  which  his  soul  shall  pass  when  it  has  shuffled  ofj 
the  human  frame.  In  order  to  partake  of  the  animal's  nature,  he  swallows 
maggots  bred  in  its  putrid  carcass  and  imitates  the  voice  and  movements 
of  the  living  brute,  whether  it  be  a  lion,  a  panther,  a  jackal,  a  crocodile,  a 
hippopotamus,  a  boa-constrictor,  or  what  not". 

TRANSMIGRATION    INTO   ANIMALS   WHICH    THEY    RESEMBLE 

"Of  certain  Kaffirs  we  are  told  that  they  judge  of  the  sort  of  animal 
into  which  a  man  will  transmigrate  at  death  by  the  likeness  which  he  bore 
to  it  in  his  life.  Thus  the  soul  of  a  big  burly  man  with  prominent  teeth 
will  pass  into  the  elephant,  a  strong  man  with  a  big  head  and  a  long  beard 
will  be  a  lion,  an  ugly  fellow  with  thick  lips  and  a  large  mouth  will  be  a 
hyaena,  a  long  lanky  man  with  bright  eyes  will  be  a  serpent,  etc.  All 
these  animals  accordingly  they  deem  sacred  and  inviolable". 

A   REAS0N.4BLK   INFERENCE 

With  this  large  array  of  facts  it  is  strange  that  the  collector  of  them 
should  hesitate  to  attribute  their  evident  message  to  the  all-absorbing 
influence  of  totemism.  The  fact  that  the  tribal  is  not  always  the  individual 
lotem  is  only  to  expected,  and  Dr.  Theal's  tiieory  of  the  essential  con- 
nexion of  totemism  and  metempsychosis  remains,  in  view  of  the  numerous 
cases  elsewhere,  an  unshakeable  proposition.  The  above  data  are  certainly 
interesting,  in  that  they  reveal  the  intense  absorption  of  man  with  the 
lower  creation  at  the  expense  of  a  higher  ideal,  which  ideal,  though  still 
to  be  found  in  parts,  is  to  all  intents  and  purposes  obliterated.  It  is  only 
the  favored  few  that  turn  to  Mulungu,  the  Sun-Father,  for  help;  the  groat 
majority  are  too  engrossed  with  the  material  world  to  look  to  the  skies. 


LIFE  ETERNAL  475 

THE  LATER  DEVELOPMENTS 

(M,  3)  Arunta  or  Central-Australian  Phase 

Further  illustrations  of  the  same  fundamental  beliefs  may  be  found 
on  the  Australian  continent.  We  have  seen  that  in  the  most  primitive  part 
of  this  region,  that  facing  Tasmania,  the  ideas  of  the  life  beyond  are  still 
marked  by  a  vigorous  separation  of  good  and  wicked,  of  the  heavenly 
sky-camp  from  the  place  of  wandering  and  punishment.  If  a  metem- 
psychosis is  here  and  there  to  be  found,  it  always  wears  a  punitive 
character,  it  is  only  the  wicked  that  are  condemned  to  enter  the  bodies  of 
brutes.  Among  the  tribes  of  Central  and  Northern  Australia,  who  stand 
socially  and  culturally  higher,  we  find  the  same  levelling-down  of 
humanity  to  a  uniform  standard  of  material  recompense  that  we  have 
certified  for  Indo-Africa." 

reincarnation  the  universal  belief 

"In  every  tribe  without  exception  there  exists  a  firm  belief  in  the  re- 
incarnation of  ancestors.  Emphasis  must  be  laid  on  the  fact  that  this 
belief  is  not  confined  to  tribes  such  as  the  Arunta,  Warramunga,  Binbinga, 
Anula,  and  others,  amongst  whom  descent  is  counted  in  the  male  line,  but 
is  found  just  as  strongly  developed  in  the  Urabunna  tribe,  in  which 
descent,  both  of  class  and  totem  is  strictly  maternal". 

"dream-time"  the  origin  and  end  of  all 

"The  origin  of  the  first-formed  human  beings  is  ascribed  to  two  indi- 
viduals who  lived  in  the  western  sky,  and  seeing  far  away  to  the  east  a 
mob  of  inapertwa  creatures,  who  were  the  incomplete  transformations  of 
animals  and  plants,  came  down  to  earth,  and  with  their  knives  released 
their  half-formed  arms  and  legs,  cut  open  their  mouths,  bored  holes  for 
nostrils,  slit  the  eyelids  apart,  and  thus  out  the  half-forms  made  men  and 
women.  After  having  circumcised  the  men,  these  individuals  changed 
themselves  into  little  lizards,  called  amunga-quinia-quinia" .  This  is  the 
Alcheringa,  or  Dream-time  paradise  of  the  ancestors,  and  these  half-formed 
creatures  are  "dotted  all  over  the  Arunta  country  at  the  present  day",  some 
being  associated  with  the  kangaroo,  others  with  the  emu,  others  with  the 
kakea-plant,  and  so  on. 

HOW  ARE  THE  ANCESTORS  REBORN? 

"When  a  woman  conceives,  it  simply  means  that  one  of  these  spirits 
has  gone  inside  of  her,  and,  knowing  where  she  first  became  aware  that 
she  was  pregnant,  the  child,  when  born,  is  regarded  as  the  reincarnation 
of  one  of  the  ancestors  associated  with  that  spot,  and  therefore  it  belongs 
to  that  particular  totemic  group".  Though  the  groups  or  classes  may 
vary,  the  totem  is  unchangeable  in  the  Arunta  tribe. 


»•  Sourcei  in  Spencer  and  Gillen,  Northern  Tribes  of  Central  Australia,  p.  ISOfif. 


476  LIFE  ETERNAL 

THE  LATER  DEVELOPMENTS 

AN   OCCASIONAL   CHANGE   FROM    LIZAllI)   TO   (iHASS-SEEl) 

"At  Alice  springs,  after  the  performance  of  a  ceremony  of  the  Uzard 
(otem.  one  of  fhe  leading  men  in  this  group  (old  us  that  he  was  in  reality 
a  lizard,  but  was,  as  he  said,  'close  up'  to  a  grass  seed  man".  This  was 
caused  by  the  proximity  of  two  camps  belonging  respectively  to  the  two 
totems. 

AND  PROM  HAKEA-FLOWEK  TO  BANDICOOT 

"Occasionally  an  individual  was  thus  in  the  Alcheringa  actually  trans- 
formed from  one  totem  to  another,  as  in  the  case  of  an  hakea-flower 
woman,  who,  by  means  of  the  performance  of  sacred  ceremonies  belonging 
to  the  bandicoot  was  changed  into  a  woman  of  that  totem".  This  shows 
that  the  totems  are  not  always  fixed  and  stable,  but  admit  of  some 
interchange. 

A   CHILD   MAY   CHANGE  ITS   SEX  AT   EACH   RE1NC.\RN.\T10N 

The  following  striking  paragraph  is  quoted  by  Frazer  in  substance: — " 
"A  curious  feature  of  the  reincarnation  theory  of  the  Urabunna  is 
this:  They  think  that  at  each  successive  reincarnation  the  new-born  child 
changes  its  sex,  its  class  or  phratry,  and  its  totem.  Thus  if  a  Kirawa-man 
of  the  emu-totem  dies,  his  spirit  goes  back  to  the  place  where  it  was  left  by 
the  emu  ancestor  in  the  olden  days.  There  it  remains  for  some  time,  but 
sooner  or  later  it  is  born  again  as  a  girl  from  the  body  of  a  Mathurie- 
woman,  (the  name  of  the  other  phratry),  who  of  necessity  belongs  to 
another  totem.  They  think  that  if  a  Kirawa  man  were  reincarnated  in  a 
Kiravva  woman,  it  would  eithor  be  born  prematurely  and  die,  or  would 
cause  the  death  of  the  mother.  In  the  course  of  ages  any  single  individual 
can  thus  by  a  series  of  rebirths  run  through  the  whole  gamut  of  the  totems, 
alternating  from  side  to  side  {or  from  sex  to  sex)  of  the  tribe,  hut  always 
returning  at  death  to  its  original  home". 

A  POSSIBLE  RETURN  TO  THE  EMU-SUN, — ALTJIRA 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  these  data  are  in  the  main  beyond  controversy, 
they  havL'  been  abundantly  verified.  At  the  same  lime,  they  have  to  be 
qualified  to  some  extent  by  the  findings  of  Slrehlow  and  others  on  the 
subject  of  a  supreme  divinity.  For  even  if  Altjira  is  pictured  as  the  sun 
with  emu-feet,  there  is  a  tradition  that  the  souls  of  the  good  go  back  to  him 
in  his  heaven,  while  those  of  the  wicked  are  devoured  by  evil  spirits.  If 
this  report  can  be  trusted,  it  shows  that  we  must  be  careful  not  to  make 
our  conclusions  too  wide.  Although  rebirth  and  metempsychosis  seem 
to  be  the  general  lot  of  mankind,  there  are  occasional  visions  of  a  brighter 
future  for  the  elect." 


>o  Frazer,  Totetnism  and  Exogamy.  1. 183.  Spencer,  148.    »»  See  Schmidt.  Ursprung,  p.  126. 


LIFE  ETERNAL  477 

THE  LATER  DEVELOPMENTS 
(M,  4)  Omaha  or  North-American  Phase 
In  the  North-American  region  the  general  feeling  on  the  subject  of 
immortality  is  somewhat  more  hopeful.  It  is  true  that  for  the  vast 
majority  of  the  race  heaven  is  too  far  off  to  be  obtainable,  they  must  still 
roam  the  earth  undor  animal  forms :  but  the  prominence  of  the  morning- 
star  and  the  sky-wakanda  is  the  first  sign  of  a  break  in  the  clouds,  of  a 
consciousness  that  a  more  direct  road  to  the  -'sun"  is  about  to  be  opened. 

a  descent  to  the  buffalos  the  normal  destiny 
The  death-ceremonies  of  the  Omahas  abound  in  interesting  allocutions. 
"The  dying  person,  whether  man  or  woman,  was  wrapped  in  a  buffalo- 
robe  with  the  hair  out,  and  his  or  her  face  was  painted  with  the  privileged 
decoration,  which  consists  of  two  parallel  lines  painted  across  the  fore- 
head two  on  each  cheek,  and  two  under  the  nose,  one  being  above  the 
upper  lip  and  chin.  Thus  arrayed  and  decorated  the  dying  man  or  woman 
was  addressed  as  follows:— 'Tou  are  going  to  the  animals,  the  buffalos, 
mil  are  going  to  rejoin  xjour  ancestors.  Your  souls  are  going  to  the  four 
WinCim  'Be  strong!"  Another  clan  will  address  the  expiring  member  in 
similar  tones:  "You  came  hither  from  the  animals,  and  you  are  going  back- 
thither.  Do  not  face  this  way  again.  When  you  go,  continue  walking! 
(sic)  "Taken  in  connection  with  the  legend  that  these  two  buffalo-clans 
are  descended  from  buflalos",  says  Frazer,  "these  death-ceremomes  plainly 
point  to  a  belief  that  dead  members  of  the  clans  were  transformed  back 
into  the  ancestral  animals,  the  bufTalos", -which  is  indeed  very  evident 

the  bufpalo-dance  anticipates  the  future  life 
Among  other  Dakotan  tribes  great  importance  is  given  to  the  buffalo- 
dance  "From  ten  to  fifteen  men,  each  wearing  the  head  and  horns  of  a 
buffalo,  and  armed  with  a  bow  or  spear,  would  sally  out  into  the  public 
square,  and  there  stamp,  grunt,  and  bellow  in  imitation  of  buffalos  till 
they  could  stamp,  grunt  and  bellow  no  more.  As  each  grew  tired,  he 
si-nified  it  by  bending  forward  and  sinking  toward  the  ground,  where- 
upon ne  of  his  fellows  would  draw  his  bow  and  1-t  ^ub  -U.  a  blun 
arrow  The  man  so  struck  dropped  down  like  a  dead  buffalo,  but  hi 
place  was  at  once  supplied  by  another  and  kept  up  day  and  night  until 
thp  real  buffalos  appeared".  .  ,  . 

Fraer  calls  this  a  case  of  imitative  or  homaeopathic  magic,  and  inas- 
much as  tbn^s  to  the  performer  the  picture  of  his  future  state,  it  is  quite 
Tn  expressed,  however  deplorable  such  a  future  must  seem  to  the  mind 
of  any  reasonable  and  normal  being. 


=2  T    O    Dorsey    Omaha  Sociology.  3d.  Rep.  B.  A.  E.  p^  229ff.  Frazer,  Totemisni  and 
Exogamy!' Ill    104.'    "#razer.  1.  c.  TIT.  138.  140flf.  giving  other  ,Uustrat,ons. 


478  LIFE  ETERNAL 

THE  LATER  DEVELOPMENTS 

TRANSMIGRATION   INTO  OTHER  FORMS  RARE 

The  buffalo  being  the  staple  animal  of  the  prairies  and  the  chief  source 
of  sustenance,  it  is  not  remarkable  that  it  should  be  the  principal  object 
of  veneration,  a  transformation  into  other  species  being  comparatively 
rare.  This  is  one  of  the  features  whch  makes  the  system,  as  I  say,  more 
hopeful;  there  is  not  the  necessity  of  making  the  whole  cycle  of  life  over 
again,  of  recommencing  with  the  red  earth,  and  to  this  extent  it  is  more 
optimistic,  more  closely  connected  with  human  life. 

AN  ESTIMATE  OP  NORTH-AMERICAN  TOTEMISM 

Generally  speaking,  however,  we  are  still  on  the  same  material  and 
naturalistic  level.  "On  the  whole",  says  Frazer,  "the  Omaha  traditions  of 
descent  from  some  of  their  totemic  animals,  the  ceremonies  performed  at 
the  birth  and  death  of  members  of  certain  totemic  clans,  the  adoption  of 
personal  names  referring  to  the  appearance  or  habits  of  the  totemic 
animals,  the  wearing  of  the  hair  in  imitation  of  the  creatures,  and  the 
magical  ceremonies  performed  for  their  control  by  the  clansmen, — all 
point  clearly  to  that  identification  of  the  clanspeople  with  their  totems, 
which,  as  I  have  repeatedly  indicated,  appears  to  be  the  essence  of 
totemism".  Here  the  author  comes  very  near  identifying  the  system  with 
metempsychosis,  or  at  least  to  tracing  a  very  close,  almost  essential,  rela- 
tion between  the  two. 

BUT  REINCARNATION  IS  NOT  UNIVERSAL 

It  is  also  significant  that  the  identification  of  man  with  plant  or  animal 
is  not  universal,  but  seems  to  be  confined  to  this  region: — 
"It  is  all  the  more  remarkable  to  discover  this  fundamental  principle  of 
totemism  carried  into  practice  by  a  single  tribe  of  American  Indians,  while 
among  the  tribes  which  surround  it  on  all  sides,  little  or  no  trace  of  such 
identification  of  a  man  with  his  totem  has  been  reported". 

A   POSSIBLE   ASCENT   TO   THE   SKY-WAKANDA 

With  this  limitation  in  territorial  extent,  the  parallel  suggestion  arises 
that  perhaps  the  dwelling  with  the  buffulos  is  but  a  prelude  to  a  better 
life  to  come.  Hints  at  such  a  belief  are  contained  in  the  numerous  prayers 
and  petitions  that  are  sent  up  to  the  "man  above"  and  seem  to  postulate  a 
desire  for  permanent  union.  "Hail,  mysterious  Power!  Thou  art  the  sun. 
I  uish  to  follow  thy  course!"  "0  Wakanda,  pity  me!  You  regulate 
everything  that  moves,  you  decide  when  my  last  hour  shall  come!"  Even 
if  indefinable,  such  an  aspiration  cannot  but  forshadow  better  things;  there 
is  an  invincible  yearning  to  look  beyond  the  clouds,  to  strive,  however 
feebly,  to  gain  a  vision  of  the  ever-blessed  source  of  light. 


ISHTAR'S  DESCENT  INTO  HELL 

BEING  THE  BABYLONIAN  PICTURE  OF  THE  UNDERWORLD 
'TO  THE  LAND  FROM  WHICH  THERE  IS  NO  RETURN" 


io 


A-    MA  IRSIT       L>^        XA-B.1  KAkC-kA— "Rt 

(jLU)t^K         MAnAT  (LU     SIN        U  ZU  —  UN Sa 

1^       —   KUN  MA  MA1=lA.-r       CILU)  S\N       U ZU UN— ^^ 

A— NA         BITU)  E  "n  —  E         ^U  — BAT  (lUU)  IK. —  KAU— LA 

A  — KA        Bl-ri        ^A         H Kl BU— ^       LA      A-SU [u] 

A KA       HAR— nA—  Nl       ^       A— UAK TA- Sa    LA  TA-A-A-CkAT] 

^ —  HA,      S\-n       ^        E  —    R.1 BU-6u     ZU  — UM— MU-U      NU-Qj-TvCJ 

A &A.TV         J-p-R-U  BU  — BU —  US— SU-NU  A-KAt^-NU-n-IT-yU 

NU —  U  RU         UL  IM — MA-KU    IKJA   E" — TU T\       aS-{ba) 

LAS — -^U — MA     K.IMA     IS SU — n\       SU— BAT    KAT>— [PQ 

I8U     J5ALT1     U      ISU     SIKkURl  ^A — T=>U — uy  jp—p^u 


eL\ 


TEXT:     DELITZSCn,    AS8VRISCHE   l.ESESTTKKE,    (IMS).   P.    110.     COMPARE   C.   T.    XV.    PL.    4S. 

I-ll.    IV    n.    31.     TR.\NSrKirTIONS    nV    .IENSEN,     KB     dOOO).     p.     80    AND    DHOR.'IIE,     CHOIX 

DETEXTES,    (1907).    P.    S2«.    (TRANSI-ATIONS    IBID.) 


LIFE  ETERNAL  479 

THE  MORE  RECENT  BELIEF 

(N,  1)  The  Babylonian  Concept  of  the  World  Beyond 

"The  view  that  life  continues  in  some  form  after  death  is  so  common 
among  people  on  the  level  of  primitive  culture,  or  who  have  just  risen 
above  this  level,  that  its  presence  in  advanced  religions  may  be  regarded 
as  a  legacy  bequeathed  from  the  earliest  period  in  the  history  of  man- 
kind"." These  characteristic  words  of  Prof.  Jastrow  find  their  fulfilment 
in  those  forms  of  belief  which  we  are  now  about  to  consider,  and  which, 
though  essentially  the  same  on  the  question  of  personal  survival,  differ 
toto  caelo  from  those  that  we  have  just  been  treating  in  the  manner  in 
which  that  survival  is  pictured,  they  inaugurate  a  new  view  of  the  life 
beyond  the  grave.  Reincarnation  is  now  consigned  to  the  forgotten  past, 
and  in  its  stead  we  have,  with  few  exceptions,  a  permanent  escape  from 
nature,  in  which  the  soul  is  waiting  or  preparing  for  its  final  transfer  to 
a  life  of  glory. 

ARALU   AND  THE  LAND  OF  SHADES 

Gloomy  indeed  are  the  terms  in  which  this  place  of  waiting  is  described 
in  the  earlier  Babylonian  literature,  as  witness : — 

"To  the  land  from  ivhich  there  is  no  return,  the  home  of  darkness, 

Ishtar,  the  daughter  of  Nannar,  turned  her  mind  to  go, 

Yea,  the  daughter  of  Nannar  turned  her  mind  to  go. 

To  the  house  of  gloom,  the  dwelling  of  Irknlla, 

To  the  house  from  ivhich  those  ivho  enter  depart  not, 

the  road  from  whose  path  there  is  no  return, 

to  the  house  where  they  who  enter  are  deprived  of  light, 

a  place  where  dust  is  their  nourishment  and  dag  their  food. 

The  light  of  heaven  they  behold  not,  in  thick  darkness  they  dwell, 

they  are  clad  like  bats  in  a  garb  of  wings, 

on  the  door  and  the  post  the  dust  is  laid". 
This  is  the  famous  "descent  into  hell"  in  which  Ishtar,  the  "mother"  of 
humanity,  searches  the  underworld  in  quest  of  her  dying  son,  the  expiring 
Tammuz." 

A  PAINLESS  STATE  OP  EXPECTATION 

But  although  all  are  condemned,  good  and  bad  alike,  to  enter  this 
"mountain-house  of  the  dead",  E-kur-bad,  there  is  no  evidence  that  it  was 
associated  with  any  positive  pains  other  than  the  deprivation  of  light  and 
of  the  joys  of  earthly  existence.  Nergal  and  his  demons  pursue  the  living 
rather  than  the  dead,  they  are  imprisoners,  not  exactly  tormentors.  The 
divinities  take  no  pleasure  in  human  suffering  for  its  own  sake. — which  is 
indeed  rather  consoling. 


2*  M.  J.  Jastrow,  Aspects  of  religious  belief  and  practice  in  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  (New 
York,  1911),  p.  351.  25  por  text  and  translation  see  oppos.  page.  Comp.  also  S.  Langdon, 
Tammuz  and  Ishtar,  (Oxford,  1914).  pp.  1-113. 


480  LIFE  ETERNAL 

THE  MORE  RECENT  BELIEF 

THE  WANDEHINO  OF  THE  SOUL  IN  SEARCH  OP  FOOD 

The  idea  of  "disembodied  spirit",  always  vague  to  the  mind  of  the 
primitive,  is  as  unattainable  to  the  native  of  Mesopotamia  as  it  is  to  the 
wild  men  of  India  or  the  Malakkan  straits.  But  here  on  the  Euphrates  the 
lilu  of  the  departed  is  a  semi-carnal  nature,  essentially  a  ghost.  Though 
normally  confined  to  the  world  below,  it  occasionally  slips  out  and  haunts 
the  living  with  its  dreaded  form,  seeking  for  food,  for  bodily  sustenance. 
Hence  the  tomb  of  the  departed  is  carefully  cherished,  and  supplied  with 
enormous  quantities  of  provender,  in  order  that  the  beloved  ancestor  may 
not  go  hungry  or  be  in  physical  want.  While  this  reveals  a  praiseworthy 
love  and  "communion"  with  the  departed,  it  shows  no  less  forcibly  that  the 
life  in  hades  is  not  essentially  different  from  the  life  on  earth. 

THE   FIRST   HINT   AT   RESURRECTION 

But  in  the  mean  time  there  are  other  thoughts  which  are  vaguely 
groping  out  for  a  more  perfect  recompense.    In  one  of  the  Tammuz- 
hymns  the  Mother-goddess  is  pictured  as  bringing  her  sleeping  son  to 
life  :— 
"Then  unto  the  shepherd,  unto  the  plain  of  Aralu,  she  went. 
'As  (or  me,  unto  Tammuz  in  the  house  of  resting  will  I  go!' 
His  sister,  queen  of  the  tablets,  in  heaven  and  earth  she  wandered, 
Even  in  the  sacred  sheepfolds  where  the  sheep  are  fallen. 
For  the  shepherd  the  sister  went  into  the  earth  where  he  suffered, 
To  bring  him  back  to  life, — for  the  shepherd,  to  bring  him  back  to  life! 
"0  brother,  fruit  of  my  eyes!    Lift  up  my  eyes!    Who  is  thy  sister? 
I  am  thy  sister.    Who  is  thy  mother?    I  am  thy  mother! 
In  the  sunrise  wlien  thou  risest,  rise! 
At  the  dawn  when  thou  appearest,  appear! 
The  queen  of  Enna  who  cries: — Alas,  my  husband,  alas  my  son!" 
As  Tammuz  is  the  representative  of  mankind  in  general,  that  is  of  living 
and  dying  nature,  his  restoration  to  life,  in  which  the  whole  of  the  creation 
shares,  cannot  but  be  portentous  of  final  deliverance,  of  a  resurrection  of 
mankind  from  the  gloom  of  Aralu.     It  is  true  that  this  is  only  temporary, 
for  he  dies  again  with  the  approach  of  winter,  but  such  as  it  is,  it  fills  the 
heart  with  a  momentary  prospect  of  eternal  reunion.     It  is  dumu-zi  ab-zu, 
the  "faithful  son  of  the  fresh  waters",  who  renews  the  face  of  the  earth, 
and  who  as  the  abu  or  "father"  of  vegetation  represents  the  murdered 
shepherd  (Abel),  slain  by  the  ruthless  kanaku,  or  storm-demon  (Kain)." 


"  Ltngdon,  1.  c.  p.  6,  S2ff.  Delitxsch,  Assyr.  Worterb.  p.  5S9,  kanaku-ka-du,  and  compare 
p.  436  above. 


LIFE  ETERNAL  481 

THE  MORE  RECENT  BELIEF 

SHAMASH  AND  THE  DAY  OP  JUDGMENT 

In  like  manner  the  position  of  Shamash  as  the  "judge  of  heaven  and 
earth"  is  difficult  to  reconcile  with  a  uniform  fate  for  the  whole  of  man- 
kind. 
"Thou  shall  nol  slander, — speak  what  is  purel 

Thou  shall  not  speak  evil, — speak  what  is  kind! 

He  who  slanders  and  speaks  what  is  bad, 

Him  will  Shamash  smite  on  his  head!"" 

The  failure  of  human  justice  in  this  world  and  the  triumph  of  the  evil 
liver  would  naturally  raise  their  thoughts  to  a  recompense  beyond : — 

"0  Lord!  Light  in  the  darkness.  Opener  of  the  portals  of  heaven! 
Merciful  God,  who  raisest  the  lowly,  who  protectest  the  weak, 
Upon  thy  light  all  the  great  gods  are  waiting, 
The  whole  of  the  lieavenly  host  looks  upon  thy  face, 
The  whole  of  humanity  thou  leadest  as  one  single  name. 
Full  of  expectancy,  with  raised  heads,  tfiey  look  up  to  thy  sunlight. 
When  thou  appearest,  they  are  filled  with  joy  and  jubilation. 
Thou  art  the  light  for  the  uttermost  bounds  of  the  heavens, 
The  armour  for  the  whole  wide  earth  art  thou. 
Numberless  peoples  look  up  to  thee  with  joy!" 

"Shamash,  thou  Lord  of  judgment,  release  the  ban!" — " 

These  prayers  and  implorations  would  have  little  meaning  unless  it  was 
believed  that  the  all-seeing  Sun  would  bring  a  final  deliverance. 

THE  PURGING  WATERS  OF  DEATH 

But  apart  from  these  suggestive  anticipations  we  have  direct  proof 
that  some  at  least  shall  evade  the  shades  of  Aralu  and  be  transplanted  to 
a  better  world.  It  is  Gilgamesh  and  Hasisatra  that  furnish  the  first 
brilliant  examples  of  a  conquest  of  the  empire  of  gloom.  In  his  journey 
to  the  "garden  in  the  sea"  to  search  for  the  secret  of  life,  the  great  Nimrod 
opens  out  new  pathway  for  mankind,  a  world  of  enchantments  is  in  store 
for  those  who  faithfully  follow  the  inspirations  of  heaven.  But  this 
cannot  be  attained  without  numerous  trials.  The  hero  passes  through 
the  "land  of  darkness"  to  the  distant  ocean,  and  is  here  faced  by  a  dire 
calamity.  Mountains  of  water  separate  him  from  the  world  beyond,  but 
with  the  courage  of  a  Columbus  battling  with  the  unknown  seas,  he 
steers  his  frail  bark  through  the  "waters  of  death",  and  after  suffering 
unheard-of  hardships,  is  finally  rewarded  with  a  vision  of  the  pronaised 
land." 


«'  Cuneiform  Texts,  Part  XII.  pi.  29,  30.    Jastrow,  Aspects,  p.  389.    »« Rawlinson,  IV. 
J9,  No.  22.    Jastrow  R.  B.  A.  I.  p.  429.    «•  Gilgaraesh,  TabL  IX. 


482  LIFE   ETERNAL 

THE  MORE  RECENT  BELIEF 

ERIDU  AND  THE  ISLES  OF  THE  BLESSED 

This  "throne  of  the  sea"  rises  out  of  the  ocean  and  welcomes  the  weary 
wanderer  with  its  golden  trees  and  its  precious  stones,— it  is  E-ri-du,  the 
city  of  happiness.  Here  the  "waters  of  life"  receive  the  newcomer  and 
prepare  him  for  his  final  destiny,— the  enjoyment  of  this  blessed  land. 

THE  WATERS  OF  LIFE  AXI)  THE  VLSION  OF   HEAVEN 

"Ninzadim,  Ayiu's  minister,  has  made  thee  ready  with  his  clean  hands, 
House-of-Ocean  took  thee  to  the  place  of  cleansing. 
To  the  place  of  cleansing  he  took  thee,  with  his  clean  hands  he  took  thee, 
In  milk  and  honey  he  took  thee,  with  water  of  exorcism  he  opened  thy 

mouth, 
He  opened  thy  mouth  by  enchantment,  and  spake  these  words:— 
"Be   clean  as   heaven,  be   clean  as  earth,  shine   like   the   inyiermost 
heaven.'"^" 
Though  this  is  an  incantation-text  belonging  to  the  shiptu-ritual,  it  fits  in 
perfectly  with  the  hero's  cleansing  in  the  Holy  Isle,  and  is  evidently  ex- 
pressive of  the  soul's  likeness  to  Aiiu  himself,  the  shining  Father  in  Heaven. 
Gilgamesh  is  now  in  possession  of  the  secret  of  immortality,  he  has  dis- 
covered the  sacred  palm  and  the  herb  of  life,  which  grew  in  the  earthly 
paradise,   and   which    is   guarded    by   the    mystic   cedar-grove   and    the 
cherubim : — 
"They  gaze  at  the  cedar-mountain,  the  dwelling-place  of  the  gods, 
the  holy  of  holies  of  Irnini.     Pleasant  is  its  shade,  rcsjdendent  with  joy. 
"Samtu  st07ies  it  bears  as  fruit,  its  hanging  branches  lovely  to  behold/ 
Crowned  by  the  lapis-lazuli,  it  bears  fruit  precious  to  the  sight!"^^ 

THE  EARTHLY  IMAGE  OF  THE  HEAVENLY   \A0RLn 

But  this  is  only  a  foretaste  of  the  paradise  that  is  in  the  skies,  it  is  but 
an  earthly  image  of  the  real  heaven  beyond  the  clouds.  In  a  higher 
cosmic  sense  the  four  rivers  are  the  four  branches  of  the  Milky  Way,  and 
Eridu  is  the  heart  of  the  heavenly  ocean,  for  which  see  under  Creation,  p. 
ISSff.     As  the  center  of  the  universe  it  obtains  an  astronomical  setting. 

PLEIADES  AND  THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  STARS 

It  is  the  seven  stars  in  the  constellation  of  Taurus,  the  "mighty  bull  of 
Anu",  that  may  have  figured  as  the  heavenly  resting-place,  the  final  abode 
of  the  blessed.  For  if  the  Pleiades  bring  refresiiing  rains,  the  greatest  bless- 
ing to  Mesopotamia,  it  is  Alcyone,  the  head  of  the  group,  that  twinkles  with 
H  future  promise,  albeit  through  sorrow  and  atHiction,  emphasising  the  sad 
lesson  of  Gilgamesh.  We  are  thus  brought  face  to  face  with  a  truly 
beautiful,  however  nntnrnl.  osrlialology.- -a  migration  I'ver  onunrd,  from 
star  to  star!" 

'<>  Rawlinson,  IV.  25.  col.  4.  »'  Gilgamesh,  V.  col.  1.  IX.  col.  '^  Comp.  Jeremias, 
O.  T.  I.  p.  211-219.  Jastrow,  RBA.  II.  672.  683.  685,  688,  for  Pleiades  and  Alcyone, 
Shu-Gi  and  Mul-Mul,  generally  favorable. 


THE  ISLES  OF  THE  BLESSED 


OR 


THE  APEX  OF  THE  PRE-CHRISTIAN  HOPE 

ASSYRIAN  CHERUBIM  ADORING  THE  TREE  OF  LIFE 
••BE  CLEAN  AS  HEAVEN"  (IV  R.  25.  COL.  IV) 

"THEV  aAZE  ATTHECBDAK-MOUKTA«N'*C<i"-*'^^"'^^^  ''•^^ 


-pA— A— BU  Sll- 


—  LA  —  SU       MA  — Ul 


SA^f^u-sToMes  it  beaks  as  fruit"  CG'^ameshps.  CAr.-n-so) 

ABNU  SAMTU  NA-Sa-AT  I-     Ml  -IB-     5a     , 

ISU    HU-UM-NA-TUM    UU-uU-LA- AT  A-t4A   UA- <SA- LA  TA-B/CT 

^^:t^         H^  <' ^^$M:h — ^SiT 

ABt4U     UK-NU  NA    ^«  HA—    AS-yAL.—   TA 

,^     BA         h4A— ^1— MA     A-NAA-MA-iy    ^-A-A AH 

FOB    RELIEF-8CILPTLKE    SEE    A.    JEREM1A8,     THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    IN    THE 
UOHT  OF  THE  ANCIENT   EAST,    (19H),   VOL.  I.   FIG.   66. 


THE  BALANCE  OF  TRUTH 

AND 

THE  EGYPTIAN   HESPERIDES 

THE   SOIL  U   WEIGHED   IN   THE   SCALES    OF   JV8TICE,    JIDGED    BV    OSIBIS.   AND    FINALLY 
CONDICTKD  TO  THE  "GARDENS  OF  LIFE" 


/)   'T^\.%^^<=>'=\Sr=^'^  ^ 


DIAGRAMS  TAKEN   FBOM   P.    TIRETT.   LA    RELIGION   DE   L'ANCIENNE   EOYPTE,    (PARIS,   1910), 
rP.  1S7,  t41,  AND  FOUND  IN  SIMILAB  FORM  IN  TUX  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD.  C.  ItSFF. 


LIFE  ETERNAL  483 

THE  MORE  RECENT  BELIEF 

(N,  2)  The  Parallel  Development  in  Egypt 

"In  no  people,  ancient  or  modern,  has  the  idea  of  a  life  beyond  the 
grave  held  so  prominent  a  place  as  among  the  ancient  Egyptians"." 
This  statement  of  a  recent  author  is  probably  not  exaggerated.  For  if  the 
fate  of  the  soul  in  some  region  remote  from  the  present  is  as  strongly 
rcognised  on  the  Euphrates  as  it  is  on  the  Nile,  it  is  only  in  the  land  of 
the  Pharaohs  that  have  direct  testimony  to  an  immediate  and  universal 
judgment,  followed  by  a  certain  and  infallible  reward,  in  which  the  body 
shares  the  fate  of  the  higher  principle  to  the  end  of  the  story.  Moreover 
it  is  here  only  that  we  note  the  beginnings  of  a  higher  psychology,  the  first 
attempt  to  distinguish  between  spiritism  and  spirituality,  the  hungry  ghost 
and  the  divine  image." 

THE  Ka  wanders  about  the  tomb 

The  doctrine  of  a  threefold  constitution  of  man  on  the  basis  of 
ka-ba-khu, — body,  soul  and  spirit, — though  it  cannot  be  called  absolutely 
new,  is  nevertheless  brought  out  with  such  sharp  distinctions,  that  it  may 
be  regarded  as  characteristic  of  the  new  era.  Of  these  the  ka  is  the  lowest 
and  most  material  form,  it  is  nothing  but  a  "double"  of  the  body  and  is 
subject  to  all  the  wants  and  physical  limitations  of  the  latter.  At  death 
the  ka  of  the  dead  man  still  hovers  about  the  tomb,  and  is  so  vitally  identi- 
fied with  the  corpse  which  it  has  just  left,  that  the  one  interacts  upon  the 
other,  it  is  amost  the  "forma  cadaverica"  of  the  scholastics.  Hence  the 
elaborate  care  with  which  the  remains  are  constantly  treated  and  supplied 
with  all  the  necessities  of  the  earthly  life,  food,  shelter,  clothing,  orna- 
ments, etc.  In  a  later  age  the  body  is  even  embalmed,  the  double  is 
painted  on  the  lid  of  the  sarcophagus,  and  the  ka  enters  the  tomb  by  the 
spirit-door  to  receive  the  banquet, — a  sufficient  proof  of  its  material  and 
earthly  nature. 

THE  Ba  IS  judged  in  the  hall  op  truth 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  the  ba  or  soul  of  the  man  meets  with  a  far 

different  fate.    It  is  called  to  the  Hall  of  Truth  to  be  judged  by  Osiris  and 

his  forty-two  assessors,  it  must  give  an  account  of  the  deeds  done  in  the 

body. 

"Praise  unto  thee,  Osiris,  Lord  of  the  twofold  Truth!  I  come  unto  thee,  0 

my  God,  I  draw  near  to  see  thine  excellences!  I  know  thee,  I  know  thy 

name,  I  know  the  names  of  the  forty-two  who  are  with  thee  in  the  Hall 

of  Truth!  I  am  pure,  I  am  pure,  I  am  pure!" — these  were  a  few  of  its 

exclamations." 


"J.  H.  Breasted,  Development  of  religiouj  thought  in  ancient  Egypt,  (1912),  p.  49. 
•*  See  the  Book  of  the  Dead  passim,  and  compare  A.  H.  Sayce,  The  Religions  of  ancient 
Egypt  and  Babylonia,  (Edinburgh,  1903),  p.  46,  153flF.  "Book  of  the  Dead,  chapt.  12S. 
Comp.  Erman,  Aegyptische  Religion,  p.  117.  Virey,  1.  c.  p.  lS7ff. 


484  LIFE  ETERNAL 

THE  MORE  RECENT  BELIEF 

TVPIION-SKT  AND  THK  PINISHMENT  OK  THK  WICKEfi 

If  his  soul  is  found  wanting  in  the  balancp  of  divine  justice,  it  is  passed 
over  to  the  typhon-god,  and  either  purged  or  destroyed  in  a  hell  of  fire  and 
brimstone.    This  doctrine  of  a  "second  death"  is  well  in  evidence. 

OSUUS  AND  THE  "VISION   OF  GOD", — Khu 

On  the  other  liand.  the  good  soul  passes  on  to  its  just  reward.  "Guided 
by  the  intelligence  (or  the  khu)  it  traverses  space,  learning  the  secrets  of 
the  universe,  and  coming  to  understand  the  things  that  are  dark  and  mys- 
terious to  us  here.  At  length  its  education  in  the  other  world  is  completed 
and  it  is  permitted  to  see  God  face  to  face  and  to  lose  itself  in  His  inelTable 
glory"  (Sayce).  This  is  strong  language  to  use  in  connection  with  a  largely 
animistic  cult,  and  it  is  hardly  implied  in  the  wording, — 
"/  come  unto  thee,  0  my  God!  I  draiv  near  to  see  thine  excellences!" 
Nevertheless,  the  all-seeing  Oriris  imparts  to  his  creatures  the  "spark" 
of  the  divine  life,  it  is  a  noble  though  semi-pantheistic  feeling  of  oneness. 

Ka-KhU  AND  THE  DOCTRINE  OP  THE  RESURRECTION 

But  the  ka  and  the  khu,  though  initially  separated,  are  destined  to  be  re- 
united. It  is  Osiris  the  mummy  that  sounds  the  first  note  of  a  future  har- 
mony, of  a  reunion  of  body  and  spirit  upon  a  higher  plane.  In  the  i05lh 
chapter  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  the  soul  is  described  as  addressing  its  own 
ka  on  the  day  of  rosurrection  in  somewhat  striking  terms: — 

"Hail  unto  thee,  thou  who  ivast  my  ka  during  life!  Behold  I  come  unto 
thee,  I  arise  resplendent,  I  labor,  I  am  strong,  I  am  hale,  I  bring  grains  of 
incense,  I  am  purified  thereby,  and  I  hereby  purify  that  ivhich  goeth  forth 
from  thee.—  The  scale  of  balance  rises,  Truth  rises  high  unto  the  face  of 
the  divine  Ra  an  the  day  on  which  my  ka  is  where  I  am.  My  head  and 
my  arm  are  restored  where  I  am.  I  am  he  whose  eye  seeth,  whose  ear 
heareth,  I  am  not  a  beast  of  sacrifice.  The  sacrificial  formulae  for  the 
higher  ones  in  heaven  are  recited  where  I  am!" 

THE  FIELD  OF  ALL'  IN  THE  SKIES 

Finally  there  is  a  heavenly  duplicate  of  the  earthly  paradise,  as  in  Meso- 
potamia. The  kingdom  of  Osiris,  known  as  the  Field  of  Alu,  is  in  the 
constellation  of  the  Great  Bear,  while  his  shines  as  Sirius,  and  Ilorus  is  the 
Morning  Star.  The  Milky  \^'ay  becomes  the  heavenly  Nile,  and  here  the 
blessed  live  in  perpetual  happiness  under  the  rule  of  Osiris,  working, 
feasting,  praying,  and  even  contending,  as  they  do  below,  but  without  pain 
and  without  end  in  time.  This  forms  a  fitting  climax  to  the  Egyptian  hope, 
though  it  betrays  its  earthly  origin  in  a  manner  that  seems  quite  unmis- 
takable,—it  can  never  get  beyond  a  semi-animistic  and  cosmogonic  mys- 
ticism,— the  real  vision  of  God  is  as  far  olT  as  ever. 


LIFE  ETERNAL  485 

THE  MORE  REGENT  BELIEF 

(N,  4)  The  Hebrew-Palestinian  Concept 

The  same  analogies,  though  with  a  strong  monotheistic  setting,  may  be 
traced  in  the  fundamental  framework  of  the  Jewish  concept  of  the  here- 
after. It  can  no  longer  be  maintained  that,  because  this  picture  is  not  par- 
ticularly bright,  it  exhibits  no  deviation  whatever  from  the  common  con- 
sciousness of  the  times.  From  beginning  to  end  the  hand  of  a  single  and 
almighty  Judge  looms  up  in  terrifying  yet  ever  merciful  form,  and 
although  the  topography  of  the  "heavens  above,  the  earth  beneath,  and  the 
waters  that  are  under  the  earth"  reveals  the  common  persuasion  of  man- 
kind in  all  ages  on  the  threefold  location  of  a  place  of  recompense,  these 
places  are  peopled  with  angelic  or  demoniacal  beings  very  diiTerent  from 
the  planetary  or  the  stellar  deities  of  the  surrounding  nations. 

JEHOVAH  AND  THE  LAND  OF  SHEOL 

That  the  Hebrew  sheol  is  a  place  of  banishment  rather  than  universal 
punishment  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  good  as  well  as  the  bad 
were  said  to  descend  to  it,  the  holy  patriarchs  no  less  than  the  wicked 
blasphemers.  (Comp.  Gen.  37,  35  with  Num.  16,  30).  In  this  it  is  similar 
to  the  Aralu  of  Babylonia  and  the  Hades  of  Greece  and  Rome,  in  that  all 
with  few  exceptions  go  to  a  "hollow"  or  a  dark  cave  in  the  earth,  where, 
though  deprived  of  light  and  happiness,  they  are  not  necessarily  tortured. 
More  often  they  "sleep",  or  "go  down  to  the  pit  in  silence".  But  in  this 
case  the  judgment  is  directly  in  the  hands  of  Jehovah,  there  are  no  phan- 
tastic  adventures  in  a  land  of  shades,  no  bargainings  with  tartaric  pilots, 
it  is  the  Lord  God  who  is  the  supreme  "Judge  of  all  the  earth",  (Gen.  18, 
25.  Ps.  94,  2).  Whatever  external  resemblances  the  "bosom  of  Abraham" 
may  be  said  to  possess  with  the  "land  from  which  there  is  no  return",  it 
is  presided  over  by  the  God  of  Heaven, — "//  /  descend  into  hell,  thou  art 
there  also"  (Ps.  138,8). 

LUCIFER  AND  THE  PUNISHMENT  OF  GEHENNA 

Moreover,  there  is  considerable  evidence  to  show  that  with  the  positively 
damned,  those  to  be  eternally  punished,  the  Hebrews  soon  associated  a 
special  place,  which  as  the  ge-hin)ion,  or  Valley  of  Hinnon.  became  iden- 
tified with  what  we  call  "hell",  (Targ.  Jonath.  to  Gen.  3,  24.  Enoch,  26). 
Though  the  term  Lucifer  as  the  day-star  is  applied  by  Isaiah  (14, 12)  to  the 
king  of  Babylon,  it  is  generally  conceded  to  have  an  ulterior  meaning. 
The  falling  prince  may  be  traced  in  substance  to  the  "satan"  of  1  Ghron. 
21,  1,  and  the  serpent-tempter  of  Gen.  3,  IfT.  In  this  way  the  tradition  of 
an  evil  personality,  or  an  "enemy"  of  man,  is  seen  to  have  its  roots  in  the 
remote  past.  Nor  is  there  any  reason  to  question  that  this  Hebrew  d^'rnon- 
ology  is  entirely  independent  of  any  of  the  gods  and  demons  of  the  sur- 
rounding lands. 


486  LIFE  ETERNAL 

THE  MORE  RECENT  BELIEF 

EDEN  AND  THE  PAKADISE  OF  THE  BLESSED 

But  if  sheol  exists  for  humanity  at  large,  gan-edcn  is  the  distant  hope 
of  the  more  perfect.    Founded  on  Gen.  2,  8,  it  is  promised  in  Isaiah,  51,  3: — 

"For  the  Lord  shall  comfort  Zion:  He  will  comfort  all  her  waste  places. 
And  He  will  make  her  wilderness  like  Eden,  and  her  desert  like  the  garden 
of  the  Lord.  Joy  and  gladness  shall  be  found  therein,  thanksgiving  and 
the  voice  of  melody". 

These  and  the  well-known  passages  in  Ezekiel,  (28,  13),  not  to  speak 
of  the  celestial  visions  of  Isaiah  (6,  1)  and  of  Daniel  (7,  1),  describing  the 
four  beasts,  with  the  throne  and  the  sea  of  glass,  clearly  point  to  a  heavenly 
beyond. 

THE  RESURRECTION  .\ND  THE  BE.\TIFIC  VISION 

Again,  the  assumption  of  Enoch  and  Elias  (Gen.  5,  24.  4  Kings,  2,  12), 
belonging  as  it  does  to  the  earliest  period,  forestalls  the  physical  resur- 
rection:— 

"My  father,  my  father!  The  chariot  of  Israel  and  the  driver  thereof!" 
These  vivid  examples  gradually  pave  the  way  for  a  inore  universal  hope : — 

"/  knoiv  that  my  Redeemer  livelh,  and  in  the  last  day  I  shall  rise  out  of 
the  earth.  A7id  I  shall  be  clothed  again  with  my  skin,  and  in  my  flesh  I 
shall  see  God.  Whom  I  myself  shall  see,  and  mine  eyes  shall  behold,  and 
not  another.     This  my  hope  is  laid  up  in  my  bosom".  (Job.  19,  25). 

"Thy  dead  men  shall  live,  my  slain  shall  rise  again.  Awake  and  give 
praise,  ye  that  dwell  in  the  dust!"  (Is.  26,  19). 

Together  with  the  16th.  psalm  and  the  visions  of  Ezekeil  (1,  3)  and 
Daniel  (12,  2)  these  passages  furnish  sufficient  evidence  of  a  future  vision 
of  God  in  both  natures,  though  they  also  imply  its  prophetical  and  mys- 
terious delay. 

ITS  CONSUMMATION    IN   THE   NEW   LAW 

These  delays  and  uncertainties  are  finally  swept  away  by  the  teaching 
of  the  Messiah  and  His  triumph  over  death.  The  empty  tomb  and  the 
ascension  iiave  opened  up  tlio  holy  of  holies  to  all  mankind,  and  the  descent 
into  hell  has  for  ever  broken  the  chains  of  the  "spirits  in  prison".  In 
other  respects  the  Jewish  paradise  remains  as  it  was  before,  but  is  ampli- 
fied with  all  the  treasures  of  heavenly  lore  with  which  "the  Orient  from 
on  high  hath  visited  us".  In  the  revelation  of  St.  John  the  divine  the  whole 
of  the  visible  universe  is  mapped  out  as  the  mansion  of  the  blessed,  and  in 
the  "mystery  of  the  seven  stars  which  thou  sawest  in  my  right  hand" 
we  have  the  consummation  of  the  seven  stars  of  the  ancients,  the  seven 
planets  of  "Pleiades"  to  which  the  faithful  few  would  hope  to  ascend.  The 
hope  is  now  dissolved  in  the  reality, — humanity  has  at  last  discovered  her 
one  Redeemer. 


THE  SUPERNATURAL  CONSUMMATION 
THE  HEAVENS  ARE  OPENED  BY  THE  MESSIAH 

■•I    KNOW   THAT   MY    KFJDKKMKK    MVKTH"    {.lOll.    I!».   ■.■51 

"THE  MYSTKKY  Ol    THE  SEVEN  STAKS  WHICH  THOl    SA«  EST  IN  MY   RIGHT  HAMl.  ANU  THE 

SEVEN  GOLDEN  CANDLESTICKS"    (APOC.  1,20) 


MOKTIIY     IS     THE     IAMB     THAT     MAS     SI.AIN     TO     RECEIVE     fOWER     AND     DIVINITY     AND 

WISDOM    AND    STRENGTH    AND    HONOR    AND    GLORY    AND   BENEDICTION"    (APOC.    5.    IJ). 

THE     SICCESSIVB     VISIONS     OF     ISAIAH.     EZEKIEL     AND     DANIEL:     AND     THE     CORRECTED 

VISION   OF  ST.  JOHN   THE   DIVINE  ON   THE  THRONE   OF  GOD   AND  THE   LAMB 


THE  PERSIAN  AFTERMATH 

OR 

THE  LAST  JUDGMENT 


AS   lAINII.^     I'DIIIItWKII    IS     I  III.   (.A  I  II  \    l>iA\Alll.    Ill:>(  Klltl  N<.     IIIK    FXrlLKK      Ul;(  llM- 
rKNSi;.   Itl    1     I  All  IN(i   MIOIM    <)l      INK    INI  l;(.KA  I.    Il!l:\    Ol     ItKAI'iri  l>K. 

ZOROASTEF<'S  VISION  OF  THE  LIFE  BEYO.ND 

AS   AN    KIIIKAI.    IIKIM.II    I  M  DM  I'M.  I  i;    I'KIIIti:    l<MI>MN(,     IIll:    NAIIUM.    A>:'l  I!  \  I  IO.V.n 
Ol     MAN    IN    All.   AllKS— "IIIK    KniNK    WI^DllM'-    (^ASNA.    Mill,   .".i 


AHURA         KtfMHT  MAZDA  TVIVA  ^-^  SPCNTEM 

PAOURVTm        iJAREr^CM  ZAXHOI         ANMCU^  THVA  HVAT 

UkHCHA     YA-CA  MTzHJ5AVAN  SYAOTHNA  35AO        HVAT 

VAN  HAVE  ASHTm  VANUHTm  AKAI        AK.EM 


APB  NtE  UKVAe-SE  dam  0  1^  HUNARA     "THVA 


••m;a.  I  ('(>\('i':n  I' II  iii  iiii:i':  \>  itm  n  i  i.iii  >.  n  \mik\  m>/|(\.  uiiin  i\  (i;i.\ih>n-^ 
liliM'ii  I  s\\\  ilii-.i:  IIUM,  ^\|||■;N.  iiikiin  am>  wouii-  mii»i  .mm  kkw  xkiiim..  i  im; 
«;ivi>i.  II  I.  K)  nil-;  i;mi..  i-i  hk  klkssinii    iii   ink  (aiiiD    n\    iiu   .ii  m    uimi.im   i\    iiii 

(Hi;\TI(>N'S     IINAI.    <  liAN(.l-. ■■, 

I  I  \  I    \M)    I  K  \Nxi  Kii'i  ION    IN      riiK   ii\i.   /.iiKo\>i  1(1  \\   <.\rii\>-    If    i.\u  i<i':N(  I-:   IIKV- 

«<>lt1ll      Mills,      I).   1).      illll'/ll,,      I,"!!!!-!!!!,      I',      l:{.         1  K  \  N  N|.  \  |  1 1  r  \  •.      ||l||l,       \M)      IN      ■■(.\III\S" 

ii-i>rii  \n   MiiiiiiN,  iMiKh,  r.   I.     till-:  Alt<»\K  is  .\   i  xiitiA    iiiiuM     linn  CM    mi.ikii  \ll^ 

KOI  M>Ki>    VICKSION, 


LIFE  ETERNAL  487 

THE  MORE  REGENT  BELIEF 

(N,  5)  The  Persian  Doctrine  of  the  Future  Life 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  early  Persian  eschatology  is  decidedly 

abstract  and  immaterial,  though  not  to  such  an  extent  as  to  exclude  all 

participation    of  the  body   in  the  fate  of  the   soul.     Here  are  a   few 

examples : — ^' 

JUDGMENT  ON  THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  MORAL  CONDUCT 

"Then  those  spirits  created,  as  first  when  they  came  together, 
Life  and  our  death  decreeing,  how  all  at  the  last  shall  be  ordered. 
For  evil  men  the  worst  life,  for  the  faithful  the  best  inspiration" . 

That  these  are  more  than  mental  states,  though  undoubtedly  condi- 
tioned by  a  life  "in  thought,  word,  and  deed",  is  suggested  by  the  follow- 
ing pictures: — 

A   HELL   OF  APPARENT   DESTRUCTION 

"But  he  who  deceives  the  saint,  for  him  shall  at  last  be  destruction. 
Long  life  in  the  darkness  his  lot,  foul  food  with  revilings  loathsome. 
This  is  your  world,  ye  faithless,  by  your  deeds  your  own  souls  will 
bring  it". 

A  HEAVEN  OF  UNENDING   WEAL 

"But  Ahura  Mazda  ivill  give  both  weal  and  a  life  immortal, 
With  the  fulness  of  grace  from  Himself  as  the  head  of  dominion, 
And  the  Good  Mind's  Power  will  He  send  to  His  friend  in  deed  and  in 
truth". 

A  PHYSICAL  RESURRECTION   SEI':MS   TO   BE  PROMISBID 

"Let  Angra-Mainyu,  the  evil  spirit,  be  hid  beneath  the  earth,  let  the  demons 
disappear,  let  the  dead  arise,  and  let  the  bodily  life  be  sustained  in 
these  now  lifeless  bodies". 

THE  MILLENNIUM   WILL  BE  SHARED  BY   THE  ENTIRE  CREATION 

"We  sacrifice  unto  the  kingly  Glory  which  shall  cleave  unto  the  vic- 
torious Saoshyant  and  his  companions,  ivhen  he  shall  make  the  loorld 
progress  unto  perfection,  and  when  it  shall  be  never  dying,  not  decaying, 
never  rotting,  ever  living,  ever  useful,  having  power  to  julfd  all  ivishet. 
when  the  dead  shall  aiise  and  immortal  life  shall  come,  when  the  settle- 
ments shall  all  be  deathless". 

There  is  no  reason  to  question  the  antiquity  of  these  ideas,  many  of 
which  might  well  have  been  evolved  on  Persian  soil.  Even  the  Vendidad, 
with  its  vivid  judgment-scenes  and  its  golden  thrones,  is  too  closely  knit 
up  with  the  Gathic  spirit,  to  be  looked  upon  as  an  exotic,  though  much  of 
the  Pahlavi  literature  was  no  doubt  tinged  with  Jewish  concepts  of  the 
hereafter. 

"0  righteousness,  when  shall  I  see  thee?  And  thee,  thou  Holy  Spirit  of 
Truth"? 

In  these  words  is  summed  up  the  Persian  hope  of  a  future  vision  of  God. 


•8  Texts  from  Yasna,  30,  4.  31,  20,  21.    Fragm.  4.  Yasht,   19,  83,  in  Mills,  Zendavesta 
S.  B.  E.  XXXI.  and  Idem,  Our  own  Religion  in  ancient  Persia,  pp.  132,  24ff. 


488  LIFE  ETERNAL 

THE  MORE  REGENT  BELIEF 
The  Contemporauy  Brahministic  Development 

In  striking  contrast  to  this  exalted,  almost  biblical,  view  of  the  destiny 
and  the  dignity  of  man,  comes  the  sad  story  of  pessimism  and  ultimate 
self-extinction  which  reaches  us  from  the  banks  of  the  Ganges, — the  only 
civilised  part  of  the  world  in  which  a  change  into  lower  forms  is  still  con- 
sistently believed  in,  though  the  few  have  always  a  chance  to  escape. 

Where  do  I  come  from?  Whither  am  I  going?  In  the  earlier  Rig- Veda 
this  is  clear  enough.  I  came  from  Varuna-Mitra  and  I  shall  return  to  him, 
it  is  the  Avestic  faith.  But  in  the  later  Brahmanas  and  Upanishads  the 
picture  of  the  supreme  Being  is  thinned  down  to  a  mere  abstraction.  He  is 
the  indefinable  basis  of  existence  into  which  all  things  are  absorbed. 
With  this  negative  view  of  the  divine  the  fate  of  the  soul  is  an  equally 
cheerless  one,  it  must  either  reappear  in  the  body  or  lose  all  self-conscious- 
ness. 

The  Nirwana  of  Buddhism 

This  reaches  its  logical  consequence  in  the  doctrine  of  Nirwana.  which, 
in  spite  of  the  volumes  that  have  been  written  about  it,  still  remains  an 
incomprehensible  mystery  to  the  Western  mind.  To  be  and  not  to  be  at 
one  and  the  same  time,  this  seems  to  challenge  the  laws  of  logic.  Accord- 
ing to  the  most  approved  authorities,  it  is  not  annihilation,  and  yet  it  is  no 
known  or  imaginable  form  of  existence.  It  seems  to  be  a  quiescence  of 
the  faculties,  in  which  the  soul  loses  itself  in  the  Infinite.  Now  it  is 
important  to  note  that  this  is  precisely  the  negative  side  of  our  own  doc- 
trine of  beatitude,  it  emphasises  an  all-important  truth,  that  in  order  to 
see  God,  we  must  die  to  self,  die  to  our  lower  nature, — "He  that  seeketh  his 
life  shall  lose  it,  and  he  that  loseth  his  life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it".  The 
Christian  ascetic  no  less  tiian  Ihe  Buddhist  monk  is  thus  losinfj  his  lif'^  for 
God,  but  with  this  fundamental  diderencc,  that  whili^  the  former  is  seek- 
ing a  positive  communion  icith  a  supreme  Personality,  the  latter,  has  noth- 
ing but  deliverance  to  look  forward  to;  he  is  living  in  a  dreamland,  in  a 
world  of  unknown  possibilities."    But  of  this  more  presently. 

Western- Aryan  Development 

In  the  mean  time  the  Western  branch  of  the  Aryan  stock  is  spinning 
out  the  old  theme  of  heaven,  earth  and  underworld,  with  renewed  zest. 
Here  the  classic  Hades  of  middle  Europe  is  but  another  Aralu,  while  the 
heavenly  Elysium  is  another  Isle  of  the  blessed.  In  spite  of  its  many  cor- 
ruptions, this  faith  has  preserved  our  ancestors  from  the  fate  of  the  Hindoo 
avatars. 


•'  Estimates   on   this   subject   in    Poussin,   Hull,   etc.      Lectures   on    the    History    of 
Religions.     (Herder,  iQio),  Vol.  I.  under  Buddhism  «nd   Hindooism 


LIFE  ETERNAL  489 

THE  MORE  RECENT  BELIEF 

(N,  6)  Indo-Melanesian  and  Polynesian  Development 

With  the  spread  of  the  more  recent  Aryan  culture  to  the  East,  followed 
by  the  siill  later  Islamic  invasion,  the  beliefs  on  the  subject  of  immortality 
exhibit  a  corresponding  variety  of  detail.  We  find  a  strong  conscious- 
ness of  a  super-human  life  beyond  the  grave,  side  by  side  with  the  linger- 
ing vestiges  of  reincarnation  and  reappearance  under  lower  forms. 

This  conflict  of  ideas  is  no  where  more  apparent  than  in  the  Indian 
archipelago.  In  spite  of  their  strong  eschatology,  the  Kayans  of  Borneo 
■'believe  in  the  reincarnation  of  the  soul,  although  this  belief  is  not  clearly 
harmonised  with  the  belief  in  another  world"  (sic).  The  passing  of  the 
soul  of  a  grandfather  into  that  of  his  grandchild  is  for  the  most  part 
temporary,  as  the  parent  reclaims  his  soul  when  he  enters  paradise.  For 
the  rest  we  know,  that  the  concept  of  the  hereafter  is  in  other  respects 
extremely  vivid,  the  Kayans  having  no  less  than  five  different  places  of 
recompense,  while  the  doctrine  of  seven  heavens  is  found  among  the  Sea- 
Dayaks  and  other  advanced  tribes.  This  may  be  partly  due  to  Mussulman 
influence. 

A  growing  indifference  to  death  is  characteric  of  the  eastern  Melanesian 
zone.  "Death  is  easy,  of  what  use  is  life,  to  die  is  rest", — by  these  sayings 
the  Fiji  islanders  look  forward  to  death  with  happiness,  they  even  bury 
one  another  alive  to  hasten  the  moment.  As  to  their  ultimate  fate,  we  find 
the  same  doctrine  of  a  descent  to  the  grandchild  combined  with  a  uni- 
versal animism,  in  which  it  is  believed  that  every  created  thing  has  its  soul 
and  will  share  with  mankind  a  blissful  immortality.  In  northern  Melan- 
esia there  is  a  Hades,  or  land  "far  away",  where  the  good  are  rewarded  and 
the  evil  punished,  but  is  otherwise  very  similar  to  the  present  state. 
Future  felicity  is  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  shell-money  the  man  left 
behind  him, — if  he  left  much  money,  he  will  proceed  to  the  realm  of  bliss, 
if  little  or  no  money,  he  will  be  banished  to  the  earth  and  sent  home  to* 
roam  like  a  wild  beast  in  the  forest,  battening  on  leaves  and  filth  ( !). 

This  commercial  aspect  of  the  life  to  come  reaches  its  climax  in  the 
Polynesian  doctrine  of  limited  immortality.  The  native  of  Samoa  or 
Tonga  has  developed  a  feudal  system,  in  which  only  the  souls  of  kings, 
princes,  or  chiefs  are  regarded  as  undying,  the  great  mass  of  humanity, 
including  the  brutes,  dissolving  into  nothingness.  This  is  the  logical 
opposite  of  the  Fiji-belief,  and  is  perhaps  the  only  example  on  record,  in 
which  the  rich  and  the  poor  are  looked  upon  as  belonging  to  essentially 
different  orders  of  being." 


'*  Examples   taken   from   Frarer,    Belief    in    Immortality,   pp    393.   419ff.     See   also   the 
iources  under  p    itiflF.  supra 


49n  LIFE  ETERNAL 

THE  MORE  RECENT  BELIEF 

(N,  7)  North  and  South-American  region 

The  essential  similarity  of  thought  in  the  two  hemispheres  is  brought 
out  once  more  by  the  common  bond  of  hope  that  unites  the  more  advanced 
peoples  of  the  North  and  South  American  continent  with  their  brethren 
in  the  Old  World.  Here  again  the  vast  majority  have  emancipated  them- 
selves from  the  doctrine  of  rebirth,  and  are  looking  to  the  skies  for 
deliverance." 

SIPAPU   AND  THE  GRAND  CANON 

Whatever  be  the  traditional  idea  connected  with  the  word  sipapu,  if  is 
certain  that  for  the  majority  of  the  mountain  tribes  it  represents  not  only 
tiie  place  of  emergence  at  birth,  but  also  the  place  of  migration  at  death. 
With  the  Hopi  it  is  associated  with  the  Grand  Canon,  and  among  the 
Zuni  and  other  tribes  it  is  connected  with  a  sacred  lake  where  the 
souls  of  tiie  dead  are  judged.  For  upon  reaching  the  lake,  say  the  Zunis. 
"the  soul  descends  the  mystic  ladder  to  meet  the  council  of  the  gods,  and 
thence  passes  on  to  the  undermost  world,  the  place  of  Zuni  nativity".  Pos- 
sibly sipapu  and  lake  are  identical  terms.  In  any  case,  the  dead  are  himian 
ancestors  of  spirit-form,  who  as  rain  or  weather-doctors  are  still  helpful 
to  man;  they  are  invoked  and  even  worshipped  as  living  personalities.  For 
this  reason  the  Zuni  bury  their  dead;  they  never  incinerate  them." 

APOVAN  TACHU  AND  THE  VISION   OF  TIIE  ALL-SUN 

But  is  there  no  brighter  prospect  than  the  usual  underworld?  The 
close  connexion  between  Sky  and  Sun-Father,  the  dwelling  of  the  "rain- 
makers" in  the  clouds,  not  to  speak  of  the  worship  of  Sun,  Moon,  and 
Venus  as  the  abode  of  the  blessed,  would  seem  to  suggest  it.  But  apart 
from  this  the  desire  for  union  with  the  "Father  of  all"  is  vaguely  implied 
in  the  Pueblo  hymns,  and  among  the  Pawnee  of  Nebraska  we  find  the 
very  ambiguous  phrase: — "We  see  ourselves  liviiif}  icitli  Tirawa!"  This 
and  the  so-called  "beatific  vision"  of  the  Chippewa,  in  which  they  see  the 
Great  Manitoo  in  a  dream,  coming  to  them  in  the  form  of  a  "beautiful 
man",  furnishes  sulTicicnt  material  for  inferring  that,  however  mucii 
identified  with  the  sun,  it  is  a  Supreme  Person  that  is  Ihe  final  object  of 
beatitude.    Here  also  the  Pleiades  have  mystical  associations. 

CONTINIITY  WITH  THE  FAR  SOUTH 

Finally,  an  examination  of  the  ancient  Mexican  and  Peruvian  archives 
will  reveal  the  fact  that  these  astrolheological  ideas  extend  far  into  tiie 
southern  continent.  In  every  case  there  are  clearly  marked  heavens  and 
hells,  which  have  no  immediate  connexion  with  a  return  to  nature. 


"Sources    in    Gushing,    Fewkes,    Grinnell,   etc.    I.   c.    supra,    p.    llSflf.    *"  Comp.    H.    K. 
Haeberlin  in  Memoirs  of  the  Am.  Anthr.  Assoc  (1916),  Vol.  III.  No.  I.  p.  ISff. 


LIFE  ETERNAL  491 

THE  COMBINED  PICTURE 

With  this  general  survey  of  the  more  typical  beliefs  on  this  subject  for 
the  different  ages  of  man.  we  can  now  proceed  to  a  discussion  of  their 
fuller  meaning  in  the  light  of  the  evidence  furnished  by  the  combined 
folk-lore  for  each  successive  era.  Let  us  first  consider  the  message  as  such, 
and  then  apply  the  results  to  a  consideration  of  the  philosophical  prob- 
lems that  they  seem  to  be  opening  out, — the  question  as  to  how  far  these 
different  forms  of  belief  can  be  said  to  have  any  objective  value,  any 
bearing  on  the  vital  problem  of  immortality  as  it  presents  itself  to  us  in 
our  own  day.  For  without  such  an  application  the  preceding  facts  are 
little  more  than  an  antiquarian  curiosity. 

(1)  The  primitive  picture  of  the  life  beyond  forces  us  to  assume, 

NOT  only  TH.A.T  THE  SOUL  IS  IMMORTAL,  BUT  THAT  IT  MEETS  WITH  AN  IMME- 
DIATE recompense  in  one  op  THREE  PHYSICALLY  DISTINCT  WORLDS. 

This  is  the  first  proposition  that  admits  of  fairly  convincing  establish- 
ment from  the  earlier  mythologies.  Take  up  any  of  the  traditions  of  the 
earlier  races,  whether  in  the  East  Indies,  Australia,  Africa,  or  South- 
America,  and  you  will  be  struck  by  the  intense  realism,  the  almost  child- 
like simplicity,  with  which  they  describe  the  passage  of  the  soul  to  the 
paradise-bridge,  over  oceans  of  air  and  water,  and  either  to  a  far-off  fruit- 
island,  or  to  a  boiling  lake  situated  under  the  bridge.  This  is  especially 
conspicuous  in  the  far  East,  but  begins  to  pale  off  in  the  more  distant 
regions,  where  however  an  ascent  to  the  sky  or  a  descent  to  the  under- 
world is  fairly  general,  supplemented  by  a  mysterious  third  place  which 
is  closely  connected  with  the  land  beneath.  It  is  therefore  sufficiently  evi- 
dent that  the  idea  of  "heaven-earth-and-underworld"  is  one  of  the  earliest 
convictions  of  the  human  race  and  is  associated  by  primitive  man  with  a 
direct  and  immediate  recompense  in  one  or  other  of  their  departments. 

These  may  be  called  Heaven,  Hell,  and  Purgatory,  inasmuch  as  they 
transcend  the  normal  state  of  human  existence. 

It  is  no  less  evident  that  as  each  of  these  places  is  associated  with  a 
state  of  life  which  is  more  or  less  permanent,  continuous,  and  impassable — 
not  depending  upon  marriage  or  the  common  physical  means  of  sub- 
sistence— ,  they  point  to  a  condition  of  life  which  is  in  this  respect  essen- 
tially difTerent  from  the  present  one.  They  transcend  the  ordinary  phy- 
sical laws  of  birth,  death  and  decay,  they  are  supramundane  and  appar- 
ently timeless  localities,  and  as  such  may  be  compared  to  the  Christian 
places  of  reward  and  punishment. 


492  LIFE  ETERNAL 

THE  COMBINED  PICTURE 

The  vision  op  God  is  desired,  but  hardly  possessed 

Furlhormore,  the  way  in  which  the  beatific  life  is  described  shows  that 
the  enjoyment  of  the  divine  presence  is  its  prinriary  object,  it  is  to  "see" 
or  to  "live"  with  the  Father  in  Heaven  that  a  man  goes  to  the  island  of 
fruits.  At  the  same  time,  the  crude,  anthropomorpliic.  and  occasionally 
frivolous  manner  in  which  these  visions  are  brought  home  to  us  can 
hardly  be  reconciled  with  what  ne  understand  by  the  term,  but  must  be 
taken  to  indicate  a  vivid  feeling  after  God,  not  His  direct  apprehension. 

In  other  respects  the  beatific  life  is  simil.ar  to  the  present 

If,  however,  the  element  of  physical  and  moral  evil  be  excluded,  the 
future  life  is  externally  similar  to  the  present  one.  There  is  no  absorption 
or  loss  of  identity,  but  rather  an  intensely  real,  physical  existence  in  a 
world  which  is  but  a  duplicate  or  a  higher  edition  of  the  world  b'^low: 
the  blessed  continue  their  life  of  earth  oil  a  higher  plane.  This  is  revealed 
by  the  eating  and  drinking  in  the  garden  of  fruits,  by  the  accompaniment 
of  bow  or  blowpipe  to  the  grave,  and  by  the  general  picture  of  paradise 
as  a  mysterious  hunting-ground,  where  there  is  plenty  of  game  and  no  end 
of  coconut-trees.  These  weapons,  however,  are  used  chiefly  to  ward  off 
demons  in  the  shape  of  rapacious  animals,  they  are  not  employed  in  para- 
dise as  such,  for  we  are  distinctly  told  that  in  the  land  of  promise  men 
and  animals  livo  on  terms  of  friendship,  there  is  no  shedding  of  blood,  but 
rather  a  h^avonly  banquet  obtained  from  the  enchanted  fruits.  This  and 
the  "burial-bamboo",  which  is  sometimes  the  only  trinket  that  accom- 
panins  them  to  the  grave,  reveals  the  essentially  harmless  state  of  future 
existence.  Moreover  it  is  eternal  or  never-ending, — they  "never  return  to 
the  earth". 

There  is  a  hope  of  resurrection,  but  no  positive  proof 

Now  inasmuch  as  the  primitive  psychology  of  man  makes  no  hard  and 
fast  distinction  between  soul  and  body,  the  former  being  for  the  most  part 
a  soft  material  substance  "shaped  like  themselves",  (comp.  the  Egyptian 
ka),  the  life  beyond  is  already  pictured  as  in  some  sense  a  bodily  one. 
there  is  no  need  of  a  further  union  of  soul  and  body  of  earth.  But  this  is  not 
always  the  case.  Among  the  Andamanese,  for  instance,  body  and  soul  are 
apparently  distinguished  and  their  final  union  is  heralded  as  the  day  of 
resurrection!  This  and  the  frequent  hints  at  a  life  of  physical  agility  and 
invulnerability,  coupled  with  the  extreme  care  that  is  given  to  the  corpse 
and  its  painting  or  anointing  in  preparation  for  a  life  to  come,  cannot  but 
suggest  that  in  the  mind  of  primitive  man  body  and  soul  will  some  day 
rise  to  a  life  of  glory.  While  this  may  be  called  a  very  natural  longing,  it 
cannot  rise  to  tiie  dignity  of  a  clearly  revealed  belief  in  a  spiritual  and 
f'drpornl  hratitude. 


LIFE  ETERNAL  493 

THE  COMBINED  PICTURE 

(2)  In  the  age  which  immediately  follows  these  beliefs  are  grad- 
ually MERGED  IN  A  PANTHEISTIC  THEORY  OP  TRANSMIGRATION. 

The  preceding  system  strikes  too  deeply  into  tlie  heart  of  man  to  be 
ever  entirely  obliterated.  And  so  among  the  peoples  of  later  culture  we 
find  fractions  at  least  of  the  old  ideas  embedded  in  the  framework  of  the 
mythology.  There  are  always  vestiges  of  a  belief  in  a  permanent  recom- 
pense, the  good  migrating  to  the  Sun-Father,  the  wicked  descending  to  the 
world-serpent  or  to  the  land  of  snakes.  Side  by  side,  however,  we  note 
the  advent  of  an  entirely  novel  theory  of  destiny,  which  now  becomes  all- 
absorbing. 

Cycles  op  reincarn.ation  take  the  place  op  permanent  States 

With  the  gradual  identification  of  a  man  with  his  totem-ancestor,  the 
essential  difference  between  higher  and  lower  forms  of  life  and  existence 
begins  to  disappear.  Man  is  but  a  cogwheel  in  the  gigantic  machinery  of 
evolution,  and  there  is.  normally-speaking,  no  way  of  evading  the  cycle  of 
life,  of  escaping  the  horror  of  rebirth.  No  sooner  does  he  die,  than  he  is 
forced  to  reappear,  and,  strange  to  say,  almost  always  in  some  loiver 
state,  it  is  with  the  lizards  and  the  grass-seed  that  he  must  recommence  the 
entire  struggle  of  existence  over  again,  there  is  no  royal  road  to  paradise. 
Even  the  Indian  manita-bongas,  like  the  American  ivakans,  reside  for  the 
most  part  in  buffalos,  if  they  do  not  actually  descend  to  the  level  of  the 
Australian  inapertwas  or  the  African  mulungus, — mere  mystery-forces. 

The  iDEiV  op  personality  grows  more  and  more  dim 

And  yet  with  all  the  cumulative  proof  that  we  have  from  four  con- 
tinents that  the  dead  are  actually  converted  into  essentially  different  forms, 
there  seems  to  be  a  general  persuasion  that  they  do  not  thereby  lose  their 
identity.  They  are  still  addressed  as  father,  brother,  sister,  and  so  on, 
indeed  they  are  very  wide  awake  and  helpful  to  man,  they  can  even  talk 
like  human  beings,  (Comp.  the  African  hyaena).  Now  with  this  extensive 
body  of  evidence,  it  is  impossible  to  resist  the  conclusion  that  the  idea  of 
"person"  is  distinct  from  that  of  "psychic  manifestation",  that,  as  it  is  pos- 
sible for  the  divine  to  take  on  a  lower  nature,  so  these  phenomena  can 
only  be  explained  on  the  principle  of  an  "assimilation"  of  the  totemic 
object. 

Yet  the  system  is  not  without  its  ethical  value 

But  however  degraded  and  deplorable  such  a  destiny  would  seem  to  be 
for  what  was  made  in  the  image  of  God,  it  fulfills  to  some  extent  the  office 
of  a  purgatorial  state.  For  if  the  common  herd  reappear  as  crocodiles,  it 
is  the  man  of  prayer  and  penance  who  sees  in  a  dream  "the  Great 
Wakanda",  and  thus  merits  by  his  own  initiative  the  foretaste  of  a  better 
world  to  come. 


494  LIFE  ETERNAL 

THE  COMBINED  PICTURE 

(3)  In  more  recent  times  the  old  eschatolooy  is  revived,  but  in 
more  amplified  and  astronomical  form. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  facts  in  the  history  of  religion  is  the  very 
wide  gulf  which  separates  all  these  strange  speculations  from  that  phase 
of  belief  which  immediately  follows  them.  One  would  hardly  suppose 
liiat  they  belonged  to  the  same  humanity.  With  the  exception  of  a  few 
lands  where  a  contact  with  the  totem-peoples  can  easily  explain  it,  the 
whole  of  the  transmigration-system  is  thrown  overboard,  and  the  soul  is 
once  more  free  to  roam  the  skies  and  search  for  the  heavens.  It  has 
redeemed  its  birthright.  The  old  heavens  and  hells  are  once  more  re- 
established, and  the  intervening  space  is  occupied  with  a  land  of  shades, 
which  is  now  particularly  prominent. 

Definite  places  of  reward  and  punishment  are  again  recognised 

Though  the  majority  of  mankind  are  consigned  to  the  land  beneath, 
there  are  intimations  of  a  difference  of  treatment  proportioned  to  the  good 
or  evil  life  led  in  the  body.  The  just  have  a  foretaste  of  better  things, 
while  the  wicked  are  tantalised  by  a  recollection  of  their  past  misdeeds. 
Nay  more,  for  the  incorrigibly  rebellious  a  tartarus  or  gehenna  is  the  appro- 
priate punishment,  while  for  the  heroic  few  there  is  an  elysium  or  isle 
of  the  blest  that  opens  out  its  enchanting  vistas.  Though  there  is  a  general 
tone  of  gloom,  the  silver  lining  is  beginning  to  appear  in  the  clouds. 

But  the  vision  of  the  divine  is  still  in  the  future 

Notwithstanding  the  strong  expressions  that  reach  us  from  the  Nile 
and  the  land  of  Persia,  it  would  be  impossible  to  say  that  the  vision  of 
divinity  in  the  hall  of  truth  or  the  temple  of  heaven  can  be  constructed  as 
a  literal  participation  in  the  divine  essence.  The  surroundings  are  still 
too  earthly,  the  feeding  of  the  disembodied  spirit  all  too  human.  Yet  the 
desire  for  union  with  the  divine  is  unquestionably  present,  the  soul  has 
reached  the  last  step  in  the  ladder  of  expectation. 

Resurrection  and  stellar  migration  are  in  the  air 

Concomilanlly  the  hope  of  a  future  reunion  of  soul  and  body  is  becom- 
ing increasingly  prominent,  and  finds  its  proof  in  the  elaborate  funeral 
rites  and  in  the  mapping  out  of  the  stars  as  the  future  abodes  of  man. 

The  Heavens  are  finally  opened  by  the  Messiah 

But  all  this  finds  its  supernatural  complement  in  the  person  of  the  Re- 
deemer, who  thus  forms  the  apex  of  the  inspired  prophecies  of  old.  In  His 
altogether  unique  opening  of  the  inner  sanctuary,  the  soul  has  at  last  found 
its  inevitable  terni, — nothing  less  than  Ihe  vision  of  God — ,  and  the  hopes  of 
tlie  gentiles  are  now  supplemented  by  the  direct  gift  of  the  Creator  Himself. 


LIFE  ETERNAL  495 

CONCLUDING  OBSERVATIONS 

Such  then  is  an  impartial  estimate  of  the  message  as  we  actually  read 
it  in  the  pages  of  manliind.  It  reveals  at  a  glance  what  we  had  hardly 
expected,  namely,  that  the  traditional  orthodox  view  on  this  subject  is  after 
all  the  original  view  of  the  human  race,  and  that  the  much  talked  of  rein- 
carnation system,  so  far  from  being  primitive,  belongs  to  the  middle  ages 
of  its  development.  This  is  an  interesting  find,  but  cannot  help  us  much 
in  the  solution  of  the  problem  unless  it  can  be  shown  by  ulterior  argu- 
ments that  both  are  grounded  upon  reason,  but  that  the  one  is  immensely 
superior  to  the  other  as  an  ultimate  norm  of  moral  conduct.  While  it  is 
beyond  the  scope  of  the  present  study  to  treat  this  subject  philosophically, 
a  few  concluding  remarks  in  this  direction  seem  to  be  called  for,  if  only 
to  show  how  important  is  the  bearing  of  the  entire  question  on  the  prob- 
lems of  modern  life.  With  such  a  great  variety  of  viewpoint  on  a  matter 
so  vitally  connected  with  the  welfare  of  the  human  race,  it  cannot  be  sur- 
prising that  not  a  few  souls  are  somewhat  uneasy  about  their  own  here- 
after; they  begin  to  feel  that  there  is  too  much  disagreement  on  the  subject 
to  lead  to  any  certainties  of  any  kind,  that  perhaps  we  had  better  confess 
our  ignorance  and  leave  the  problem  unsolved, — we  simply  "do  not  know". 

THE  IMM0RT.4LITY  OF  THE  SOUL  IS  A  PHILOSOPHICAL  CERTAINTY,  INDEPENDENT 
OF  TRADITION  OR  EXPERIMENTAL  VERIFICATION 

The  first  point  to  be  considered  in  this  connexion  is  that  the  certainty 
of  immortality  is  not  derived  from  any  tradition,  however  unanimous,  nor 
yet  from  the  testimony  of  supposed  mediums,  good,  bad,  or  indifferent,  but 
that  it  is  founded  upon  an  invincible  persuasion  of  our  inner  conscious- 
ness that  the  thinking  ego  or  mind-substance  cannot  of  its  nature 
be  destroyed. 

"that  which  hath  no  PARTS  CANNOT  BE  DISSOLVED  INTO  PARTS" 

It  is  the  unity  and  continuity  of  the  soul  with  its  marvellous  powers  of 
appropriating  the  external  world  by  actions  which  transcend  the  cate- 
gories of  space  and  time,  known  as  the  "universal  reflex",  that  furnishes 
the  metaphysical  certainty  of  its  own  persistence  as  a  physical  unit. 
While  all  else  changes,  personal  identity  does  not  change,  but  is  on  the 
contrary  soaring  out  to  a  world  beyond  the  senses,  manipulating  that  world 
as  if  it  were  its  slave,  almost  re-creating  the  world  by  its  own  inventive 
genius.  Can  such  a  power  be  the  result  of  atomic  forces  when  it  controls 
those  forces?  Can  personality  be  divided  into  physical  parts  when  its 
mental  functions  transcend  those  parts  and  repudiate  them  in  their  own 
working?  You  might  as  well  say  that  copper  and  zinc  are  identical  with 
electricity  simply  because  the  former  set  the  ether  flowing.  The  fact  is. 
these  metals  release  the  electric  fluid,  they  do  not  produce  it;  it  is  already 
there. 


496  LIFE  ETERNAL 

CONCLUDING  OBSERVATIONS 

It  is  not  altogether  flattering  to  our  modern  "superior  knowledge"  to 
realise  that  this  common-sense  philosophy  requires  no  elaborate  training 
of  the  intellect  to  bring  home  to  ourselves.  It  is  the  first  thought  that  sug- 
gests itself  to  the  mind  of  the  savagf.  in  howi'ver  fanciful  a  form.  "My  soul 
immortal?  Why,  how  could  it  die?  It  is  like  the  air  we  breathe",  etc.  It 
is  really  humiliating  to  think  that  these  backwoodsmen  have  a  clearer 
knowledge  of  human  psychology  than  many  of  our  contemporary  savants 
with  their  elaborate  soul-measuring  instruments  and  their  "thought-photo- 
graphy". Granting  that  the  physiological  aspect  of  the  brain  as  the  phy- 
sical instrument  for  absorbing  the  sense-phantasm  requires  a  more  serious 
and  searching  study  than  has  heretofore  been  given  to  it,  it  is  surely  the 
height  of  folly  to  look  to  the  physical  laboratory  for  a  superphysical  sub- 
stance, to  consult  the  oracles  of  spiritism  for  a  truth  which  requires  no 
table-turning  to  demonstrate  its  reality.  Modern  psychology  has  committed 
the  unpardonable  error  of  confusing  the  "phenomenon"  with  the 
"noimienon",  the  external  instrument  with  the  internal  principiant.  and 
until  this  error  is  removed  we  shall  be  for  ever  tapping  around  in  a  world 
of  subdued  lights  and  mohatmas. 

The  i-wte  of  the  individual  is  se.\led  bv  his  own  .actions 

Again,  there  is  a  universal  consensus  of  all  peoples,  historic  or  prehis- 
toric, that  whatever  the  nature  of  the  life  beyond,  it  is  determined  by  the 
conduct  of  the  soul  in  the  present  existence,  the  good  being  in  some  way 
rewarded,  and  the  wicked  punished  or  annihilated.  This  also  flows  with 
equal  certainty  from  the  moral  aspect  of  thn  finality  of  all  being.  Human 
life,  not  to  speak  of  the  divine  government,  would  cease  to  have  any  moral 
content,  and  all  ethical  struggle  would  come  to  an  end,  unless  the  universal 
law  of  equilibrium,  of  moral  recompense,  could  make  itself  felt.  It  is 
simply  unelhical  and  immoral  to  think  otherwis;^:  w'  would  be  encourag- 
ing the  adulterer.  The  ultimate  triumph  of  goodness  is  thus  seen  to  be  a 
universal  persuasion. 

Transmioiution  is  one  answer  but  a  defective  one 

Coming  to  the  nature  of  the  recompense  as  such,  the  most  cursory  study 
of  the  beliefs  of  mankind  must  convince  the  more  thoughtful  that  the  doc- 
trine of  palingenesis  or  re-birth  has  had  among  its  advocates  a  very  large 
section  of  the  human  race.  Even  in  our  own  lime  the  study  of  Oriental 
"wisdom"  has  brought  it  once  more  before  the  mind  of  the  public,  and 
it  is  perhaps  at  the  present  moment  the  most  widely  diffused  of  all  "secret" 
doctrines.  Such  an  enormous  hold  upon  the  conscience  of  mankind  can- 
not be  accounted  for  unless  we  candidly  admit  that  it  contains  some 
elements  of  moral  greatness. 


LIFE  ETERNAL  497 

CONCLUDING  OBSERVATIONS 

For,  to  say  nothing  of  its  very  wide  distribution  and  its  promulgation 
by  some  of  the  wisest  thinkers  of  manldnd,  it  gives  a  fascinating  solution 
to  the  mysteries  of  heredity  and  of  physical  and  social  inequality.  Why 
am  I  born  white  rather  than  black,  rich  rather  than  poor,  healthy  rather 
than  diseased,  talented  rather  than  obtuse,  heroic  rather  than  cowardly? 
These  things  are  not  mere  accidents.  It  is  because  in  a  former  life  I  have 
battled  with  the  forces  of  evil,  I  have  conquered  the  opposite  tendencies, 
and  as  a  reward  I  am  what  you  see  me  to  be,  I  have  myself  and  only  my- 
self to  thank  for  it,  it  is  an  ethical  conquest,  the  discovery  of  a  new  world. 
Who  can  deny  that  this  furnishes  a  strong  sanction  for  right  conduct,  for 
living  up  to  ever  higher  ideals?  If  as  a  prize  I  ascend  to  the  lamas,  and 
as  a  punishment  I  descend  to  the  catterpillars,  have  I  not  good  reason  to 
obey  the  moral  law,  to  be  in  short  philosophical?  The  law  of  karma  is 
indeed  one  answer  to  the  problem  of  evil,  but  it  is  neither  the  first  nor  the 
best  one,  and  it  robs  mankind  of  a  still  higher  and  holier  ideal. 

The   M0R.4.L   SANCTIONS  OF   METEMPSYCHOSIS   ARE   NOT   SUFFICIENTLY    STRONG 

For,  however  much  certain  types  of  humanity  may  be  spurred  to  virtue 
or  deterred  from  vice  by  the  prospect  of  a  migration  into  higher  or  lower 
forms  in  nature,  there  is  an  invincible  desire  among  the  more  perfect  to 
deliver  themselves  for  ever  from  its  enslaving  and  degrading  fetters.  Who 
can  honestly  say  that  they  would  like  to  make  their  lives  over  again,  even 
on  a  higher  plane,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  it  can  never  be  constant,  never 
without  great  suffering,  never  without  the  continual  possibility  of  a  relapse 
into  sin,  and  of  its  consequent  penalties,  the  recommencement  of  the  cycle 
of  life  with  the  worms  and  spiders?  It  is  because  the  supernatural  char- 
acter of  the  soul  requires  a  supernatural  destiny,  that  such  a  doctrine  can 
never  be  approved  by  the  better  and  healthier  voice  of  humanity.  The 
higher  conscience  of  mankind  requires  permanence,  not  variation,  in  its 
ultimate  fate,  and  such  has  been  the  feeling  of  humanity  in  all  its  highest 
manifestations,  as  witness  the  nirivana  of  the  yogis,  which  aims  at  com- 
plete riddance  of  our  lower  nature,  not  at  its  continual  return.  If  then  the 
very  constitution  of  our  nature  recoils  at  such  a  future,  the  system  is  con- 
'demned  on  its  own  showing  and  is  moreover  insufTicient  to  guard  moral- 
ity in  any  sense  in  which  we  understand  it.  The  moral  decadence  of  all 
peoples  who  still  cling  to  it,  the  wholesale  vice,  infanticide,  murder,  and 
adultery,  which  almost  invariably  follow  in  its  wake,  is  alone  a  sufKcient 
proof  that  it  is  incapable  of  dealing  with  problems  morally  fundamental. 
And  how  could  it  be  otherwise  with  a  system  which  is  in  such  glaring 
antithesis  to  the  dignity  of  human  nature,  which  reduces  human  beings 
to  the  level  of  dogs  and  robs  them  of  all  higher  feelings  for  personality? 


498  LIFE  ETERNAL 

CONCLUDING  OBSERVATIONS 

The  theistic  solution  is  all  sufficient 

To  tlie  question,  where  I  came  from  and  whithei-  I  am  going,  the  Chris- 
tian saint  no  less  than  the  primitive  savage  and  the  Oriental  mystic  give 
practically  the  same  answer.  "I  came  directly  from  the  hand  of  God,  and 
I  shall  return  to  Him,  and  if  I  cannot  explain  my  exact  status  in  the  present 
life  it  is  because  I  cannot  see  into  the  mind  of  an  all-wise  Providence,  who 
has  ordained  that  this  shall  be  [or  me  the  best  and  the  most  perfect  way." 
In  this  manner  all  is  attributed  to  the  divine  mercy  rather  than  to  the 
individual's  self-glorifying  merits,  though  there  is  doubtless  something  in 
the  individual's  character  which,  foreseen  by  the  Divine  Mind,  gives  him 
the  appropriate  means  for  working  out  his  own  salvation.  Moreover  the 
realistic  heaven  no  less  than  the  terrifying  hell  and  the  purifying  purga- 
tory have  ever  been  and  still  are  the  only  final  safeguards  of  the  moral  law, 
with  which  the  six  descents  of  Siwa  and  the  boddhisattwas  cannot  for  a 
moment  compare.  Where  I  am  continually  free  to  change  my  ticket,  I 
can  never  arrive  at  the  terminus,  I  can  never  obtain  that  peace  which 
"passeth  all  understanding".  And  it  is  precisely  the  saints  of  all  ages  who 
have  been  most  emphatic  on  the  realism  of  the  hereafter,  who  have  ever 
insisted  on  the  vision  of  heaven  as  a  moral  stimulus  to  the  heroic  no  less 
than  on  a  wholesome  fear  of  hell  as  the  most  powerful  deterrent  from  a 
life  of  sin.  This  speaks  more  powerfully  than  all  theorising,  and  contains 
within  itself  the  vindication  of  its  truth. 

The  DOCTniNE  of  the  resurrection  FOCUSSES  the  hopes  of  .A.LL  AGES 

But  there  is  a  soul  of  truth  in  many  of  the  fractured  faiths  by  which 
we  are  still  surrounded.  The  human  and  physical  side  of  the  doctrine  of 
palingenesis  is  the  one  redeeming  point  in  the  system,  inasmuch  as  it  pre- 
pares mankind  for  a  better  reincarnation  than  can  be  conveyed  by  the 
sacred  buffalos.  Now  this  longing  for  a  double  existence,  for  a  beatifica- 
tion both  in  body  and  soul,  is  eminently  fulfilled  in  that  higher  union  of 
the  two  natures  which  is  promised  in  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection.  Here 
then  is  tlie  evident  meeling-point  of  the  two  systems,  the  plain  upon  which 
the  buddhas  and  the  saints  may  some  day  meet.  It  is  through  a  beatific 
and  integral  life  in  both  natures  that  the  highest  and  most  complete  ideal 
of  the  life  to  come  is  finally  acquired,  and  once  acquired  it  furnishes  the 
key  to  the  long-sought  mystery.  "/  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  in 
the  last  day  I  shall  rise  out  of  the  earth.  And  I  shall  be  clothed  ar/ain  ivith 
my  skin  and  in  my  flesh  I  shall  see  God!  Whom  I  ynyself  shall  see  andi 
mine  eyes  shall  behold,  and  not  another.  This  my  hope  is  laid  up  in  my 
bosom".  (Job.  19,25). 


LIFE  ETERNAL  499 

THE  UNIQUENESS  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN 
IDEA  OF  BEATITUDE 

And  with  these  words  we  have  indicated  the  one  essential  feature 
which  distinguishes  the  new  revelation  from  the  old  in  everything  that 
concerns  the  contemplation  and  the  final  fruition  of  God  in  the  world  to 
come.  As  this  subject  is  not  always  appreciated  at  its  proper  value,  it 
seems  useful  to  call  attention  to  certain  grave  and  much-neglected  points 
which  place  the  Christian  view  of  the  hereafter  upon  an  altogether  unique 
and  unapproachable  pedestal. 

With  a  more  profound  and  extended  study  of  the  hidden  wisdom  of 
the  ages,  it  must  indeed  be  admitted  that  some  of  our  old-time  notions  of 
the  utter  hopelessness  of  primitive  man  in  regard  to  his  own  fate  must 
be  consigned  to  the  well-deserved  limbo  of  a  forgotten  past.  It  cannot  be 
sufficiently  emphasised  that  the  knowledge  and  love  of  God  as  the  final  end 
of  beatitude  does  not  necessitate  a  more  than  natural  longing  for  union 
with  the  divine,  that  the  contemplation  of  God  as  a  philosophical  essence, 
nay,  even  as  an  absolute  Person,  is  within  the  reach  of  humanity  as  such, 
and  from  this  point  of  view  it  is  most  consoling,  if  not  actually  inspiring, 
to  find  such  an  abundance  of  material  in  proof  of  a  proposition  which  has 
.  always  been  upheld  by  conservative  thinkers.  And  if  we  turn  once  more 
to  the  combined,  and  more  especially  to  the  earlier  impressions  of  the 
human  race,  we  may  candidly  admit  that  this  "seeing"  and  "living  with" 
the  Creator,  in  however  crude  or  fanciful  a  form,  does  contain  some 
elements  of  undoubted  truth,— it  is  possible  for  any  child  of  Adam  to 
enjoy  the  divine  presence  by  "abstraction",  that  is,  by  seeing  the  glory  of 
God  reflected  in  the  works  of  creation,  and  to  this  extent  we  may  speak 
of  a  "natural  beatitude",  the  seeing  of  God  as  it  were  in  a  mirror,— in 
specie  aliena—,  in  the  works  of  His  hands. 

Limits  op  the  natural  fruition  op  God  ' 

But  it  is  this  precisely  which  assigns  to  the  natural  knowledge  and  love 
of  God  its  well-defined  frontiers.  For  by  no  stretch  of  reason,  however 
exalted,  can  the  faculties  of  man  attain  to  such  a  height  of  development 
as  to  penetrate  into  the  divine  essence,  to  see  God  in  His  own  incommuni- 
cable purity.  This  would  involve  a  logical  or  a  psychological  leap,  for 
which  there  is  no  warrant  in  purely  human  philosophy.  When  a  man  is 
face  to  face  with  the  Infinite,  he  can  no  longer  argue  with  finite  cate- 
gories, he  requires  that  the  Infinite  impart  Himself  to  his  soul  out  of  His 
own  Goodness  and  Love,  he  cannot  attain  to  it  by  his  own  power,— it  is 
the  relation  of  a  speechless  infant  to  an  all-wise,  all-powerful  Father. 


SOO  LIFE  ETERNAL 

The  prehistoric  "visions"  of  God  are  purely  abstractive 

If  then  we  turn  to  the  material  on  this  head,  we  shall  find  that  in 
every  case  the  supposed  seeing  or  dwelling  with  the  divine  is  tranished 
with  the  naturalistic  and  the  immediately  useful.  In  the  earliest  period, 
which  is  also  the  purest,  there  is  a  dignified  island  of  fruits,  which,  how- 
ever, is  soiled  by  the  hunting-theme  and  its  purely  material  delights.  There 
is  not  so  much  as  a  hint  that  the  soul  enjoys  the  Creator  for  His  own  sake, 
much  less  that  Ih"  imparls  Himself  to  the  soul  as  a  unique,  an  all-satisfy- 
ing Personality.  And  in  the  later  ages  of  man  this  is  perhaps  still  more 
pronounced.  With  all  the  undeniable  beauty  of  llie  Babylonian  and  Egyp- 
tian schemes  of  [hr-  hereafier.  there  is  not  the  shadow  of  proof  that  we  are 
dealing  with  more  than  a  fruition  of  God  through  His  gifts,  nowhere  do 
we  find  anything  that  could  insinuate  a  living  the  life  of  God,  an  actual 
assimilation  to  the  divine  nature.  This  is  proved  partly  by  the  animistic 
pluralism  underlying  such  expressions  as  "communication  of  life",  "vision 
of  the  All-Sun",  "imparting  of  power  through  demiurges",  etc.,  partly  by 
the  utterly  inadequate  picture  of  the  future  life  as  still  in  need  of  earthly 
necessities,  the  feeding  at  the  tomb  emphasising  its  essentially  limited,  its 
semi-mundane  character.  "Rich  power,  blest  rewards,  the  Good  Mind's 
life", — this  is  as  far  as  our  pre-Christian  sources  can  lead  us,  it  is  an  enjoy- 
ment of  God  through  a  good  conscience,  not  the  enjoyment  of  the  divine 
nature  as  such. 

The  Beatific  Vision  opens  out  a  new  supernatural  horizon 

But  if  there  is  one  thing  which  cuts  the  teaching  of  the  Messiah  clear 
from  all  but  the  Jewish  systems,  it  is  the  doctrine  of  a  real,  personal,  how- 
ever incomprehensible  seeing  of  God,  the  idea,  namely,  that  the  Heaven 
of  the  blessed  is  not  simply  an  elysium  of  fruits  or  a  paradise  of  "thoughts, 
words,  and  deeds",  but  that  it  is  in  a  more  direct  sense  an  immediate  in- 
tuition iiiiil.ri  iiiliiiii  iiiiiHTil  III  specie  propria, — transcending  all  that  the 
poor  heart  of  man  could  ever  conceive.  Of  this  we  have  abundant  evi- 
dence in  the  Scriptures.  "The  bcholdinr/  the  face  of  my  Father  who 
is  in  heaven"  is  a  prominent  theme  in  the  gospels,  while  the  sharing  of  the 
very  nature  of  God  is  expressely  taught  in  the  epistles  "Dearly  beloved,  ive 
are  now  the  sons  of  God,  and  it  hath  not  yet  appeared  what  we  shall  be.  IVe 
know  that  when  he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  unto  him:  for  we  shall 
see  him  as  he  is".  (1.  John,  3,  2).  Again — "liye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear 
heard,  neither  hath  it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  what  things  God  hath 
prepared  for  them  that  love  him",  (1  Cor.  2,  9). 

It  would  be  ditTicult  for  iiuman  language  to  express  more  forcibly  what 
in  the  nature  of  the  case  surpasses  philosophical  definition. 


CHAPTER    THE    EIGHTH 

CONFIRMATIO 


Summary  and  Comparative  Analysis 


SUMMARY  501 

AND  COMPARATIVE  ANALYSIS 


We  have  come  to  the  end  of  our  present  investigation.  With  this  treat- 
ment of  the  four  last  things  the  entire  chain  of  prehistoric  beUefs  is  com- 
pleted, and  it  is  seen  that  the  last  link  of  the  chain  forges  into  the  first,  it 
is  the  divine  being  who  is  the  beginning  and  end  of  the  cycle.  In  the  study 
of  this  universal  creed  of  humanity  and  its  different  articles  it  has  been 
found  necessary  to  continually  revert  to  the  opening  chapters  in  order  to 
gain  a  synoptic  view  of  the  relation  of  the  parts  to  the  whole,  in  order  to 
appreciate  the  general  coherence  of  the  system.  This  is  unavoidable  in 
any  presentation  of  the  subject  which  shall  be  at  once  clear  and  convinc- 
ing, as  it  is  impossible  to  treat  the  entire  creed  under  one  head  without 
sacrificing  the  element  of  limited  concentration,  which  is  so  important. 
It  will  therefore  be  allowed  that  this  method  is  on  the  whole  the  most 
fruitful  and  practical  one,  even  if  it  distributes  the  matter  over  a  some- 
what lengthy  and  cumbersome  area. 

But  as  it  is  beyond  the  range  of  a  first  survey  to  view  the  combined 
facts  in  such  a  manner  that  their  united  testimony  may  be  productive  of 
a  lasting  and  compelling  assent,  it  seems  necessary  to  take  one  more  logi- 
cal step  in  order  to  bring  home  to  ourselves  the  united  force  and  meaning 
of  the  facts  presented.  Without  a  final  summary,  or  "confirmation"  of 
proofs,  the  most  telling  argument  remains  but  a  truncated  pyramid.  And 
so,  if  we  would  realise  the  full  weight  of  the  evidence  as  it  is  brought 
before  us  in  all  its  parts,  it  will  be  necessary  to  interlace  those  parts  in  such 
a  manner  that  the  whole  picture  may  be  revealed  to  us  at  a  glance,  in  a 
single  vision,  as  it  were,  of  the  mind's  eye.  That  this  must  involve  some 
little  repetition  and  tedious  reconsideration  is  indeed  inevitable,  but  inas- 
much as  the  prize  is  of  no  mean  order, — being  nothing  less  than  a  clear 
notion  or  comprehension  of  what  "God"  has  meant  to  our  remote  ances- 
tors and  what  He  still  means  to  ourselves, — the  battle  is  worth  the  fight- 
ing. I  will  leave  it  to  the  impartial  reader  to  judge  for  himself,  whether 
or  not,  at  the  end  of  this  study,  our  ideas  of  the  divine  have  not  been  con- 
siderably widened,  whether  or  not  the  entire  investigation  has  not  brought 
to  light  aspects  of  divinity  which  are  both  suggestive  and  fascinating. 


502  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

If  then  a  general  or  comparative  analysis  is  somelhing  that  we  cannot 
dispense  with,  let  us  bring  our  attention  once  more  to  bear  on  the  main 
question  at  issue,  the  origin  and  nature  of  the  primitive  concept  of  the 
divine  being,  touching  on  the  collateral  matter  of  creation,  immortality, 
sacrifice  and  so  on,  only  in  so  far  as  they  help  to  illuminate  this  central 
point  of  contention  and  to  bring  it  info  clearer  perspective.  It  is  for  this 
reason  that  we  have  deferred  a  detailed  analysis  of  our  first  chapter  for  the 
present  occasion,  in  that  the  more  abundant  material  now  in  our  posses- 
sion will  enable  us  to  focus  all  the  descriptive  matter  upon  this  one  funda- 
mental point,  and  to  make  it  shine  with  increased  brilliancy.  Not  that  the 
abstract  concept  of  divinity  is  the  apex  and  end  of  all,  far  from  it.  The 
climax  of  all  religion  is  reached  in  the  idea  and  the  practice  of  sacrifice 
williout  which  the  supposed  "worship"  of  God  is  but  an  empty  name.  But 
in  laying  a  solid  foundation  for  the  idea  and  the  existence  of  God.  we  shall 
have  laid  the  cornerstone  upon  which  the  higher  edifice  of  the  temple  and 
the  sanctuary  can,  so  to  speak,  be  raised.  In  fact  it  will  become  increas- 
ingly clear  that  there  is  no  God  without  sacrifice,  that  a  complete  and 
integral  act  of  religion  includes  within  itself  the  notion  of  immolation  or 
ofTcring  up  of  some  object,  even  if  this  is  only  an  a  posteriori  induction, 
not  an  immediate  inference. 

In  the  nature  of  the  case  such  a  final  criticism  of  the  forces  that  are 
opposing  us  must  take  on  the  nature  of  a  polemic,  of  an  organised  opposi- 
tion to  the  rival  theories  by  which  we  are  surrounded.  Such  an  opposi- 
tion is  demanded  in  every  branch  of  science,  whenever  a  more  or  less 
startling  discovery  tends  to  dissolve  the  previous  theories  into  thin  air. 
But  we  make  no  such  high-sounding  claim  for  any  of  our  supposed  "dis- 
coveries". Many  of  these  conclusions  have  been  in  part  anticipated  and 
are  at  present  simmering  through  the  minds  of  the  more  thoughtful  inves- 
tigators,— they  are  in  fact  "the  latest  news".  Apart,  however,  from  the 
fact  that  there  is  nothing  entirely  new  under  the  sun,  any  combating  of 
opposing  theories  should  be  taken  in  the  friendliest  sense.  There  is  not  an 
aspect  from  which  this  subject  can  be  regarded  that  does  not  contain  some 
elements  of  truth,  no  proposed  explanation  that  cannot  be  made  to  account 
for  some  at  least  of  the  facts.  In  all  these  matters  reserve  and  moderation 
should  be  our  watchword,  a  future  synthesis  our  constant  hope.  But  in 
the  mean  time  we  shall  not  be  timid,  but  boldly  present  our  argument  as  it 
appears  to  us  in  its  overwhelmingly  convincing  power,  regardless  of  con- 
eequences. 


SUMMARY  503 

I.    THE  QUESTION  OF  PRIORITY 

From  what  we  have  seen  of  the  religious  convictions  of  early  man,  it 
is  evident  that  their  value  as  primitive  concepts  concerning  the  being  and 
nature  of  God  is  bound  up  with  three  questions  upon  which  any  argu- 
ment, theistic  or  otherwise,  will  have  to  depend, —  (1)  the  question  of 
priority, —  (of  certain  areas  over  others), —  (2)  the  question  of  authen- 
ticity, (of  the  sources  that  are  at  hand). — and  (3)  the  question  of  interpre- 
tation,— hovi'  far  do  the  same  sources  warrant  the  conclusions  that  have 
been  drawn?  Let  us  consider  these  points  one  by  one,  beginning  with  the 
first. 

(A-E)  The  Antiquity  op  the  East-Indian  Area  and  the  Question  op  the 
Primitive  Center  op  Distribution 

I  have  already  given  the  cumulative  reasons  why  we  should  look  to  the 
proto-melanic  races  of  the  far  East  as  the  most  primitive  exemplars  of  the 
human  family.  (See  Introduction).  Here  I  would  only  add  a  few  extracts 
in  order  to  illustrate  this  subject  from  the  physical  standpoint: — 

"In  these  gardens  of  nature  man  is  the  Adam  of  a  modern  Eden,  primi- 
tive in  habits  and  numerically  insignificant.  He  has  scarcely  begun  his 
battle  with  things  inanimate  or  his  struggle  for  existence  as  it  is  known  to 
us.  At  home  we  have  man  as  in  some  sort  the  master  of  nature,  but  in  the 
Bornean  forests  nature  still  reigns  supreme.  Here  with  us  man  wrests  his 
sustenance  from  her,  there  she  is  lavish  in  the  bestowal  of  gifts  unsought".* 

"Primitive  man  was  probably  at  a  very  early  period  a  dominant  race, 
spreading  widely  over  the  warmer  regions  of  the  earth  as  it  then  existed. 
As  he  ranged  farther  from  his  original  home  and  became  exposed  to 
greater  extremes  of  climate,  etc.  there  would  be  corresponding  external 
physical  changes, — the  red,  black,  yellow,  or  blushing  white  skin;  the 
straight,  the  curly,  the  woolly  hair;  the  scanty  or  abundant  beard;  the 
straight  or  oblique  eyes;  the  various  forms  of  pelvis,  cranium,  and  other 
parts  of  the  skeleton".' 

"The  inference  seems  irresistible  that  all  these  allied  forms  had  their 
common  primaeval  home  in  and  about  the  Indo-African  and  Austral  Con- 
tinents of  which  considerable  sections  still  survive".' 

"We  must  therefore  look  for  the  cradle  of  our  race  to  the  northern  por- 
tion of  the  miocene  block,  (Lemuria),  that  is  upon  Asiatic  territory.  Here 
we  find  Pithecanthropes,  and  to  the  present  day,  in  Borneo  and  Java, 
anthropoid  apes.  Here  in  Asia  we  see  the  continuous  and  unbounded 
development  of  higher  life  right  through  the  tertiary  and  quaternary 
periods,  and  it  is  here  that  man,  its  highest  product,  must  have  received 
his  first  formation".* 


»F.  W.  Burbidge,  The  Gardens  of  the  Sun,  (London,  1880),  p.  VII-VIII.  (Preface). 
«A.  R.  Wallace,  Natural  Selection  and  Tropical  Nature,  (London,  1895),  p.  178.  » A.  H. 
Keane,  Ethnology,  (1909),  p.  236.  *  Obermaier,  Der  Mensch  der  Vorzeit,  (Munich  and 
Vienna,  1914),  p.  380. 


504  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

THE  QUESTION  OF  PRIORITY 

So  much  for  the  purely  physical  or  biological  side  of  the  question.  The 
recent  discovery  of  pleistocene  man  in  Australia  tends  to  confirm  this  view 
and  to  shift  the  racial  center  of  gravity  more  and  more  to  the  east.  It  is 
in  these  regions,  therefore,  that  we  may  expect  to  find  the  real  primitive. 

If,  however,  we  take  the  standpoint  of  culture,  we  liave  additional  means 
for  solving  the  problem  and  for  determining  specifically  who  and  what 
these  races  are.  It  has  been  shown  that  the  negritos,  veddas,  dayaks,  toalas, 
bakalans,  and  mafulus,  preceded  all  other  peoples  in  this  region  by  indefi- 
nite periods  and  that  they  form  one  of  the  most  primitive  groups  of  man- 
kind in  existence.    Here  are  a  few  additional  testimonies : — 

THE  RACES  IN  QUESTION  ARE  QUASI-PRIMITIVES 

"The  social  facts,  viewed  in  this  light,  are  striking,  and  perhaps  mor- 
tifying, but  probably  all  that  they  mean  is  that  the  stage  of  development 
reached  by  these  races  of  Malakka, — Semang,  Sakni,  Jakun — ,  is  a  rudi- 
mentary one,  the  exact  counterpart  of  that  golden  age  of  innocence  to 
which  all  civilised  and  semi-civilised  races  regretfully  look  back"." 

"The  Mincopies  are  the  original  inhabitants  of  the  Andaman  Islands, 
whose  occupancy  dates  from  prehistoric  times.  A  racial  affinity  may  some 
day  be  found  to  exist  between  them  and  the  Semang  of  the  Malay  penin- 
sula and  the  Aeta  of  the  Philippine  islands".' 

"The  present-day  Veddas  are  beyond  doubt  the  lineal  descendants  in 
culture  as  well  as  physique  of  the  earbj  people  who  inhabitated  Ceylon 
before  it  was  colonised  by  an  Aryan-spoaking  people".' 

"Of  the  negrilo  population  of  the  Philippines  the  group  largest  in  inini- 
ber  and  probably  purest  in  type  is  that  in  the  Zambal  mountains,  W. 
Luzon".* 

"I  have  no  doubt  in  my  mind  that  this  wandering  race  of  people, — ■ 
Punans  or  Bakatans— ,  are  the  aboriginals  of  the  country".  "I  look  on 
these  people  as  being  the  aboriginal  stock  of  the  population  coastwise  in 
this  section  of  the  island  of  Borneo,  and  their  language  fends  to  support  it. 
The  most  primitive  branch  of  the  Malauaus  are  the  Bakatans  or  Ukits,  and 
I  may  mention  that  many  of  their  practices  are  like  those  of  the  Somangs 
or  Jakuns  of  the  interior  of  Malakka".' 

"The  Mafulus  may  be  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  older  population  of 
New  Guinea,  both  Papuan  and  Melanesian  having  added  something  to 
their  civilisation,  as  well  as  to  their  physical  characters".'" 

It  is  therefore  beyond  all  doubt  that,  as  far  as  science  can  carry  us, 
these  peoples  represent  tlie  earliest  offshoot  of  the  primitive  stock  that  is 
at  present  in  our  power  of  discovery. 


»  Skeat,  Pagan  Races,  I.  14.  » Man,  Andaman  Islands,  2.  '  Seligrnan,  V^eddas.  416. 
'  Reed.  Negritos,  23.  » Hose  and  Brooke,  apud  Ling-Roth,  Borneo,  I.  16-18.  ">  William- 
son, Mafulu,  299. 


SUMMARY  505 

THE  QUESTION  OF  PRIORITY 

(F)  Australia-Tasmania 

A  more  difficult  problem  is  presented  by  the  race-question  on  the  Aus- 
tralian continent.  For  on  the  one  hand  there  has  been  a  gradual  fusion  of 
types  which  have  so  far  blended  as  to  produce  a  fairly  homogeneous 
nation,  on  the  other  hand  the  distinctively  local  traits  are  not  always  suffi- 
ciently constant  or  sufficiently  well-marked  to  merit  the  designation  of  a 
racial  type  or  sub-type.  Here  the  biological  argument  is  by  comparison 
weak,  but  the  social  and  cultural  data  are  correspondingly  powerful  and 
seem  to  point  to  conclusions  that  may  be  of  far-reaching  theological  con- 
sequences. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  SUBJECT 

Until  recently  it  has  been  received  as  an  axiom  that  the  primitive  area 
in  Australia  is  to  be  found  in  those  central  or  north-central  regions  that  are 
apparently  isolated  and  that  seem  to  be  on  the  lowest  level  of  indigenous 
culture.  This  is  the  standpoint  of  Tylor,  Frazer,  and  others,  who  in  their 
zeal  for  a  pan-animistic  or  pan-totemistic  theory,  have  laid  it  down  as  a 
first  principle  that  theism  cannot  be  primitive,  that  the  first  stages  of 
mental  development  were  of  necessity  multiform  and  found  their  expres- 
sion in  that  spontaneous  deification  of  nature  and  the  forces  of  nature, 
living  and  dead,  that  figures  so  largely  in  the  religion,  if  such  it  be  called, 
of  the  Central-Australian  aborigines.  They  had  only  to  appeal  to  Spencer 
and  his  ghost-gods,  to  Hegel  and  his  self-winding  absolute,  to  find 
abundant  sanction  for  a  theory  which  has  since  become  classic: — In  the 
development  of  man,  whether  socially  or  religiously,  it  is  the  lowest  and 
most  material  that  comes  first.  Therefore  promiscuity  precedes  marriage, 
and  totemism  precedes  theism,  on  the  same  principle  that  the  less  perfect 
precede  the  more  perfect  forms  throughout  the  whole  realm  of  nature  that 
has  so  far  become  known  to  us. 

Now  are  these  conclusions  well-founded?  Is  it  a  fact  that  the  Arunta- 
tribes  of  Central  Australia  represent  the  most  ancient  layer  of  civilisation 
on  this  or  any  other  continent?  The  first  writer  that  was  bold  enough  to 
call  this  statement  into  question  was  Andrew  Lang,  who  in  his  prolific 
writings  on  the  subject  has  attempted  a  demonstration,  purely  sociological, 
that  the  real  primitives  are  to  be  found  in  the  South-East,  that  this  alone 
is  the  area  in  which  the  ancient  religion  of  Australia  has  been  preserved. 
Recent  investigation  has  only  tended  to  confirm  this  view,  the  majority  of 
writers  being  now  solidly  convinced  that  the  whole  question  requires  a  new 
and  more  accurate  method  of  treatment." 


"  Andrew  Lang,  The  Making  of  Religion,  (London,  1900-1909),  pp.  175-184.  Idem,  Magic 
and  Religion,  (London,  1901),  pp.  46-75.  Idem,  The  Secret  of  the  Totem,  (London,  1905), 
pp.  59-89,  188-201.  The  reception  and  criticism  of  these  works  has  been  well  described  by 
Father  Schmidt  in  his  recent  work.  Der  Ursprung  der  Gottesidee,  (Munster,  1912),  pp. 
105-173flF. 


506  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

THE  QUESTION  OF  PRIORITY 

This  is  not  the  place  to  enter  into  this  subject  in  all  its  multitudinous 
aspects.    Broadly  the  argument  may  be  stated  somewhat  as  follows: — 

(1)  Biologically  this  region  is  the  more  ancient.  Nearly  all  writers  are 
now  agreed  that  Australia  was  originally  peopled  by  a  dark,  frizzly-haired 
Tasmanioid  race,  which  was  prior  to  the  Dravidian  or  Indo-Caucasian 
wave  of  immigration."  Now  there  are  Tasmanioid  elements  in  S.  E.  Aus- 
tralia, whereas  there  are  no  Australioid  elements  in  Tasmania,  from  which 
it  may  be  argued  that  the  South-Eastern  area  takes  the  precedence." 

(2)  Culturally  there  is  a  gradual  development  from  South  to  North,  to 
wit : — 

(a)  The  rough  eoliths  give  way  to  pointed  and  polished  tools. 

(b)  Stones,  sticks,  and  waddies  yield  to  spear,  shield  and  boomerang. 

(c)  Caves  and  windshelters  make  room  for  substantial  huts  and  "bee- 
hives". 

(d)  The  fire-plow  develops  info  the  fire-drill  and  the  fire-saw. 

(e)  The  bundle-raft  gives  place  to  the  bark-canoe  and  the  large  "dug- 
out". 

(f)  The  sounding-stick  is  superseded  by  the  bone-flute  and  the  shell- 
trumpet. 

(g)  The  simple  earth-grave  is  supplemented  by  platform  and  tree- 
burial. 

While  some  of  these  evolutions  may  be  open  to  question,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  they  do  in  the  main  represent  an  order  of  time  correspond- 
ing to  some  extent  to  an  order  of  culture, — from  Tasmania  to  Queensland. 
Here,  however,  there  are  isolated  streaks  that  approach  the  Tasmanian 
level." 

(3)  Socially,  it  has  been  pointed  out  with  some  force,  that  the  existence 
of  a  living  rite  or  custom  side  by  side  with  a  decaying  one  argues  for  the 
priority  of  the  latter  and  the  gradual  introduction  of  the  former.  Hence 
circumcision  was  preceded  by  tooth-pulling,  tooth-pulling  probably  by 
beard-plucking,  beard-plucking  by  simple  fasting,  and  so  on.  This  means 
that  simple  local  exogamy  with  paternal  descent  (Kurnai,  South  Victoria) 
must  liave  preceded  the  complicated  two,  four,  and  eight-class  culture  of 
the  Aruntas,  etc.  especially  when  it  is  considered  that  the  Asiatic  and 
African  primitives  are  on  very  nearly  the  same  level, —  (sex-birds,  fasting, 
etc.    Compare  the  East  Indies,  Andaman  Islands,  and  Central  Africa)." 

(4)  Linguistically  the  South-Eastern  area  forms  almost  a  unit.  The 
dialects  are  strongly  Tasmanioid,  with  post-position  of  the  genitive  and 
vowel  endings. •• 


"  Howitt,  op.  cit.  p.  24flF.  John  Matthew,  Eaglehawk  and  Crow  (London  and  Melbourne, 
1899),  pp.  1-4.  Brough-Smith,  The  Aborigines  of  Victoria,  II.  p.  301.  Keane,  Ethnology, 
p.  289ff.  Ling-Roth,  Tasmania,  p.  227-228.  "  Fritsch  and  Topinard,  confirmed  by  Howitt  and 
cited  by  Schmidt,  1.  c.  pp.  200,  324.  '«  Matthew,  op.  cit.  p.  22-26.  Ling-Roth,  1.  c.  pp.  67, 
83,  107,  118.  Gracbner,  Thomas,  Foy,  1.  c.  supra.  Schmidt,  1.  c.  p.  191-201.  "Matthew,  1. 
c.  pp.  26-29,  113-124  (Initiation-rites)  where  foreign  importation  is  distinctly  implied,  though 
the  Tasmanian  data  are  inaccurate.  Comp.  Ling-Roth,  1.  c  supra  and  E.  M.  Curr,  The 
Australian  Race  (Melbourne,  1887)  Vol.  I.  p.  376,  402.  "Thouorh  not  exclusively  so.  Comp. 
W.  Schmidt,  Die  Gliedcrung  der  Australischen  Spr«chen,  (with  map),  in  Anthropos,  1912 
(Jan-Apr.),  p.  230. 


SUMMARY  507 

THE  QUESTION  OF  PRIORITY 

Now  although  each  of  these  arguments  may  be  considered  weak  when 
taken  alone,  their  cumulative  power  is  certainly  strong.  This  is  being  felt 
more  and  more  in  quite  recent  times,  when,  in  spite  of  the  proverbial 
tenacity  with  which  a  pet  theory  is  clung  to,  several  notable  specialists 
have  boldly  taken  their  stand  on  the  new  platform. 

"From  the  investigations  of  Dr.  Graebner",  writes  Father  Schmidt,  "it 
is  therefore  evident  that  the  South-East  co7itains  the  most  ancient  tribes 
of  Australia,  and  therefore  precisely  that  region  which  is  conspicuous  for 
the  belief  in  the  Supreme  Being.  This  militates  against  Howitt's  theory, 
who  says  that  as  the  south-eastern  tribes  represent  a  higher  and  therefore 
later  stage  of  material  and  social  culture  as  against  the  inland  tribes,  so 
their  belief  in  a  Supreme  Being  is  the  result  of  higher  and  later  develop- 
ments.   Precisely  the  opposite  is  the  case"." 

"Besides  the  aboriginal  culture",  says  Dr.  Foy,  "which  we  find  par- 
ticularly well  preserved  in  Tasmania,  that  island  immediately  opposite  to 
South-East  Australia,  we  must  distinguish  three  cultural  invasions  of  the 

continent".'*  r^     ^  c  n 

"Thus  the  evidence  afTorded  by  the  bodily  structure' ,  says  Prof,  bollas, 
—"the  best  in  these  matters—,  distinctly  indicates  the  survival  of  primitive 
characters  in  the  south  of  Australia,  where  ex  hypothesi  we  might  have 
expected  to  find  them;  whatever  other  evidence  exists  points  in  the  same 
direction.  The  language  of  the  Kurnai  and  Narrinyeri  finds  its  nearest 
ally  in  Tasmania,  their  material  culture  is  poorer  in  many  respects  than 
that  of  the  more  northern  tribes,  and  their  social  organisation  is  simpler"." 
"Though  still  in  the  palaeolithic  stage,  the  Australians,  unlike  the  more 
isolated  Tasmanians,  have  made  a  considerable  advance  on  the  Mousterian 
culture  This  they  may  easily  have  accomplished  by  their  own  efforts,  yet 
at  the  same  time  there  can  be  no  doubt  they  have  borrowed  something  from 
adjacent  races.  The  people  of  Torres  Straits  and  New  Guinea  visit  the 
mainland  in  their  canoes  and  the  Australians  cross  over  to  New  Guinea. 
Besides  this  the  Malays  voyage  to  the  North-west  coast  in  search  of 

^^^•^According  to  Dr.  Noetling",  writes  Prof.  Elliot,  "the  original  Tasman- 
ians had  hardly  advanced  beyond  this  -eolithiC  grade.  They  had  no  idea 
of  chipping  or  'knapping'  fiint  or  other  stones,  but  simply  shattered  them 
bv  throwing  them  down  on  a  rock".  Though  this  statement  is  wisely 
modified  by  the  author,  he  admits  that  "among  the  Australians  there  is 
still  evidence  of  the  Tasmanians  whom  they  assimilated.  But  the  former 
have  developed  many  rather  advanced  characteristics"." 


17  W  Schmidt.  Ursprung,  p.  196ff.  expounding  Graebner,  F'-'t?,':^.  Topmard  etc.  '« W. 
Foy  FUhrer  durch  das  Rautenstrauch-Joest  Museum  (Cologne  910),  p  60.  ^W.  Sollas, 
Ancient  Hunters  and  their  modern  Representatives  (Oxford  1915)  p  ^^  Idem,  p.  285. 
"Scott-Elliot,  Prehistoric  Man  and  his  Story  (London,  1915),  pp.  108,  228. 


508  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

THE  QUESTION  OF  PRIORITY 
(G-H)  Central  and  South  Africa 

For  similar  reasons  the  immense  antiquity  of  tlie  Central  African 
Negrillos  may  now  be  considered  well  establislipd.  They  are  surrounded 
by  stronger  and  more  cultured  races,  Bantu,  Hamitic,  etc.  who,  though 
they  have  mingled  with  the  negrillos  in  some  few  instances,  have  been 
unable  to  affect  their  general  status  or  to  imbue  them  with  totemic  or 
Islamic  ideas  respectively.  They  are  nearly  all  in  the  shell-  or  bamboo- 
stage  of  archaic  culture  and  their  social  organisation  closely  resemble  that 
of  their  Oceanic  brethren.  It  is  generally  admitted,  however,  that  the  Bush- 
men of  the  Kalahari  desert  are  in  some  respects  more  advanced, — witli 
higher  industries  and  hereditary  chiefs,  which  in  combination  with  other 
features,  chiefly  physiological,  place  them  slightly  above  the  negrillos  and 
very  near  the  South-Australian  aborigines.  They  occupy  the  same  posi- 
tion to  the  negrillos  that  the  Tasmanians  do  to  the  negritos,  and  should  be 
judged  accordingly. 

"By  their  type,  by  their  social  organisation,  by  what  we  have  come  to 
call  by  the  too  elastic  name  of  'civilisation'  ",  writes  Bishop  LoRoy,  "all 
these  peoples,  all  these  races,  and  all  these  families,  (referring  to  the 
Bantus,  Hottentots,  etc.),  are  found  to  differ  essentially  from  another  popu- 
lation everywhere  distributed  and  everywhere  identical : — the  Negrillos, 
who,  as  we  have  many  times  insinuated,  seem  to  have  been  decidedly  th£ 
first  occupants  of  the  soil  of  Africa".^^  "There  cannot  be  any  reasonable 
cause  to  doubt",  says  Stow,  "that  from  a  remote  period  to  a  comparatively 
recent  date  Southern  Africa  was  solely  in  the  possession  of  the  Bushman 
race"P 

(K-L)  South-America  and  Patagonia 

It  has  also  been  shown  that  the  Tapuya  races  and  their  allies  in  the; 
Brazilian  jungle  are  on  the  lowest  level  of  American  culture  and  are  very 
probably  the  aborigines  of  the  entire  South-American  continent.  To- 
gether with  the  Fuegian  peoples  at  the  extreme  end  of  Patagonia,  they 
furnish  one  of  the  most  primitive  types  of  mankind  to  be  found  in  the 
Western  Hemisphere. 

"In  the  Botokudos",  says  Dr.  Ehrenreich,  "we  have  the  oldest  represen- 
tatives of  the  Ges-peoples  or  pure  Tapuyas".-*  Similarly  Dr.  Foy:— "A 
particularly  archaic  group  of  nomadic  races  is  found  in  the  Ges-tribes  of 
Eastern  Brazil,  with  primitive  culture,  and  for  whom  the  large  ear-  and 
lip-ornaments  are  characteristic".  "To  the  lowest  of  American  races  must 
undoubtedly  be  counted  the  inhabitants  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  who  inhabit 
the  extreme  south  of  the  American  continent"." 


"LeRoy,  Les  Pygtnees,  (1910),  p.  323.  ="  Stow,  The  Native  Races  of  South  Africa 
(1910),  p.  6  -«  Ehrenreich  Ubcr  die  Botokudos.  (ZE.  1887).  p.  81.  =»  W.  Foy,  op.  cit.  p. 
154-155. 


SUMMARY  509 

II.    THE  QUESTION  OF  AUTHENTICITY 
Principles  and  Their  Application 
Convergence  of  testimony  is  said  to  be  the  best  test  of  authenticity 
When  we  have  several  independent  witnesses,  all  agreeing  on  the  smallest 
items  of  a  cultural  complex,  though  separated  by  indefinite  intervals  of 
space  and  time,  the  chances  are  that  their  reports  on  the  mythology  and 
higher  beliefs  will  be  of  correspondingly  accurate  value,-that  as    he 
former  have  been  proved  to  be  reliable  through  repeated  verifications   the 
latter  will  be  proved  to  be  equally  reliable,  if  not  by  direct  verification 
at  least  by  their  general  resemblance  and  agreement  with  what  has  been 
found  by  other  reporters  elsewhere.    (Principle  of  Convergence) . 

(A-E)  East  Indies 
The  combined  testimony  of  Vaughan-Stevens,  Martin,  Skeat,  and  Borie 
and  their  general  agreement  on  all  questions  affecting  the  material  and 
"cid  edition  of  the  Malakkan  races,  establishes  a  P---P^\- -/-- 
of  their  accuracy  when  speaking  of  their  religious  beliefs^    th^a/^^^^ 
obiected  that  Vaughan-Stevens  lacks  confirmation  and  is  somelhing  ot  an 
S  isher     It  must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  great  adventurers  are 
:lriously-apt  to  exaggerate  here  and  there,  but  that  this  does  nc.  des  ro,^ 
the  value  of  their  testimony  on  matters  of  grave  import,  and  that  are  oi 
can  be  indirectly  verified,  at  least  in  essentials.    In  this  case,  however,  we 
have  good  reasons  on  independent  grounds  to  accept  his  testimony.    Hi 
general  accuracy  and  the  priceless  value  of  his  -neoted  catena    hav 
hPPn   rommended  alike  by  Dr.   Skeat   of  Cambridge   and  by  Protessoi 
Virchovv  oTBerUn.    The  fact  that  most  of  his  data  have  been  verified  mde- 
p  nden^-b  ood-charms,  bamboo-patterns,  several  wind-spirits    mc  ud- 
fng  the  redoubtable  Tavpern,  (Ta'  P5nn),  the  ^l^^f^^  servan^ of  K^^^^^^^^ 
makes  it  more  than  probable  that  his  remaining  statistics  are  '^liable  a  so. 
Tht  piln  will  gather  additional  momentum  -^en  we  compare^he  tes 

t^o  i"d^Pf',7"\J''7      _o     Moreover  Dr.  Portman  has  given  his  highest 


510  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

THE  QUESTION  OF  AUTHENTICITY 

As  to  the  Philippines,  though  the  sources  are  scattered,  they  are  beyond 
criticism.  Meyer  and  Blumentritt  are  safe  in  ethnology,  while  Montano  is 
a  good  observer  of  customs.  The  evidence  for  a  supreme  divinity  is 
grounded  on  three  unimpeachable  witnesses, — two  of  them  Catholic 
priests — ,  whose  united  reports,  however  fragmentary,  can  hardly  be 
accused  of  deliberate  fraud.  They  bear  witness  to  the  belief  in  a  great 
Maker,  which  can  be  traced  right  through  the  heart  of  Central  Borneo  to 
the  Aru-Islands  and  New  Guinea,  as  is  certified  by  Col.  Reed,  Dr.  Hose, 
Bishop  McDougall,  Dr.  Nieuwenhuis,  Messrs.  Kruyt  and  Riedel,  Father 
Schmidt,  and  Monsignor  Dunn. 

(F)  Australu-Tasmania 

These  data  are  further  augmented  by  an  abundance  of  material  from 
the  Australian  region.  Here  we  have  a  large  number  of  first-hand  wit- 
nesses, whose  reports,  however  defective,  are  frankly  impartial  in  spirit 
and  tendency.  Moreover  these  reports  are  so  numerous  and  so  widely 
separated  in  space  and  time,  that  it  is  quite  impossible  for  a  conscious 
fallacy  to  enter  the  field,  at  least  in  the  matter  of  bare  statistics.  Take  the 
work  of  Howitt,  the  standard  authority  on  the  "Native  Tribes  of  South- 
East  Australia".  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  his  deductions, — and  they 
are  by  no  means  flawless — ,  his  main  collection  of  facts  as  a  direct  observer 
of  rights  and  customs  is  invaluable.  He  is  one  of  the  few  modern  explorers 
who  has  lived  the  lives  of  the  natives,  who  has  become  a  fully  initialed 
member  of  the  tribe.  But  what  is  more  important,  he  does  not  stand  alone. 
His  conclusions  have  been  anticipated  or  confirmed  by  other  writers  in 
complete  independence.  Thus  Brough-Smith  in  "The  Aborigines  of 
Victoria",  Taplin  in  "The  Narrinyeri",  Langloh-Parker  in  "The  Euahlayi 
Tribe",  Ridley  in  "The  Kamilaroi",  Ling-Roth  in  "The  Aborigines  of  Tas- 
mania", the  latter  a  huge  compilation  from  original  sources, — all  proclaim 
from  diflerent  points  of  the  compass,  that  these  facts  are  too  constant,  too 
uniform,  and  too  universal  to  have  been  the  result  either  of  concoction  or 
coincidence.    They  must  have  some  foundation  in  the  reality  of  the  past. 

(G-L)  Central  Africa  and  South  America 

The  same  remarks  apply  to  the  transoceanic  regions.  The  work  of 
Stow  is  founded  upon  Orpen  and  Arbousset,  scientific  observers  of  the  first 
rank,  while  the  personal  interviews  of  Bishop  LeRoy  and  Father  Vander 
Burgt  among  the  natives  of  the  Congo-belt  have  the  distinctive  ring  of 
truth,  they  can  hardly  be  questioned.  Similarly  Von  den  Steinen  and 
Ehrenreich  are  final  for  South-America,  being  supported  by  Denis,  Preuss, 
Rivet,  Renault,  St.  Hilaire,  Father  Teschauer,  and  many  others. 

Thus  the  combined  picture  is  unassailable, 

however  defective  the  individual  sketch.     It  is  hardly  conceivable  that 
such  a  unanimity  can  have  any  other  basis  than  that  of  objective  fact. 


SUMMARY  511 

THE  QUESTION  OF  AUTHENTICITY 

Criteria  for  Indigenous  Origin 

As  to  the  native  origin  of  these  traditions,  their  freedom  from  foreign 
influence,  it  is  based  on  the  broad  principle,  that  when  we  have  ninety- 
nine  per  cent  of  indigenous  elements, — from  the  cave  or  windshelter  down 
to  matrimonial  rites  and  mythology — ,  the  chances  are  one  hundred  to 
one,  that  the  remaining  one  per  cent, — the  religious  beliefs — ,  will  be 
indigenous  also,  that  they  form  an  integral  part  of  the  national  life,  that 
when  the  former  change,  the  latter  are  apt  to  change  in  the  same  propor- 
tion, that  as  the  former  have  existed  from  time  immemorial,  the  latter  have 
existed  from  time  immemorial  also.    (Law  of  Concomitant  Variations). 

A  Surprising  Uniformity 

This  is  strikingly  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  in  the  most  ancient  East- 
Indian  and  Tasmanian  belt  the  deity  is  very  generally  a  "Father"-  or 
"Thunder-God",  of  "fiery  breath",  but  otherwise  "invisible",  who  lives  in 
the  "high  heavens"  and  is  above  all  stars,  suns,  or  planets,  which,  even 
when  personified,  have  no  genetic  relation  to  man,  but  are  rather  his 
"messengers",  the  fiery  emanations  of  his  almighty  will.  This  idea  extends 
with  varying  completeness  from  Malakka,  Ceylon,  and  the  Andaman 
Islands,  {Kari-Kande-Yaka'Puluga-region),  through  Borneo,  the  Philip- 
pines and  New  Guinea,  (Ama/ca-Am^o-region),  down  to  South-East  Aus- 
tralia, {Daramulun-Munga7i-ngaua-Teg\on),  and  far  into  the  heart  of  Cen- 
tral Africa,  (VVaka-Nzambi-region) ,  nay,  even  to  the  remotest  confines  of 
Central  Brazil,  (Tupan-Kamushini-Iguanchi-heU), — all  of  which  compare. 
It  seems  difficult  to  account  for  this  wonderful  uniformity  except  on  the 
theory  of  native  origin. 

But  it  is  possible  to  bring  the  argument  to  a  more  definite  issue.  Tyler's 
contention  that  the  High  Gods  are  due  to  missionary  influence  is  at 
variance  with  facts.  Long  before  the  advent  of  any  such  mission,  Bundjil 
Baiame,  and  Mungan-ngaua  were  worshipped  in  their  respective  terri- 
tories. There  is  strong  evidence  for  this  in  at  least  three  areas.  Then 
again,  there  are  no  vestiges  of  such  influence,  whether  religious  or  other- 
wise. A  Catholic  missionary  would  presumably  leave  them  a  crucifix, 
while  a  Protestant  would  hardly  teach  them  to  pray  for  the  dead.  Nd 
white  man  would  ever  associate  Kari-Ple  with  the  jungle-fruit,  Puluga 
with  a  female  spider,  Kande-Yaka  with  a  mighty  hunter,  Anito  with  a  huge 
rock,  Amaka  with  the  enchanted  forest,  not  to  speak  of  the  creation- 
legends,  with  their  tailed  baboons  and  dancing  divinities,  their  stars  and 
emus,  their  lizards  and  sex-birds.  Finally  the  secrecy  of  the  cult  would 
have  no  meaning,  if  the  people  had  borrowed  from  outside  sources;  they 
would  be  trying  to  conceal  from  the  whites  that  which  they  knew  every 
white  man  was  cognisant  of,  that  which  the  civilised  races  themselves  had 
given  them, — an  absurd  supposition.    Secret  societies  do  not  borrow. 


512  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

THE  QUESTION  OF  AUTHENTICITY 

Detailed  Testimony 

As  this  subject  is  so  commonly  underestimated,  I  will  give  a  few 
extracts  from  the  leading  authorities,  even  at  the  risk  of  a  little  repetition. 

THE   IDEA   COULD   NOT   HAVE  BEEN    IMPORTED 

Malakka: — "Here  I  only  remark",  writes  Mr.  Logan,  Avith  reference  to 
Ihe  incantations,  charms,  and  other  superstitions  of  the  Mantra,  that  the 
greater  part  appear  to  be  essentially  native,  that  is,  they  have  not  borrowed 
from  tlie  Hindoos  or  Arabs,  but  have  assumed  their  peculiar  form  from 
the  state  in  which  the  tribe  has  existed  on  the  peninsula  from  time  imme- 
morial, while  in  substance  they  have  been  transmitted  from  the  same  com- 
mon source  to  which  a  large  part  of  the  inhabited  world  must  refer  its 
earliest  superstitions.  The  religion  of  the  Mantra  is  the  primitive  heathen- 
ism of  Asia,  which  spreading  far  fo  the  east  and  west,  was  associated  with 
the  regions  of  the  eldest  civilised  nations,  for  it  flourished  in  ancient  Egypt 
before  the  Hebrews  were  a  people,  in  Greece  and  Rome,  and  bids  fair  to 
outlast  Hindooism  in  many  parts  of  India"."  But  if  this  author  derives 
Tuhan  from  Arabic  sources,  Dr.  Skeat  strongly  protests  against  such  a 
scheme,  for  he  says:  "Among  the  Mantra,  and  doubtless  among  other 
Jakun  tribes,  if  the  matter  were  more  thoroughly  investigated,  there  does 
undoubtedly  exist  a  belief,  shadowy  though  it  be,  in  a  deity,  and  this 
independently  of  Arabic  sources.  There  are  in  fact,  as  among  the  Semang, 
traces  of  a  dualistic  system.  .  .  .  Ostensibly  Semang  is  the  legend  that 
Kari  created  everything  but  man,  whose  creation  he  desired  Pie  to  effect, 
and  that  when  Pie  had  done  so,  Kan  himself  gave  them  souls".-'  Again, — 
"Kari,  {Kai,  Kail),  "thunder",  says  Father  Schmidt,  "does  not  occur  in  any 
of  the  Sakai,  Jakun,  or  other  Austroasiatic  languages,  so  that  the  name  of 
this  supreme  Being  is  in  every  respect  peculiar  to  the  most  ancient  layer 
of  the  population,  and  could  not  have  been  borrowed" .'^^  I  have  already 
treated  the  main  points  of  this  controversy  in  the  preceding  pages,  and 
simply  wish  to  call  attention  to  the  united  force  of  the  argument  by  a  final 
appeal  to  the  facts  and  a  comparison  witii  other  regions. 

Andaman  Islands: — "It  is  extremely  improbable",  says  Mr.  Man,  "that 
their  legends  were  the  result  of  the  teaching  of  missionaries  and  others", 
and  he  emphasises  want  of  tradition,  absence  of  traces,  parallel  cases  else- 
where.'" Similarly  Dr.  Portman: — "The  anthropological  professors  are 
very  anxious  to  prove  that  the  Andamanese  must  have  derived  their  idea 
of  a  deity  from  some  of  the  more  civilised  nations  .  .  .  but  /  cannot  agree 
with  it'.  (And  he  calls  particular  attention  to  file  antiquity  of  the  race, 
seclusion,  conservatism, — no  vestiges,  social,  linguistic,  or  otherwise)." 


s'  J.  R.  Logan,  in  Journ.  Indian  Archipelago,  Vol.  I.  pp.  329-330.  "  Skeat,  Pagan  Races, 
II.  179,  185.  "Schmidt,  Pygmaenvolker,  p.  221  note.  »o  Man.  1.  c.  p.  88-89.  »'  Portman,  A 
History.  Vol.  I  p.  45. 


SUMMARY  513 

THE  QUESTION  OF  AUTHENTICITY 
Detailed  Testimony 

Ceylon: — According  to  Dr.  Seligman,  "The  three  strata  of  belief  which 
exist  among  the  Veddas  of  the  present  day  have  not  fused  so  thoroughly 
that  there  is  any  great  difTiculty  in  separating  them.  We  believe  that  they 
may  be  tabulated  as  follows  : 

(1)  The  cult  of  the  dead,  including  the  cult  of  the  spirits  of  recent 
ancestors,  that  is  of  the  iiae  yaku  and  the  yaku  of  certain  Veddas  who  have 
long  been  dead  and  may  well  be  regarded  as  heroes { !).  The  most  impor- 
tant of  these  is  Kande  Yaka  (sic.)  (2)  The  cult  of  foreign  spirits  who  have 
become  naturalised  and  have  taken  the  friendly  protective  nature  of  the 
Vedda  yaku.  (3)  The  cult  of  foreign  spirits  who,  though  not  often  re- 
garded as  such,  have  retained  their  foreign  nature  and  are  in  the  main  ter- 
rible or  even  hostile".'^  Kande-Yaka,  therefore,  belongs  to  the  most  ancient 
stratum  of  beliefs,  whatever  be  the  value  of  this  figure  as  a  heaven-god, — 
he  is  a  primitive  "friend". 

Philippines:— "On  the  Tarlac  trail,  between  Tarlac  and  Zambales 
province",  says  Col.  Reed,  "there  is  a  huge  black  bowlder  which  the 
negritos  believe  to  be  the  home  of  one  powerful  spirit.  So  far  as  I  could 
learn  the  belief  is  that  the  spirits  of  all  who  die  enter  this  one  spirit  or 
'anito'  who  has  its  abiding  place  in  this  rock".''  As  no  Catholic  mis- 
sionary would  associate  the  God  of  Heaven  with  bananas  and  rocks,  it  is 
clear  that  this  part  of  the  belief  cannot  be  traced  to  such  a  quarter,  what- 
ever other  origin  it  may  have  had. 

Borneo: — Dr.  Hose  comes  to  similar  conclusions.  "It  might  be  thought 
that  the  conception  of  a  beneficent  supreme  Being  has  been  borrowed, 
directly  or  indirectly,  from  the  Malays.  But  we  do  not  think  that  view  is 
tenable.  For  this  is  a  living  belief  among  the  Madangs  (Kenyas,  and 
others),  far  from  Malay  influence  in  the  remote  interior,  while  it  is  a  dead 
one  among  the  Ibans  and  Sea-Dayaks,  close  to  Malay  influence  on  the  sur- 
rounding coast-line".  Archdeacon  Perham  also  testifies  that  "among  the 
Ibans  there  are  traces  of  belief  in  one  supreme  God,  which  suggests  that 
the  idea  is  one  that  has  been  prevalent,  but  has  now  almost  died  out".^* 
We  have  a  strong  case  for  Borneo,  where  the  decadence  of  the  later  as  com- 
pared with  the  earlier  beliefs  is  strikingly  illustrated. 

New  Guinea: — "Now  it  comes  out  that  father  was  right  after  all."  You 
boys  of  Dalmannhafen,  is  not  'God'  the  same  as  your  Woiiekau  and  our 
Wonakau?"  These  remarks  of  the  mission  children  on  the  identity  of 
their  ancestral  faith  with  that  of  the  imported  school-religion  shows  with 
some  force  that  the  idea  of  God  was  already  familiar  to  them.  However 
enriched  by  the  Christian  concept,  it  was  certainly  not  introduced  by  the 
missionaries.'" 


32  Seligman,  The  Veddas,  p.  149.  '-Reed,  Negritos  of  Zambales,  p.  65.  ^^  Hose  and 
McDougall,  in  the  Journ.  Anthrop.  Instit.  (1901)  Vol.  XXXI.  p.  212.  including  Perhara's 
report.     ^^'W.  Schmidt,  Austronesische  Mythologie,  (1910),  p.  118. 


514  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

THE  QUESTION  OF  AUTHENTICITY 
Detailed  Testimony 

Australia: — "As  to  Australia",  writes  Andrew  Lang,  "in  face  of  the  evi- 
dence which  settled  Mr.  Howitt's  doubts  as  to  the  horrowing  of  these  ideas, 
can  any  one  bring  a  native  of  age  and  credit  who  has  said  that  Baiame 
under  any  name  was  borrowed  from  the  whites?  Mr.  Palmer  is  'perfectly 
satisfied'  that  'none  of  these  ideas  were  derived  from  the  whites'.  He  is 
speaking  of  the  tribes  of  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria,  far  away  indeed  from 
Victoria  and  New  South  Wales.  There  is  no  greater  authority  among 
anthropologists  than  Waitz,  and  Waitz  rejects  the  hypothesis  that  the 
higher  Australian  beliefs  were  borrowed  from  Christians".  (His  motives 
are, — their  priority  to  the  missions,  the  absence  of  any  traces,  the  secrecy 
of  the  cull.") 

"It  seems  advisable",  says  Mr.  Howitt,  "that  I  should  give  the  reasons 
which  appear  to  me  to  prove  conclusively  the  aboriginal  origin  of  the 
belief  in  the  tribal  All-Father  as  I  have  given  it".  Then  he  mentions  the 
case  of  the  Kurnai  informants,  who  had  been  initiated  in  1844,  sixteen 
years  before  the  establishment  of  the  two  missions  in  Gippsland  in  1860, 
and  who  assured  him  at  the  Jeraeil  in  1864  that  they  were  doing  exactly 
as  "the  old  men"  had  done  when  they  themselves  were  initiated.  "In 
answer  to  my  inquiries  about  the  legends  told  at  the  ceremonies,  including 
that  of  Munr/an-nciaua  and  his  son  Tundun,  they  said:  "The  old  men  told 
us  so".  Again, — "See!  That  one  is  Bundjil  (pointing  to  the  star  Altair), 
you  see  him,  and  he  sees  you!"  "This  was  before  Bafeman  the  missionary 
had  settled  on  the  banks  of  the  Yarra  river,  and  is  conclusive  as  to  the 
primitive  character  of  the  belief"." 

"I  was  first  told  of  Daiame  in  whispers",  says  Mrs.  Parker,  "by  a  very 
old  native,  said  to  have  been  already  grey-haired  when  Sir  Thomas  Mitchell 
discovered  the  Narran  in  1846,  (10  years  before  Mr.  Ridley's  catechism). 
But  He  was  a  worshipful  being,  revealed  in  the  mysteries,  loi^g  before  any 
missionaries  came,  as  all  my  informants  aver".'* 

Africa  and  South  America: — Two  anecdotes  will  suffice  for  these 
regions: — Asked  from  what  quarter  they  had  received  their  ideas  the  Wa- 
Pokomo  answered:  "We  have  taken  it  from  the  Watwas  or  Negrillos", 
speaking  of  the  first-fruit  sacrifice  to  Walcn  (God)."  "Is  Keri  the  God  of 
the  Portuguese?  No,  we  know  nothing  of  him.  ...  He  is  another.  .  .  . 
Keri  lives  in  the  heavens.  He  is  the  grandfather  of  the  Bakairi" — implying 
independence  of  the  native  belief." 


"  Lang,  Magic  and  Religion,  pp.  42-43.  "  Howitt,  Native  Tribes,  p.  504,  492ff.  "  Parker, 
The  Euahlayi  Tribe,  p.  5.  (condensed).  "  LeRoy,  Les  Pygmees,  p.  177.  "Von  den  Steincn. 
Unter  den  Naturvolkern,  p.  380.  For  a  general  refutation  of  the  "Loan-god"  theory,  extend- 
ing also  to  American  Indians,  see  Lang,  Magic  and  Religion,  pp.  15-45,  a  powerful  plea. 
These  points  are  now  Renerally  conceded  and  Tylor  appears  to  stand  alone.  Cp.  Howitt,  in 
Folk-Lore  (1906),  p.  188.  N.  W.  Thomaj,  "Baime  and  the  Bell-bird",  in  "Man"  (1905),  p.  44. 
Schmidt,  Ursprung,  p.  204-209. 


SUMMARY  515 

III.     THE  QUESTION  OF  INTERPRETATION 

Principles  op  the  Primitive  Theology 

Given  the  antiquity  and  the  genuineness  of  the  sources,  the  question 
arises  as  to  their  meaning.  Is  there  any  sense  in  which  these  traditions 
can  be  said  to  embody  a  nucleus  of  truth,  to  reflect,  however  vaguely,  the 
primitive  ideas  of  a  supreme  Being?  The  answer  to  this  question  must 
depend  very  largely  upon  the  combined  weight  of  the  evidence  in  all  its 
parts  rather  than  that  afforded  by  any  single  region.  By  collating  the 
material  for  the  primitive  belt,  it  is  possible  to  obtain  a  more  or  less  com- 
plete picture  of  the  deity  as  presented  to  the  mind  of  the  nativ  s. 

I.     FOR  THE  QUIESCENT  ATTRIBUTES 

(1)  Simplicity  or  Spirituality 

Beginning  with  the  idea  of  simplicity,  the  b"st  test  of  such  a  notion  is 
afforded  by  the  attribute  of  invisibility  or  subtlety,  which  is  fairly  promi- 
nent : — "He  is  of  fiery  breath,  but  is  now  invisible"  {Kari-Puluga,  1,  13).  He 
is  Kande-Yaka-Anito,  19,  24)  "Great  Spirit",  He  is  To-Bntwa,  "Invisible 
Spirit"  {Amaka,  27),  He  is  a  Vui,  or  "powerful  Spirit"  {Quat-Marawa,  36), 
He  is  "all-seeing  Spirit"  {Baiamc,  37),  He  is  "Light-Spirit"  (Marraboona, 
45),  He  cannot  "now"  be  seen  (passim  in  Australasia),  "He  can  see  every- 
thing, but  cannot  be  seen  Himself"  {Waka,  47),  "He  abides  in  the  high 
heavens,  and  cannot  now  be  seen"  [Indagarra,  48),  "He  cannot  be  seen 
with  the  eyes  but  only  with  the  heart  of  man"  {Kaang,  51),  "He  is  of  super- 
natural size  and  invisible"  (very  common  from  Peng,  7,  downwards).  He 
is  "Sun,  or  Light-Spirit"  {Kamushirii,  54).  Moreover  He  is  heard  and  felt, 
rather  than  seen.  His  voice  is  the  thunder  and  His  shafts  the  lightning, 
(passim  in  the  earlier  form,  compare  Kari-Puluga,  1,  13.  Amaka-Ballingo, 
25.  Nurrundere,  42.  Daramulun,  43.  Xzambi,  48.  Iguanchi-PUlan,  53. 
Tupan,  57).  Though  conceived  as  a  man.  He  has  no  temples  or  images, 
except  Baiame-Daramuluu,  40,  43,  (which  effigy  is  destroyed  immediately 
after  the  initiation-rite).  Bamboo  and  bark-scratchings  of  similar  nature 
are  found  in  other  regions,  (Malakka,  Borneo,  Central  Africa,  Brazil).  The 
absence  of  plastic  representations  of  a  permanent  nature  is  a  characteristic 
of  this  era,  and  in  strong  contrast  to  tlie  practices,  sometimes  perverted,  of 
the  higher  peoples.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  idea  of  a  supra-local,  in- 
visible, or  spiritual  being  is  very  generally  insinuated,  sometimes  described, 
though  it  is  evident  that  such  expressions  must  fall  short  of  philosophical 
exactness,  that  the  idea  of  simplicity  is  too  refined  a  notion  to  be  easily 
conveyed.  Does  not  the  very  word  "spirit"  {aninia,  ruach,  bruwa,  etc.) 
indicate  an  analogy  with  the  human  breath,  with  the  "wind"  of  heaven? 


Note: — The  figures  given  refer  to  the  preceding  page  numbers. 


516  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

PRIMITIVE  INTERPRETATION 
(2)  Eternity 

■'He  has  always  existed,  even  before  the  creation"  {Kari,  1),  "He  was 
never  born.  He  is  immortal"  {Peng,  7.  Piduga,  13), — eternity  in  both  direc- 
tions. He  is  Amakn,  the  Father  or  Generator  before  all  time,  {Amaka,  27), 
He  is  "very,  very  old",  but  never  "older"  {Baiame,  37),  "He  was  once  upon 
earth,  but  is  now  in  heaven,  whore  He  still  remains", — common  through- 
out Australia,  (Comp.  Daramidun,  43.  MunQan-niiaun,  44  etc.)  These  are 
explicit  statements,  but  the  idea  is  far  wider  than  its  expression.  An 
eternity  a  parte  post  is  universal,  all  these  beings  are  "very,  very  old",  they 
never  "die".  An  eternity  a  parte  ante  is  implied  in  such  cases  in  which 
the  figure  is  at  once  the  "father"  and  "creator"  of  the  universe  and  man. 
These  cases  are  dealt  with  below  under  Creation.  For  the  present  it  is 
important  to  note  that  in  the  doubtful-area,  {Anito,  Qual-Marawa,  includ- 
ing the  later  peninsular  and  South-American  divinities),  a  former  creative 
role  is  strongly  to  be  suspected,  and  this  makes  the  attribute  of  eternity  cer- 
tain for  the  above  and  highly  probable  for  the  remainder.  Taken  all  in  all. 
the  timeless  character  of  the  supreme  Being  is  well  attested  in  the  earliest 
mythology. 

(3)  Immensity  and  Infinity 

These  are  difficult  notions  for  the  savage  mind  to  express  with  any- 
thing like  precision.  They  are  generally  the  equivalents  of  large,  big, 
enormous,  terrible,  etc.  Thus  "He  is  of  supernatural  size  and  of  fiery 
breath"  a  forcible  expression,  if  correctly  reported,  {Kari,  Peng,  1.  7),  "He 
knows  and  can  do  all  things",  (very  general  from  Kari  and  Amaka  down- 
wards, either  explicitly  or  implicitly).  He  "has  immense  power"  {Chidibey, 
Quat-Marawa,  35),  "He  can  do  what  He  wishes"  {Baiame,  37),  "He  can  ^o 
everywhere  and  do  anything"  {Daramulun,  43),— implying  omnipresence, 
a  ubiquitous  being.  Again,— "He  is  very,  very  big,  the  best,  the  biggest" 
(quite  common  in  Australia-Africa),  "He  is  the  master  of  all.  He  has  made 
all,  and  arranged  all.  and  in  His  sight  we  are  all  very  small"  {Nzambi.  48), 
His  name  is  Kari,  Thunder,  Amaka,  Great  Father.  Quat,  Great  Lord,  Baiame, 
Great  One,  Biamban,  Great  Master,  Tupan,  Great  Chief,  etc..  all  of  which 
point  to  qualities  that  are  distinctly  above  the  normal,  though  they  fail  to 
bring  out  the  notion  of  limitless  being  in  all  its  fulness.  Here  again  the 
.•i|)parent  deficiency  is  supplemented  by  more  powerful  criteria,  for  any 
being  that  can  create  is  ipso  facto  an  immense,  an  infinite  being.  We 
must  therefore  interpret  this  notion  with  the  help  of  the  operative  attri- 
butes, from  which  the  idea  of  the  infinite  may  be  deduced  witli  ninre  hopi- 
of  success,  (see  below). 


SUMMARY  517 

PRIMITIVE  INTERPRETATION 

(4)  Transcendental  Attributes,— Unity,  Truth  and  Goodness 

(a)  UNITY, — absence  op  parts 

Is  this  being  singular  or  plural  in  number?  The  Kari-Ple-Puluga  con- 
troversy suggests  a  lurking  dualism.  Kari-Ple  are  both  apparently  creators, 
and  both  receive  the  homage  of  worship  and  sacrifice,  (1-5).  It  is  certain, 
however,  that  the  thunder-god  is  immensely  superior  to  his  demiurge,  he 
has  evidently  fashioned  him,  for  the  latter  is  his  "servant"  or  "son",  who 
carries  out  his  behests  and  intercedes  for  humanity,  and  who,  though  he 
formed  the  body  of  man,  did  so  at  Kari's  command,  who  alone  "gave  them 
souls".  This  is  equally  conspicuous  for  Puluga,  Kande-Yaka,  Amei-Amaka, 
Wonekau,  Baiarae,  and  other  great  figures,  not  excluding  the  Quat-Marawa 
couple.  However  powerful  the  surrounding  spirits  may  be, — and  they 
nearly  all  have  powerful  helpers — ,  the  supreme  divinity  towers  above 
them  in  importance,  and  He  alone  is  invoked  in  the  greatest  emergence, 
{Bali  Pen-ya-long,  25.  Waka-Kaang,  47,  51),  though  an  appeal  to  the 
Creator  through  some  powerful  saint  or  mediator  is,  as  with  us,  not  ex- 
cluded. Compare  the  cries  for  help  to  be  given  below,  and  this  will  be  evi- 
dent,— the  Father  above  is  their  chief  or  ultimate  object.  In  other  words, 
there  is  only  one  God,  though  his  "messengers"  are  innumerable. 

(b)   truth, — correspondence  of  RE.ALITY  WITH  EXEMPLARY  IDEAS 

That  the  universe  is  modelled  after  the  exemplary  ideas  in  the  divine 
Mind,  that  it  is  in  some  sense  a  "pattern"  of  God,  may  be  inferred  from 
the  fact  that  the  "all-seeing  Spirit"  knows  His  creation,  that  it  is  in  a  very 
direct  sense  His  own  work.  (Gomp.  Kari,  1.  Peng,  7.  Puluga,  13.  Amaka,  25. 
Quat-Marawa,  36.  Baiame,  37.  Nurrwidere,  Bundjil,  42.  Daramulun,  43. 
Waka,  47.  Kamushini,  55  (spider-motif)  etc.)  This  seems  to  postulate  a 
correspondence  of  the  external,  physical,  with  the  internal,  mental  world, 
viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  a  divine  originator.  (Compare  the 
"speculum"  of  the  scholastics).  God  is  thus  the  ontological  truth  of 
things.  Is  He  also  their  ethical  truth,  the  revealer  of  a  true  order  of  reality? 
It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  in  nearly  every  case  the  virtue  of  truthfulness 
is  safeguarded  by  the  highest  sanctions,  that  lying  is  punished  with  severe 
chastisements.  (Gomp.  Puluga,  13,  on  the  sin  of  "falsehood",  Baiame,  39, 
on  the  "deadly  sin  of  lying  to  the  elders  of  the  tribe",  and  the  testimony  of 
Reed,  "I  never  detected  an  untruth  except  one  arising  from  errors  of  judg- 
ment", and  of  Haddon,  "they  never  do  any  injury  by  making  a  false  state- 
ment", p.  XXXIX  above).  If  then  these  "gods"  demand  truthfulness  from 
their  creatures,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  they  are  truthful  themselves, 
that  their  object  is  not  to  deceive  but  to  elevate  and  illuminate  mankind. 


518  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

PRIMITIVE  INTERPRETATION 

(c)   GOODNESS,  WISDOM,  AND  HOLINESS 

The  idea  of  goodness  or  moral  pcrfeclion  is  contained  either  in  the  very 
concept  of  the  deity  as  defined  by  the  natives,  or  in  the  laws  and  sanctions 
for  moral  conduct  as  reflected  in  the  lives  of  those  who  acknowledge  His 
sway.  As  to  the  former,  it  must  be  admitted  that  explicit  references  to 
"goodness"  are  few  and  far  between.  Perhaps  it  was  not  necessary  to 
emphasise  a  quality  which  is  so  obvious  a  notion  in  any  concept  of  divinity 
that  is  worthy  of  the  name.  Nevertheless,  it  is  clear  fliat  the  id^a  of  a  good 
rather  than  a  cruel  or  malevolent  god  is  not  in  itself  immediately  evident, 
and  there  must  be  some  guarantee  that  we  are  dealing  with  a  divine,  not  a 
demoniacal  being.  Now  this  may  be  gathered  from  the  whole  trend  and 
tendency  of  the  mythology.  These  supreme  figures  are  essentially  good, 
wise,  and  benevolent  Creators,  they  are  the  authors  and  guardians  of  the 
moral  law,  and  Ihoy  punish  the  wrong-doing  of  man  by  severe  measures, 
they  are  his  judge.  (Comp.  Kmi,  1,  4.  PiUuga,  13,  17.  Kandc-Yaka,  20.  Of 
Anxto,  24,  it  is  distinctly  staled  that  he  punishes  the  transgressions  of  his 
law  by  "sending  diseases".  The  same  idea  is  contained  in  Amaka,  27,  the 
author  of  adat,  "moral  law",  in  Wonckau,  33,  the  "good"  being,  who 
punishes  adultery,  and  perhaps  even  in  Qual-Marnwa,  36.  However 
facetious  the  latter  may  be,  he  is  never  bad,  malevolent,  or  immoral.  This 
is  equally  prominent  with  Baiame,  37,  the  rewarder  of  the  "good",  and  in 
fact  with  nearly  all  the  Australian  and  African  High-Fathers.  Note  espe- 
cially Kaang,  51 :  "At  first  he  was  very  good  and  nice,  but  he  got  spoilt 
through  fighting  so  many  things"  (Idea  of  goodness  contending  with 
increasing  evil).  As  to  Kamushini  and  the  Brazilian  deities,  the  attribute 
of  moral  goodness  may  be  inferred  from  the  fire-  and  flood-legends  of  this 
region,  in  which  the  Sky-Father  is  said  to  have  destroyed  mankind  on 
account  of  a  violation  of  the  moral  law, — adultery,  blasphemy,  sacrilege, 
(54ff.).  Finally,  if  ethical  standards  are  to  be  our  test,  the  remarkably 
high  practice  in  this  regard  is  something  that  requires  an  explanation. 
Murder  and  adultery  are  almost  unknown,  there  is  hardly  any  cannibalism 
or  infanticide,  and  the  "three  deadly  sins  were  unprovoked  murder,  lying 
to  the  elders  of  the  tribe,  and  stealing  a  woman  within  the  prohibited 
degrees".  Moreover  it  is  in  the  earliest  region,  (A-F),  that  this  is  most 
conspicuous,  which  tends  to  show  that  a  pure  theology  and  a  pure  morality 
develop  on  parallel  lines.  But  the  vviiole  subji'ct  siiould  be  re-studied  witli 
the  help  of  our  Introduction  (p.  XXXI V-XL),  from  which  the  combined 
evidence  on  this  head  may  be  gathered.  It  is  only  through  constant  re- 
vision and  ri'capitulation  that  the  moral  statistics  for  the  earliest  ages  of 
man  gradually  sink  into  the  mind  of  the  student. 


SUMMARY  519 

PRIMITIVE  INTERPRETATION 

(5)  The  Idea  op  Mercy 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  mercy,  the  superabundance  of  love,  is  a 
"supernatural"  attribute,  being  underivable  from  the  idea  of  God  except 
by  metaphysical  composition,  that  is,  by  adding  a  new,  logically  exclusive 
note.  If  this  is  so,  it  is  all  the  more  surprising  to  find  this  attribute  dimly 
recognised  in  the  earliest  section.  "He  is  angered  by  the  commission  of 
sin,  but  shows  pity  for  man,  and  is  moved  by  the  pleadings  of  Pie  on  man's 
behalf"  {Kari,  1),  "He  may  also  show  mercy"  [Peng,  7),  "He  is  angered  by 
the  commission  of  certain  sins, — falsehood,  theft,  grave  assault,  murder, 
adultery,  etc.),  while  to  those  in  pain  or  distress  He  is  pitiful,  and  some- 
times deigns  to  afTord  relief"  (Puluga,  13).  He  shows  pity,  therefore,  in  at 
least  three  cases.  In  others  it  may  be  inferred  from  general  benevolence, 
but  not  with  certainty.  Also  from  responses  to  prayer,  {Kaang,  51),  and 
from  the  survival  of  select  souls  from  the  flood,  (supra).  Here  again  the 
absence  of  explicit  statements  must  be  supplemented  by  the  social  and 
ethical  data.  The  extreme  kindness  and  charity  that  are  meted  out  to  the 
sick,  the  aged,  and  the  infirm,  who  "invariably  fare  better  than  their  more 
fortunate  brethren",  this  has  hardly  the  ring  of  a  cruel  and  exacting  divin- 
ity, and  the  numerous  cases  of  unselfish  heroism,  of  starvation  for  the  sake 
of  the  progeny,  of  the  rescue  of  feeble  and  decrepit  persons  when  in  peril 
of  drowning,  of  the  carrying  about  of  wives  on  the  backs  of  their  husbands, 
"when  too  old  or  too  sick  to  walk", — all  these  merciful  actions  point  to 
a  merciful  God,  to  a  being  who  is  not  a  tryant  but  a  tender  Father  of 
humanity.  (Compare  the  data  passim  as  given  on  p.  XXXI Vff.  and  in  the 
text.) 

(6)  The  Idea  of  Justice 

But  this  Father  is  also  just.  He  requires  a  strict  account  of  the  actions 
of  man,  He  punishes  their  misdeeds.  (Comp.  Kari,  5.  Puluga,  17.  Anito, 
24.  Amaka,  27.  Baiame,  37.  Daramulun,  43.  Mungan-ngaua,  44.  and  gen- 
erally throughout  Australia-Africa).  Here  again  a  universal  Flood  is  the 
result  of  divine  justice  for  breaches  of  the  moral  law.  (Comp.  Kamushini- 
Monan,  54ff.)  Then  again,  moral  duties  are  held  to  bind  sometimes  under 
"pain  of  death",  they  never  go  unpunished.  Taken  altogether,  therefore, 
these  facts  cannot  fail  to  have  some  bearings  on  the  moral  qualities  of  the 
Lawgiver.  He  vv'ho  requires  truth,  mercy,  justice,  chastity,  charity,  and 
self-sacrifice  from  His  creatures  and  brings  them  forth  in  their  lives, — He 
must  Himself  be  truthful,  merciful,  just,  pure,  and  inherently  lovable, — 
recalling  the  old  scholastic  saying,  so  often  forgotten, — I^emo  dat  quod 
non  habet. 


520  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

(II.)  FOR  THE  OPERATIVE  ATTRIBUTES 

(1)  Omniscience 

The  operative  attributes,  being  more  external,  are  as  a  rule  more  easy 
to  verify.  Omniscienee  is  fairly  strong.  "He  knows  all  things,  at  least  all 
things  that  concern  man"  {Kari,  1.  Peng,  7.  Tuhan,  11).  "He  is  omniscient 
while  it  is  day,  knowing  even  the  thoughts  of  men's  hearts"  (Puluga,  13). 
(The  addition  "while  it  is  day"  has  been  shown  to  be  a  later  touch).  "He 
sees  their  actions  at  all  times"  {Anito,  21),  the  same  for  Amaka  (27),  for 
Wonekau  (34),  and  for  the  Quat-Maraiva  region  (35).  though  with  less 
security.  He  is  "all-seeing  spirit"  {Baiame,  37),  "Sec!  That  one  is  Bundjil, 
you  see  him,  and  he  sees  you!"  [Bundfil,  42),  "He  watches  the  actions  of 
men,  He  can  see  people"  {Daramulun,  43).  "Waka  can  see  everything,  but 
cannot  be  seen  himself"  [Waka,  47).  These  are  verbatim  reports,  but  the 
concept  is  implied  in  all  regions  where  this  Being  is  all-powerful.  Note 
therefore  the  evidence  for 

(2)  Omnipotence 

Kari  "can  do  all  things,  his  will  is  irresistible"  (1),  Puluga-Anito- 
Amaka  are  at  least  "very  powerful"  (13,  24,  27),  Chidibey  has  "immense 
power"  (35),  Baiame  "can  do  what  he  wishes"  (37),  Daramulun  "can  go 
everywhere  and  do  anything"  (43),  Waka  is  "the  Master  of  all"  (47), 
Nzambi  the  same  (48),  Kaang  "causes  to  live  and  causes  to  die"  (51), 
Kande-Yaka  is  "Great  Spirit"  (19),  Tuhan  di-Bawah  is  "Great  Lord",  etc. 
from  which  it  is  evident  that  this  being  is  looked  upon  as  more  than  an 
ordinary  vui  or  spirit-agency,  that  he  "sees"  and  "does"  things  in  a  man- 
ner that  is  rather  above  the  normal,  that  is  hardly  shared  by  any  of  his 
associates.  But  does  this  imply  an  all-knowledge,  an  o//-power,  in  the 
strict  sense?  This  can  hardly  be  proved  from  the  existing  material. 
Though  the  language  is  sometimes  strong,  there  are  too  many  limiting 
clauses,  the  notion  is  sometimes  vague  (see  above).  All  we  can  say  is  that 
this  being  is  endowed  with  "great"  knowledge,  and  with  "great"  power, 
the  superlative  being  suggested,  the  infinite  hardly  provable. 

(3)  Providence 

By  combining  (1)  and  (2)  with  wisdom  and  goodness,  we  get  the  notion 
of  Providence, — the  disposal  of  all  things  according  to  their  appointed 
ends,  the  finalisation  of  being.  If  then  these  items  have  been  correctly 
reported,  it  would  seem  that  some  such  notion  is  thereby  included.  But 
apart  from  this,  the  idea  of  benevolence,  of  asking  and  obtaining  things 
from  the  Giver  of  all,  of  rewards  and  punishments  in  the  world  to  come, — 
this  alone  suggests  a  divine  "planning",  though  it  falls  short  of  rigid 
demonstration.  It  is  diflicult  to  see  what  all  these  numerous  prayers  and 
invocations  could  otherwise  mean. 


SUMMARY  521 

PRIMITIVE  INTERPRETATION 

(III)  THE  NOTION  OF  CREATOR 

"The  idea  of  a  creation  out  of  nothing  is  a  product  of  priestly  specula- 
tion, and  is  entirely  foreign  to  the  mind  of  primitive  man".  These  words 
of  Paul  Ehrenreich,  (Mythen,  p.  29),  presuppose  for  their  truth,  that  the 
absence  of  an  explicit  statement  proves  the  absence  of  the  idea,  a  species 
of  negative  argument  which  is  always  dangerous.  As  to  explicit  state- 
ment, not  until  the  time  of  the  Maccabees  can  a  creation  "ex  ouk  onton" 
be  strictly  demonstrated  from  the  wording,  (2  Mace.  7,  28).  Does  this 
destroy  the  value  of  Gen.  1,  1,  as  an  implicit  recognition  of  the  doctrine 
both  by  text  and  context?  The  majority  of  critics  reply  in  the  negative. 
In  a  very  similar  manner  the  absence  of  the  clause  "out  of  nothing"  in  the 
earliest  legends  proves  at  the  most  that  this  concept  was  not  explicitly 
emphasised,  not  that  it  was  non-existent.  There  are  reasons  for  believing 
that  a  Maker  of  all  things  can  hardly  be  less  than  a  Creator  out  of  nothing; 
for  how  could  He  make  all  things,  if  some  things  existed  from  all  eternity? 
This  reminds  us  of  the  famous  Thomistic  discussion  on  "eternal  creation", 
admitted  as  conceivable  only  for  a  static  creation,  an  immovable  universe, 
but  generally  repudiated  for  all  movable  or  perfectible,  all  "progressive" 
being.  The  difTiculty  of  an  infinite  series  is  insurmountable,  whatever 
may  be  said  of  "projected  archetypes".  If  then  we  take  the  notion  of  uni- 
versal making  as  the  safest  test  of  creative  power  in  the  philosophical 
sense,  we  shall  be  led  to  the  conclusion  that  this  notion  is  fairly  conspicu- 
ous from  the  earliest  times,  that  it  is  in  fact  a  characteristic  of  very  early 
thought. 

Kari  has  "made  all  things",  even  if  the  earth  and  the  body  of  man  were 
formed  by  Pie,  his  "servant"  or  demiurge,  not  impossibly  a  logos  or  divine 
mediator,  (Creation,  134).  Moreover  He  alone  can  "inspire"  the  soul, 
while  the  body  is  formed  of  clay  and  water,  (ibidem).  The  same  of  Peng 
and  of  Tuhan-ai-Bawah,  though  in  somewhat  faded  form  (135,  136). 
Piduga  has  "made  the  world  and  all  objects",  excepting  only  the  powers 
of  evil,  but  these  are  dependent  and  have  no  creative  functions,  (137).  The 
"Supreme  Being"  of  the  Alabat  Aetas  is  addressed  as  "Our  Maker"  (138), 
and  in  Central  Borneo  Amaka-B ailing o  is  evidently  a  universal  generator, 
even  if  by  secondary  causes,  (139).  This  is  equally  pronounced  in  Celebes 
and  the  Southern  Molukkas,  with  the  "breath  of  heaven"-lheme,  (140),  and 
in  New  Guinea,— "H^one/cau  made  the  Pleiades  and  the  stars",  (141). 
Baiame  is  distinctly  a  Creator,  "He  has  made  all  things",  and  Bundjil  forms 
the  first  pair  out  of  a  lump  of  clay  and  "breathes"  on  them,  (142-143). 
This  idea  can  be  traced  as  far  as  Tasmania,  where  the  "Spirit  of  great 
creative  power"  forms  or  fashions  the  first  man,  (Marraboona,  144). 


522  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

PRIMITIVE  INTERPRETATION 
THE  NOTION  OF  CREATOR 

Turning  to  Africa,  there  is  no  lack  of  a  creating  God,  if  we  take  the 
reports  just  as  they  stand.  "He  has  made  all,  He  is  the  Master  of  all,  and 
in  His  sight  we  are  all  very  small",  "He  causes  to  live  and  causes  to  die" 
iWaka-Kaanc],  145).  In  some  cass  the  idea  is  contained  in  the  root- 
meaning  of  the  word,  as  in  Nza-ambi,  "He  who  creates",  and  that  the 
terminus  of  this  action  is  universal  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  no 
other  beings  are  regardod  as  self-subsistent,  they  all  depend  upon  the  Fatlier 
above.    Even  the  few  mediators  derive  their  powiT  from  Him  alone,  (ibid). 

As  to  Ponlh  America,  we  have  the  same  prominence  of  a  singlo  uni- 
versal First-Cause  wlio  shines  through  the  difTerent  creation-legends  in 
such  a  manner  that  He  can  be  separated  from  the  later  culture-heroes  with- 
out, as  a  rule,  much  dilTiculty.  Tupan  is  a  "Great  Master".  Monan  is  a 
"Creator",  and  Kamiishini  is  a  "Father  of  Shining  Light",  who  "spins  the 
world  out  like  a  spider".  Even  if  Keri  and  Kamcs,  the  created  pair,  have 
been  bedecked  with  wonderful  qualities,  few  can  approach  the  central 
figure  in  commanding  importance.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  early 
Fuegian  divinities,  though  the  confusion  of  God  and  ancestor  is  here  very 
marked.  But  if  Pimaukel  "has  made  all  things",  it  is  a  "Great  Giant"  that 
cam  ■  down  from  heaven,  and  formed  the  first  Ona  man  and  woman  out 
of  two  mountains  or  clods  of  earth", — essentiallv  the  same  concept.  (54, 
57,147.148). 

Furthermori^.  we  have  discoveri^d  that  in  this  earliest  layiT  of  tradition 
creative  action  is  largely  personal,  immediate,  s^lf-conscious,  and  direct, 
there  are  no  independent  or  self-evolving  units.  Rather  does  the  Sky- 
Father  call  the  wliole  of  nature  into  existence  "by  His  breath",  and  this  not 
suddenly,  but  in  successive  ages  or  periods  of  activity, — corresponding  to 
lig!it.  water,  earth,  stars,  animals,  man. — in  all  six  c.cles,  (188).  While 
this  does  not  of  course  exclude  the  operation  of  secondary  agencies  in  the 
shape  of  wind,  water,  and  fire-spirits,  including  "eagles", — a  prehistoric 
synonym  for  what  we  call  "angels" — ,  it  se  ms  very  clear  that  through 
these  messengers  He  reaches  every  form  of  creatable  being. 

Now  as  this  power  to  create  is  one  of  the  most  essential  marks  of  a 
divine  Being,  it  cannot  be  rated  at  too  high  a  value.  It  shows  that  in  the 
mind  of  t:!e  primitive  savage  all  things  w,  re  made  by  a  supreme  I'crson, 
though  how  He  made  tiiem,  he  does  not  know.  He  insinuates  "out  of 
nothing",  but  leaves  the  question  unanswered.  Even  we  ourselves  find  it 
difRcuIt  to  picture,  how  something  can  arise  out  of  nothing,— but  tliis  is 
precisely  the  supreme  test  of  divinity,  it  requires  infinite  power. 


SUMMARY  523 

PRIMITIVE  INTERPRETATION 

(IV)  THE  ROLE  OF  LAWGIVER 
(I)  As  Revealed  in  the  Paradise- Legends 

So  much  for  the  metaphysical  side  of  the  deity.  For  the  ethical  side  we 
must  turn  to  that  more  external  aspect  of  the  divine  economy  by  which 
He  governs  the  human  rac^  by  definite  norms  or  standards  of  conduct,  in 
other  words,  by  "laws".  The  idea  of  personality  is  incomplete  unless  it 
can  be  shown  that  the  infinite  Ego  can  vindicate  His  authority  as  a  moral 
b°ing  by  demanding  His  rights,  by  compelling  the  fulfilment  of  His  eternal 
decrees.    Only  in  this  sense  is  He  more  than  a  creating-machine. 

The  first  illustration  of  this  subject  is  obtained  from  the  paradise- 
lif'^rature.  We  have  seen  that  the  combined  folk-lore  of  the  primitive  age 
leaves  no  room  for  doubt  that  among  the  first  commands  given  to  the 
human  race  was  that  of  abstention  from  a  fruit  or  food-product  which  was 
in  some  mysterious  way  connected  with  the  seat  or  the  origin  of  life.  It 
is  the  "Soul-Tree"  of  Malakka  and  South-Victoria,  with  the  "enchanted 
fruits"  of  Borneo  and  Central  Africa,  that  forms  the  basis  of  this  command. 
"You  shall  not  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  paradise-tree", — this  is  distinctly 
implied  in  all  the  earlier  accounts  where  there  are  special  trees  that  con- 
tain the  power  of  procreation,  of  causing  the  human  race  to  multiply. 
(Kari-Pcnrj-Tiihan.  196-198.  Puluga,  199.  Amaka.  201,  and  very  probably 
for  Baiame,  203.  yzambi,  204,  and  Kamushini,  206).  This  is  a  clear  hint 
that  the  original  sin  was  in  part  sexual,  it  was  a  command  to  abstain  from 
the  indiscriminate  use  of  the  power  of  propagation. — in  other  words 
respect  for  the  laws  of  marriage.  But  there  is  another  tree  which  imparts 
the  divine  life  in  a  higher  sense  it  contains  the  power  of  making  p-^ople 
invisible,  immortal,  "supernaturally  beautiful  and  invulnerable"  [Kan- 
Peng,  186.  316.  Amaka,  201,  334.  Baiame,  203,  341.  Nzambi-Kaang,  204-206. 
and  perhaps  Kamushini,  207).  This  is  the  "Tree  of  Life",  which  is  dis- 
tinguished from  the  "Tree  of  Death"  in  that  it  has  no  connection  with 
sexual  d:sire.  While  these  two  "soul-fruits"  cannot  always  be  separated, 
it  is  certain  that  a  supreme  taboo  was  placed  upon  both,  and  the  punish- 
ment for  its  violation  is  expressed  in  the  sentence: — "Because  you  have 
chosen  the  banana,  your  life  shall  be  like  its  life.  When  the  banana-tree 
has  offspring,  the  parent-stem  dies:  so  shall  you  die,  and  your  children 
shall  step  in  your  place.  Had  you  chosen  the  stone,  your  life  would  be  like 
the  life  of  the  stone,  changeless  and  immortal!"  These  words  come  from 
Borneo-Celebes,  (Amaka-Samoa,  201),  but  the  Andamanese  tradition  alone 
is  sufficient  to  reveal  a  commanding  and  punishing  God,  and  one  essentially 
connected  with  the  paradise-fruit,  {Puluga,  199). 


524  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

PRIMITIVE  INTERPRETATION 

THE  ROLE  OF  LAWGIVER 
(2)  As  Revealed  in  the  Hope  ok  Redemption 

But  the  gates  of  Heaven  are  not  to  remain  tor  ever  closed.  From  tlie 
earliest  times  there  is  hope  of  reconciliation,  symbolised  by  the  triumph  of 
the  Heaven-God  over  the  insidious  crocodile.  (Amaka,  201).  Moreover, 
in  so  far  as  the  Sky-Father  himself  saves  man.  He  is  the  carrier  of  a  divine 
Law  which  is  to  reform  the  world,  and  this  by  his  triple  manifestation  as 
Father-Mother-Son,  an  obscure  relic  of  a  paradisaic  promise.  That 
this  is  the  pattern  upon  which  the  redemptive  scheme  has  been  built,  is  to 
say  the  least  highly  probable.  Saving  mothers  and  sons  occur  too  fre- 
quently to  be  looked  upon  as  mere  ornaments.  Kaii  saves  by  his  son  Pie, 
Peng  by  his  mother  Lanyut,  Tuhan  by  his  demiurge  To-Entah,  Puluga  by 
his  son  or  archangel  Pijchor,  Kande-Yaka  by  his  son  or  brother  Bilindi- 
Yaka,  Amaka-Penya-long  by  his  helping  mother  Do-Penya-long,  Ilni  and 
Indara  by  their  divine  child  Samoa,  Baiamc  by  his  son  Gregorally,  Bundjil 
by  his  son  or  brother  Binbeal,  Mungan-ngaua  by  his  son  Tundun,  etc.  (See 
pp.  255-262).  In  Africa  we  have  at  least  one  mediator  in  Ryangombe,  and 
perhaps  Cogaz,  while  in  Brazil,  Kamiishini  lives  in  Keri,  the  semi-divine 
deliverer  (264). 

Now  it  is  manifestly  impossible  to  deduce  any  pure  scheme  of  soteriol- 
ogy  out  of  these  mythical  fragments.  The  personalities  are  too  perfunc- 
tory, their  nature  and  number  are  altogether  too  variable,  to  admit  of  any 
serious  conclusions  on  the  subject  of  a  supposed  "trinity".  But  that  they 
are  fractions  of  a  past  revelation  on  the  subject  can  hardly  be  questioned, 
and,  as  they  stand,  they  may  be  said  to  furnish  the  basis  for  a  distant 
messianic  hope,  that  may  some  day  be  realised.  In  other  words, — It  is 
God  who  is  to  save  by  His  Son,  and  with  the  help  of  His  Mother, — this  is  as 
far  as  the  primitive  data  can  possibly  carry  us,  and  even  this  can  only  point 
to  the  future  by  the  general  failure  of  the  demiurges  to  effect  salvation, — 
they  must  be  continually  replaced  by  new  '"saviors". 

It  is  here,  however,  that  we  may  look  for  the  source  of  the  law  as  the 
moral  standard  of  the  faithful  and  as  about  to  renew  the  earth.  It  is 
through  imitating  this  model,  the  ideal  or  celestial  "family",  that  a  proto- 
type is  given  to  all  mankind  to  direct  their  conduct  and  to  look  to  thfe 
heavens  for  hope.  "Amaka,  Quat-Maraiva!  Save  us!" — this  formula  seems 
to  focus  the  common  longing  for  deliverance,  and  the  dusky  mariner  on 
the  savage  sea  realises  as  well  as  any  of  us  that  the  only  hope  of  salvation 
must  come  from  his  fidelity  to  the  eternal  law.  It  is  this  certain  hope  that 
is  for  ever  haunting  the  vision  of  primitive  man,  obscured  as  it  is  by  every 
imaginable  form  of  hero-worship.  For  behind  the  demiurge  we  are  forced 
to  recognise  some  Power  who  carries  in  His  own  person  the  promise  of  its 
fulfilment,  (313). 


SUMMARY  525 

PRIMITIVE  INTERPRETATION 
THE  ROLE  OF  LAWGIVER 

(3)   As  REVE.4.LED  IN  SACRIFICE,  INSTITUTIONS.  AND  ESCHATOLOGY 

Coming  to  the  practical  side  of  the  question,  the  most  etTicient  test  of  a 
theory  is  found  in  its  workability,  in  its  power  to  mould  and  direct  human 
life  not  only  in  its  private  but  in  its  public  and  social  relations.  The  role 
of  institutional  lawgiver  is  therefore  all-important,  and,  being  less  abstract, 
is  generally  more  easy  to  verify,  being  reflected  in  the  sacred  traditions  and 
practices  of  the  people  and  their  latter-day  beliefs.  Let  us  make  a  brief 
review  of  the  main  points  treated  under  this  head. 

(1)   BIRTH-CUSTOMS 

(a)  The  Birth-Bamboo:— Among  the  earliest  practices  reported  in  this 
connection  is  that  of  wearing  the  so-called  birth-bamboo  as  a  protection  in 
childbirth.  The  Malakkan  Tahong  is  a  mystical  cylinder  worn  by  the 
mother  which  no  one  but  her  husband  may  see,  but  which  she  must  never 
be  without.  It  is  believed  to  secure  a  successful  delivery.  Inscribed  with 
the  mystical  patterns  ordained  by  the  Thunder-God,  it  has  a  semi-religious 
significance  inasmuch  as  it  contains  the  "soul-bird",  which  nestles  in  toe 
"name-tree",  and  which  is  despatched  from  Kari's  "paradise-tree",— 
which  bird  is  then  religiously  eaten  by  the  mother,— "She  has  eaten  the 
bird",  (319).  A  similar  custom  is  reported  from  Ceylon,  with  tree-bast 
(327)',  and  from  Borneo,  with  the  "birth-ring"  (333),  while  the  name-tree 
is  very  common,  and  the  soul-bird  reappears  in  South-East  Australia  as 
the  sex-bird,  (341).  All  this  suggests  that  the  birth  of  a  child  is  regarded 
as  a  solemn  and  providential  moment,  as  requiring  the  co-operation  of 
divine  power,  the  blessing  of  heaven. 

(b)  The  Couvade:— The  mystical  "lying-in"  of  the  father  is  another 
very  early  custom.  "At  birth  the  husband  is  confined  to  his  house  for 
eight  days,  he  must  fast  on  rice  and  water,  and  for  four  days  he  cannot 
even  take  a  bath  or  look  at  the  sun".  (Borneo,  333).  The  same  to  some 
extent  for  Melanesia  (339) ,  and  for  South  America,— "the  father  is  a  patient 
in  so  far  as  he  feels  himself  at  one  with  his  new-born",  (Brazil,  345).  The 
ceremony   emphasises   the    male   parentage   of   the    child,— a   beautiful 

practice. 

(c)  The  Ablution:— 'Ai  the  moment  of  birth,  or  soon  after,  the  name 
of  the  child  is  solemnly  pronounced  by  the  midwife  or  medicine-man,  the 
name  being  taken  from  the  birth-tree,  and  the  child  is  washed  or  sprinkled 
with  water"  (Malakka,  319).  This  ceremony  is  so  universal,  sometimes 
even  with  a  cruciform  sign  (Australia,  341),  that  we  can  almost  discern  the 

formula: —  ,..  ,r.     x  t    j- 

■'Palm-tree,  Willow,  Mangrove,— may  Heaven  help  you!  (East  Indies, 
390).  It  is  the  means  by  which  the  child  is  dedicated  to  the  Sky-Father, 
(ibid.) 


526  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

PRIMITIVE  INTERPRETATION 

(2)    THE  INITIATION 

^^'e  have  seen  that  the  simplest  form  of  initiation  to  manhood  con- 
sists of  an  unction  with  palm-oil  or  turmeric,  sometimes  accompanied  by 
a  moderate  fast,  during  which  the  candidate  is  instructed  in  the  rights  and 
obligations  of  citizenship,  the  laws  of  marriage,  the  observance  of  tribal 
customs.  We  have  abundant  evidence  of  the  moral  and  quasi-religious 
nature  of  these  functions,  during  which  the  adult  name  is  generally 
assumed,  the  boys  being  called  after  animals,  and  the  girls  after  flowers. — 
thus — 

"Bear,  Buffalo,  Rafflesia,  Rhododendron, — /  rub  you  with  this  oil!" 

"Be  brave,  be  generous,  be  true!" 

a  ceremony  which  is  well  attested  for  the  East-Indies  and  Central  Africa 
(319,  334,  343IT.)     As  an  illustration  of  their  serious  moral  and  social 
import,  take  the  Kurnai-initiation  in  South  Victoria,  in  which  the  youth 
are  inslructi'd  in  the  following  terms: — 
"Our  Father"  has  commanded  you: — 

(1)  to  listen  to  a)id  obey  the  old  men, 

(2)  to  share  everything  with  your  friends, 

(3)  to  live  peaceably  tvith  your  friends, 

(4)  not  to  interfere  with  girls  and  married  women, 

(5)  to  obey  the  food-restrictions. 

Whatever  abuses  may  have  crept  into  these  ordeals  in  later  times,  if/ 
is  clear  that  these  earliest  initiations  were  conducive  to  good  social  stand- 
ards, that  they  tended  to  foster  a  healthy  tone  of  social  morality. 

(3)  THE  SACRIFICE  AS  SUCH 

The  initiation  naturally  prepares  the  youth  for  admission  to  the  sac- 
rifice in  the  proper  sense,  which,  as  we  have  shown,  was  originally  and 
primarily  of  unbloody  nature,  the  fruit  of  the  paradise-tree  being  its  prin- 
cipal model.  It  is  commonly  the  bud  or  the  blossom  of  the  mystic  palm, — 
generally  known  as  the  "magic  flower" — ,  that  is  the  foundation  of  this 
primitive  cull  and  thus  vaguely  foreshadows  the  belter  gifts  to  come. 
Tlu'  flower  is  ke})t  in  a  bamboo  case,  and  on  solemn  occasions  the  blossom 
is  wafted  about  with  torches  or  fire-sticks,  and  the  patient  is  "healed".  In 
our  analysis  of  the  religious  ideas  underlying  these  rites,  we  have  dis- 
covered that  there  is  a  vague  belief  that  the  Creator  imparts  His  power  to 
His  creatures  in  some  mysterious  and  incomprehensible  manner, — that 
He  operates  His  cures  by  means  of  the  "magic"  palm,  which  palm  is  oflen 
consumed  in  the  fire  to  complete  the  oflering.  Its  purpose  is  "to  call  back 
the  souls  of  the  suffering"  to  "make  his  children  supernaturally  beautiful 
and  invulnerable".  Side  by  side  we  find  the  deer,  the  bird,  or  the  bulTalo 
solemnly  sacrificed  to  the  Creator  of  all,  and  thus  we  reach  the  most  primi- 
tive form  of  sacrifice  as  yet  known  to  us. — the  simple  ottering  up  of  the 
first-fruits  of  the  earth  and  the  firstlings  of  the  flock — ,  the  so-called 
Sadaka,  or  Cain- Abel  sacrifice.  (Malakka,  320-321,  Ceylon.  328-329, 
Borneo.  334-335.  Central  Africa.  342-343.    Spp  also  315.  394V 


SUMMARY  527 

PRIMITIVE  INTERPRETATION 
The  Sacred  Mysteries  as  Evidence  of  Prayer  and  Sacrifice 

THE  question  OP  PERSONALITY 

From  the  preceding  data  it  would  seem  to  be  clear  that  the  idea  of  per- 
sonality is  distinctly  implied  in  the  notion  of  Lawgiver.  He  who  rules  by 
right  divine  is  evidently  a  "substantia  sui  juris".  This  is  brought  into  still 
bolder  relief  by  the  prayers  and  petitions  that  are  addressed  to  Him  for  help, 
and  which  can  only  be  referred  to  a  real,  "living"  personality. 

THE  test  op  worship 

To  take  the  test  of  worship,  it  must  be  admitted  that  formal  prayers  are 
at  a  minimum.  There  are  certain  solemn  moments,  however,  when  a 
definite  form  of  words  seems  to  be  used,  as  witness — 

(1)  "Blossom,  I  offer  you  to  heaven!  Blood,  I  throiv  you  up  to  the  sun!" 
Mystic  palm,  fern-juice  or  human  blood,  "thrown  up"  to  the  divinity,  (ad- 
dressed to  Kari-Ple,  the  god  of  the  "thunder-fruit",  [Malakkan  Rite,  320]). 

(2)  "King  of  the  hills,  who  continues  to  go  from  hill  to  /nil,  cause 
rain!"  "Long  life!  Long  life  to  the  Great  Master!"  addressed  to  Kande-Yaka 
at  the  coconut-sacrifice,  (Sinhalese  Rite,  327). 

(3)  "Praise  to  the  supreme  Being,  our  Maker!" — "This  for  Thee!"  etc. 
addressed  to  the  Alabat  Creator,  etc.  with  first-fruits,  (Philippine  Rite,  331). 

(4)  "Father  above!  Spirit-Master  in  Heaven!"  "0  lioly  Dayong,  thou 
who  lovest  mankind,  bring  back  thy  servant  from  Leman,  the  land  between 
life  and  death!"  "0  spirit  of  this  bird!  Ask  the  Heavenly  Father  to  take 
away  all  siclcness  from  us  and  to  keep  us  from  all  harm!"  (Bornean  Rite, 
334-335). 

(5)  "Father  of  all,  ivhose  laws  the  tribes  are  now  obeying!",  addressed 
to  Baiame,  with  spear-throwing,  (Australian  Rite.  341). 

(6)  "Great  Father!"  (Papang),  "Great  Master!"  (Biamban),  (Idem,  43). 

(7)  "Our  Father,  ivho  art  in  Heaven!"  [Mungan-ngaua  tigamia-mnrra- 
boona),  the  former  in  South  Victoria,  the  latter  in  Tasmania  (High-One- 
Exalted,  45). 

(8)  "Our  Father  in  Heaven!  in  Central  Africa  (50).  "Forward,  for- 
ward, forward!    Let  us  gather  the  present  of  the  Lord!"  (Ibid.  343). 

(9)  "Waka!  Thou  hast  given  me  tins  buffalo,  this  honey,  this  wine. 
Beliold  tlvj  portion.  Grant  me  continued  strength  and  life,  and  that  no 
harm  may  come  to  my  children!"    (Central-African  Firstling  Rite,  343). 

(10)  "0  Kaang,  Kaang,  are  we  not  thy  children?  Do  you  not  see  our 
hunger?  Give  us  food!  {A7id  He  gives  us  both  our  hands  full")  (Bush- 
man Rite,  343). 

(11)  "The  Great  Chief  is  angry!"  "The  heavenly  Master  is  scolding!" 

(12)  "Father  in  Heaven,  Father  of  shining  Ligixt!"  {Aba-angui-papa- 
kamu-shini),  Upper  Shingu  tribes,  (Central  Amazonian  Rite,  54-57,  345). 

From  this  selected  material  it  is  evident  that  the  invocation  of  a 
"Heavenly  Father",  and  this  for  a  moral  purpose,  (food,  protection,  help, 
blessing,  etc.),  is  well  developed  in  the  earliest  region.  It  will  show  that 
the  theory  of  an  unknown,  unloved,  unworshipped  divinity  can  no  longer 
be  maintained. 


528  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

PRIMITIVE  INTERPRETATION 

(4)  Expiation 

In  so  far  as  the  preceding  rites  are  in  part  curative,  they  acquire  also  a 
medical  aspect,  in  which  the  same  herbs  or  specifics  are  administered  to 
the  sick  as  a  healing  portion.  But  the  exorcism  of  sin  is  a  special  rite 
which  is  combined  with  the  exorcism  of  sickness  as  of  demoniacal  origin. 
The  shaman  takes  the  palm-branch  and  with  it  he  belabors  the  patient  who 
is  perched  upon  a  rude  couch  in  the  medicine-hut,  and  invokes  the  yaka: — 
"I  crave  your  help  in  healing  him,  ivhose  soul  is  sick,  whose  body 
stricken!"  As  the  civil  magistrate  he  knows  his  patient  and  the  nature  of 
his  failings  and  he  administers  his  medicine  by  gentle  taps  with  the  palm, 
by  blowing  over  his  head,  or  by  brandishing  the  bamboo  cross.  This  is  as 
near  an  approach  to  an  absolution  from  sin  as  we  can  find  in  the  earliest 
times,  though  its  semi-magical  aspect  has  been  duly  noted,  (322,  401). 

(5)  Priesthood 

The  extreme  simplicity  of  the  primitive  government  is  revealed  in  noth- 
ing so  forcibly  as  in  the  "patriarchate", — that  system  of  family  govern- 
ment in  which  the  father  unites  in  his  own  person  all  the  vocations  or 
professions  in  life, — he  is  their  king,  priest,  guide,  philosopher,  and  friend. 
— a  condition  which  is  inevitable  in  very  early  stages  of  society.  This 
means  that  the  entire  ritual  is  administered  by  the  family-father  in  the 
name  of  the  All-Father  above,  and  thus  the  priesthood  is  derived  from  God, 
the  Father  of  the  human  race.  Nay  more,  he  trains  his  son  to  succeed 
him, — 

"May  your  life  be  long,  I  am  training  a  scholar  of  the  mind",  (329). 
He  anoints  him  with  palm-oil,  gives  him  the  pastoral  stafT  or  the  sacrificial 
bamboo,  and  so  the  power  is  handed  down  from  one  generation  to  another. 

(6)  Matrimony 

In  an  age  when  new  social  experiments  are  in  the  air,  it  is  refreshing 
to  turn  to  the  simple  lives  of  these  simple  people,  and  see  how  they  have 
solved  the  sex-problem  by  a  direct  appeal  to  the  law  of  nature,  which 
dictates : — 

(1)  the  union  of  one  man  with  one  woman, 

(2)  division  of  labor  as  the  basis  of  equality  of  sex. 

This  union  is  very  generally  regarded  as  binding  for  life, — divorce  is 
not  normally  recognised—,  and  its  religious  character  is  emphasized  by 
the  prayers  and  sacrifices  that  accompany  it.  as  in  the  Philippines  and 
Borneo. 

"Praise  to  the  supreme  Being,  our  Maker!"  (322). 
'May  Father-in-Heaven  protect  us!"  (338). 

Moreover  the  custom  of  dividing  the  labor  between  the  two  sexes,  leav- 
ing the  chase  and  the  animal  creation  to  the  man,  and  the  domestic  hearth 
and  the  vegetable  creation  to  the  woman,  this  has  produced  a  happy  equili- 
brium in  the  rights  and  dutjps  of  the  married  couple,— the  ideal  relation. 


SUMMARY  529 

PRIMITIVE  INTERPRETATION 

(7)  Burial  and  Eschatology 

It  is  in  the  matter  of  funeral  rites  that  we  meet  with  an  equally  unex- 
pected and  perhaps  still  more  striking  phenomenon.  So  far  from  neglect- 
ing the  body  or  even  burning  it,  neither  desertion  nor  cremation  can  be 
proved  to  have  been  the  original  practice.  On  the  contrary,  the  body  is 
generally  painted  or  anointed  in  preparation  for  death  with  encouraging 
words. — 

"/  rub  you  ivith  this  fat.    May  you  continue  to  lire!"  (403). 
"Happy  journey  to  the  lanri  of  Leman!"  (338). 

When  however  the  supreme  moment  has  arrived,  the  family  will  gather 
around  the  dying  one  and  whisper  consolations  into  his  ear,  bidding  him  a 
last  farewell.  After  the  soul  has  expired,  the  funeral  itself  is  undertaken, 
which  may  consist  in  leaving  the  corpse  in  the  spot  where  death  super- 
vened, covered  by  the  leaves  of  the  forest,  or,  more  commonly,  in  carrying 
it  to  some  remote  tree  or  rock-shelter  to  be  consigned  to  the  earth.  Here 
and  there  the  body  is  placed  in  the  hollow  of  a  tree  as  in  a  primitive  cofTin. 
"Our  father  who  went  to  that  world,  come  to  this  world,  come  very 
quickly!"  In  these  words  is  summed  up  the  primitive  belief  in  the  here- 
after, which,  as  we  have  abundantly  proved,  is  not  an  indefinite  nowhere, 
still  less  a  return  to  the  animals,  but  a  clearly-marked  world  of  happiness 
or  misery,  which  is  the  final  lot  of  the  saint  or  the  sinner  here  below.  For 
if  the  wicked  descend  to  a  boiling  lake,  and  the  half-cleansed  are  forced 
to  contend  with  the  fire  and  fumes  of  the  paradise-bridge,  those  who  have 
obeyed  the  commands  of  the  Heaven-God  are  admitted  to  the  enchanted 
fruit-island,  there  to  enjoy  His  blessings  for  ever.  This,  however,  falls 
considerably  short  of  what  we  understand  by  supernatural  beatitude.  (403. 
492,  500). 

Consideration 

I  have  thought  it  necessary  to  reproduce  the  ritual  and  many  of  these 
prayers  in  compact  form  in  order  to  focus  the  attention  of  the  reader  upon 
the  combined  force  of  the  argument  as  derived  from  their  content.  Only 
in  this  manner  can  the  entire  theology  be  viewed  as  it  were  in  a  single 
panorama.  But  if  doubts  may  arise  upon  this  or  that  particular  point  of 
belief  or  practice,  the  preceding  pages  should  be  reconsulted. 

As  a  reminder  it  should  be  noted  that  however  doubtful  or  defective  the 
interpretation  of  any  single  rite  or  ceremony  may  be  taken  to  be,  it  can 
generally  be  corrected  or  supplemented  by  more  detailed  evidence  from  an 
adjacent  rgion,  and  thus  the  combined  interpretation  remains  on  the  whole 
well-founded.  To  appreciate  the  general  coherence  of  the  entire  system, 
the  following  summary  will  represent  the  earliest  convictions  of  mankind 
on  the  subject  of  a  supernatural  Being  as  far  as  all  our  preceding  sources 
will  allow  us  to  make  one.  We  may  tabulate  the  general  consciousness 
of  early  man  in  this  regard  in  the  following  manner,  and  most  of  these 
statements  will.  I  think,  bear  the  test  of  serious  scrutiny :— 


530  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

SUiMMARY  OF  THE  PRIMITIVE  BELIEF 
The  Combined  Picture 

(1)  There  is  throughout  this  region  only  one  being,  to  whom  the  attri- 
butes of  divinity  liave  been  assigned.     He  is  generally  described  as:— 

(a)  spiritual  or  invisible,  ("He  cannot  now  be  seen"), 

(b)  eternal  or  timeless,  ("very,  very  old,  but  never  older"), 

(c)  infinite  and  immense,  ("of  supernatural  size  and  of  fiiry  breath"), 

(d)  good,  wise,  and  holy,  (the  author  and  guardian  of  the  moral  law), 

(e)  merciful,  ("He  shows  pity  for  man,  is  moved  by  his  pleadings"), 

(f)  just,  (lie  rewards  the  good  and  punishes  tiie  wicked  in  both  worlds), 

(g)  all-knowing,  ("He  knows  all  things.  He  can  see  all  things"), 
(h)  all-powerful,  ("He  can  go  everywhere  and  do  anything"), 
(k)  all-provident,  ("He  gives  us  both  our  hands  full"). 

(2)  As  to  the  chief  test  of  divinity,  the  power  of  creating,— He  is 

(1)  maker  of  all,  ("He  has  made  all  things")  in  nearly  every  instance, 
(m)  sustainer  of  all.  ("He  causes  to  live  and  causes  to  die"), 
(n)  creator  of  all  things  out  of  nothing,   (not  clearly  provable,  but 
may  be  inferred  from  universal  making,  an  implied  but  confused  idea). 

(3)  But  He  is  more  than  creator,  He  is  a  lawgiver,  a  personality  sui  juris. — 
(o)  He  is  "Great  Master",  "Great  Lord",  "Groat  Father",  "Our  Father", 
(p)  He  watches  over  human  life,  ("He  sees  their  actions  at  all  times"), 
(q)  He  is  their  Teacher,  ("He  has  taught  them  the  arts  of  life"), 

(r)  He  is  their  Lawgiver,  ("He  has  commanded  them  to  observe  the 
customs"), 

(s)  He  is  the  Guardian  of  the  social  order,  ("Baiame  told  us  so"), 

(t)  He  is  the  Guardian  of  the  moral  order,  ("very  angry  when  they  do 
wrong"), 

(u)  He  is  the  object  of  worship  in  prayer  and  sacrifice,  ("He  hears 
their  petitions,  He  answers  their  prayers,  He  accepts  their  sacrifices"), 

(v)  He  is  the  punisher  of  the  wicked,  ("He  sends  a  great  flood"), 

(w)  He  is  rewarder  of  the  good,  ("He  saves  select  souls  from  the 
flood"), 

(x)  He  is  the  final  consummation  of  all  things.  ("He  consigns  the 
wicked  to  the  world  below,  and  rewards  the  righteous  with  a  heaven  of 
delights"). 

Now  all  this  brings  out  the  ethical  attributes  considered  above.  It 
reveals  the  qualities  of  truth,  mercy,  justice,  and  holiness,  in  a  manner 
that  is  surprising  and  that  suggests  some  serious  thoughts  on  the  origin  of 
these  ideas  at  such  an  early  period  of  human  development.  Are  they 
entirely  spontaneous?  Can  they  be  explained  by  natural  reasoning  alone? 
This  no  doubt  is  partially  possible,  but  in  tiie  mean  time  we  have  been 
brought  face  to  face  with  a  Heavenly  Father,  who  gives  His  little  ones  their 
daily  bread. 


SUMMARY  531 

CRITICISM  BY  RECENT  EXPERTS 

Let  us  see  what  impression  these  findings  have  made  upon  con- 
temporary authors,  to  what  extent  they  bear  out  our  main  contentions. 

Malay  Peninsula 

"The  Mantra",  says  Father  Borie,  "recognise  a  supreme  God,  at  whose 
command  Raja  Brahil  created  all  things,  God  himself  creating  the  firm- 
ament. They  have  also  a  day-of-judgment  belief,  yet  their  religion  is 
mainly  shaministic".    This  is  Peng-Tuhan-di- Allah  of  Southern  Malakka.^ 

"Speaking  of  the  Benua  belief  in  a  deity,  Mr.  Logan  remarks  that,  so 
far  as  he  had  been  able  to  understand,  the  Berembun  tribes  had  no  idea 
of  a  supreme  deity,  and  he  had  taken  it  for  granted  that  he  would  find  the 
Benua  equally  atheistic.  His  surprise  therefore  was  great  when  he  dis- 
covered that  they  had  a  simple  and  to  a  certain  extent — a  rational  theology. 
They  believed  in  the  existence  of  one  God,  Pirman,  who  made  the  world 
and  everything  that  is  visible".  "The  Malays  were  not  aware  that  the 
Benua  believed  in  a  God,  or  that  the  magicians  power  was  considered  to  be 
derived  from  Him  and  entirely  dependent  on  His  pleasure"." 

Dr.  Skeat  gives  the  same  impressions: — "Ostensibly  Semang  is  the 
legend  that  Kari  created  everything  but  man,  and  that  when  Pie  had  formed 
the  body  of  man,  Kari  himself  gave  them  souls".  "Among  the  Mantra  and 
doubtless  among  other  Jakun  tribes,  if  the  matter  were  more  thoroughly 
investigated,  there  does  undoubtedly  exist  a  belief,  shadowy  though  it  be, 
in  a  deity,  and  this  independently  of  Arabic  sources".^ 

"From  all  this  evidence",  says  Father  Schmidt,  "it  is  clear  that  Kari,  the 
High  God  of  the  Semang,  occupies  a  unique  position,  that  everything  is  sub- 
ject to  Him,  that  He  possesses  the  essential  attributes  of  a  supreme  Being".* 

Andaman  Islands 

"It  is  from  regard  to  the  fact  that  their  beliefs  on  these  points  approxi- 
mate so  closely  to  the  true  faith  concerning  the  deity  that  I  have  adopted 
the  English  method  of  spelling  all  equivalents  of  "God"  with  an  initial 
capital'.     (And  Mr.  Man  strongly  repudiates  an  importation).^ 

"The  Andamanese",  writes  Dr.  Portman,  "believe  in  One  God,  who 
resides  in  Heaven  above,  who  was  the  cause  of  existence  of  everybody  and 
everything,  directly  or  indirectly,  and  is  a  somewhat  anthropomorphic 
conception,  having  passions,  likes  and  dislikes.  He  corresponds  in  many 
ways  to  a  European  child's  idea  of  deity".  "The  anthropological  pro- 
fessors", he  says,  "are  very  anxious  to  prove  that  the  Andamanese  must 
have  derived  their  word  for  and  their  idea  of  deity  from  some  of  the  more 
civilised  nations,  but  I  cannot  agree  with  it".' 


1  H.  Borie,  On  the  Wild  Tribes  of  the  Interior  of  the  Malay  Peninsula  in  Transactions 
of  the  Ethnolog.  Soc.  of  London,  Vol.  III.  p.  72ff.  ^j.  r_  Logan,  The  Orang-Benua  of 
Johor,  Journ.  Indian  Archipelago,  Vol.  I.  p.  295.  Skeat,  Pagan  Races,  II.  322,  349.  "  Idem, 
II.  179,  185.  ■•  Schmidt,  Pygmaeenvolker,  p.  225.  •  Man,  Andaman  Islands,  p.  90,  note. 
•  Portman,  A  History,  p.  45. 


532  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

CRTTICISM  BY  RECENT  EXPERTS 
Borneo 

'The  Punans.  or  Bakatans".  write  Dr.  Hose  and  Bishop  McDougall, 
"reverence  the  supreme  Being  as  the  Kenyahs  do  and  they  address  him  as 
Bali-lutang"  that  is — Bali  Pen-ya-long  {"Spint-Fathcr- Above").'' 

"The  Kennyas  believe  in  a  beneficient  supreme  Being  and  in  a  great 
number  of  less  powerful  spirits.  The  spirit  of  any  object  is  called  bali. 
Balingo  is  the  god  of  thunder,  but  more  important  than  all  is  Bali-Pen-ya- 
long,  to  whom  the  Kenyas  pray  for  guidance  in  important  undertakings". 
Like  the  Kenyas.  the  Kayans  worship  the  supreme  Being  under  the  name 
of  Laki-Tennngan,  or  "Grandfather  Tenangan".  etc.* 

"The  prevalence  of  the  belief  in  a  supreme  Being",  says  Dr.  Hose,  "must 
also  tend  to  prevent  the  development  of  totemism,  and  we  cannot  conclude 
without  saying  something  as  to  the  possible  origin  of  this  conception  of  a 
beneficent  Being,  more  powerful  than  all  the  others,  who  sends  guidance 
and  warnings  by  the  omen-birds,  and  who  receives  and  answers  the 
prayers  carried  to  him  by  the  souls  of  the  fowls  and  pigs.  It  might  be 
thought  that  this  conception  of  a  beneficent  supremo  Being  hrts  been 
borrowed,  directly  or  indirectly,  from  the  Malays,  but  we  do  not  think  that 
view  is  tenable.  For  it  is  a  living  belief  among  the  Madangs.  far  from 
Mnkuj  influence,  while  it  ix  n  rfead  one  rinwng  Ihr  Iti/nis.  rlnsr  to  Mnlni/ 
influence"  (transcript)." 

Archdeacon  Perham  says  of  the  Ibans  that  there  are  traces  of  belief  in 
one  supreme  God,  which  suggests  that  the  idea  is  one  that  has  been  pre- 
valent, but  has  now  almost  died  out", — that  is  among  the  Sea-Dayaks.^** 

"This  conception  is  one  that  undoubtedly  makes  for  righteousness, 
because  it  reflects  the  character  of  the  people,  who,  within  the  community 
and  the  tribe,  are  decent,  human,  and  honest  folk"." 

"Amei-Tingei,"  {Amaka).  says  Dr.  Nieuwenhuis.  is  tiie  High-Father' 
of  the  Bahau  (or  inland-tribes).  For  the  Bahau,  Amei  is  he  wlio  rules  the 
lives  of  men,  punishes  the  violations  of  adat,  (moral  law).  He  is  all- 
knowing,  and  has  under  him  a  legion  of  bad  spirits"  (showing  opposition 
of  High-Father  to  bruwas  and  ghosts).'^ 

Speaking  of  the  relation  of  the  belief  to  morals,  the  same  author  says: 
"Highly  significant  as  against  other  Dayak  tribes  is  the  complete  fidelity  to 
the  marriage-tie  among  tiie  Bahau,  and  the  equality  of  rights  between  man 
and  woman,  with  the  consciousness  of  a  numerical  preponderance  of  the 
latter,  argues  for  a  degree  of  continence  and  sexual  self-control  that  we 
would  hardly  expect  to  find  among  a  people  on  such  a  low  level  of  cul- 
ture"." 


'Hose  and  McDougall,  Journ.  Anthrop.  Institute,  Vol.  XXXI.  (1910),  p.  195.  'Idem,  p. 
175,190.  'Idem,  p.  212.  '"Ibidem.  >»  Idem,  p.  213.  (conclusion).  Comp.  also  by  the  same 
authors,  The  Native  Tribes  of  Borneo  (London,  1912).  '^  A.  W.  Nieuwenhuis,  In  Centraal 
Borneo.  (Leyden,  1900),  Vol.  I.  p.  139ff.  Idem.  Quer  durch  Borneo,  (Leyden,  1904).  Vol.  I. 
p.  98flF.     "  Centraal-Borneo,  I.  p.  100. 


SUMMARY  533 

CRITICISM  BY  RECENT  EXPERTS 
Australia-Tasmania 

"It  seems  quite  clear",  says  Howitt,  "that  Nurrundere,  Nurelli,  Bundjil, 
Mungan-ngaua,  Daramulun,  and  Baiame,  all  represent  the  same  being 
under  different  names  ...  an  anthropomorphic  supernatural  being  who 
lives  in  the  sky  and  who  is  supposed  to  have  some  kind  of  influence  on  the 
morals  of  the  natives.  .  .  .  I  am  satisfied  that  this  belief  has  been  locally 
evolved,  and  not  introduced  from  without.  But  in  saying  this  I  must  guard 
myself  from  being  thought  to  imply  any  primitive  revelation  of  a  mono- 
theistic character.  What  I  see  is  merely  the  action  of  elementary  thought 
reaching  conclusions  such  as  all  savages  are  capable  of,  and  which  may 
have  been  at  the  root  of  monotheistic  beliefs"}* 

"From  all  this  evidence",  writes  Andrew  Lang,  "it  does  not  appear  how 
non-polytheistic,  non-monarchical,  non-manes-worshipping  savages 
evolved  the  idea  of  a  relatively  supreme,  moral,  and  benevolent  Creator,  un- 
born, undying,  watching  men's  lives, — He  can  go  everywhere,  and  do 
everything"." 

Dr.  Foy  of  Cologne  bears  similar  testimony: — "It  is  surprising,  by  the 
way,  to  find  in  South-East  Australia  the  belief  in  One  God,  the  'Father'  or 
'Grandfather',  who  is  the  Creator  of  man  and  of  the  most  important 
phenomena  of  nature,  who  has  taught  men  the  arts,  and  who  watches  over 
their  conduct  and  the  carrying  out  of  his  laws".'" 

"Whether  from  the  ontological  or  the  psychologico-historical  point  of 
view",  says  Father  Schmidt,  "it  is  only  a  transcendent  Personality,  ("eine 
zu  Beginn  stehende  Persoenlichkeit"),  that  is  able  to  give  a  satisfactory 
explanation  of  all  the  religious  facts  in  their  origin  and  in  their  course  of 
development"." 

"My  anthropological  reading  was  scanty",  writes  Mrs.  Parker,  "but  I 
was  well  acquainted  with  and  believed  in  Herbert  Spencer's  'ghost-theory' 
of  the  origin  of  religion  in  the  worship  of  ancestral  spirits.  What  I  learnt 
from  the  natives  surprised  me,  and  shook  my  faith  in  Spencer's  theory, 
with  which  it  seemed  incompatible"." 

"We  may  indulge  the  conjecture",  says  Prof.  Jevons,  "that  these  are 
survivals  from  a  period  of  belief  in  one  God  alone.  .  .  .  Nevertheless  it 
seems  strange.  .  .  .  How  was  the  worship  lost?"  etc.'" 

"It  is  among  the  Kurnai",  says  Dr.  SoUas,  "whom  on  other  grounds  we 
have  regarded  as  the  most  archaic  tribes,  that  we  meet  with  a  monotheistic 
belief  in  its  simplest  and  purest  form.  The  supreme  Being,  who  is  known 
as  Mungan-ngaua,  or  'Our  Father',  dwells  eternally  in  the  sky.  Unlike 
many  other  primitive  gods,  he  has  no  wife,  but  a  son,  who  is  married,  and 
the  Kurnai  are  his  descendants".''" 


"Howitt,  Native  Tribes  of  South-East  Australia,  '(1904),  p.  499-500,  507.  "A.  Lang, 
Making  of  Religion,  (1909),  p.  184.  "  w.  Foy,  FOhrer,  (1910),  p.  58.  "Rev.  W.  Schmidt, 
Ursprung  der  Gottesidee,  (1912),  p.  488.  is  Langloh-Parker,  The  Euahlayi  Tribe,  (1905), 
p  3.  i»F.  Jevons,  Comparative  Religion,  (1913),  p.  120ff.  ^o  w,  Sollas,  Ancient  Hunters, 
(1915),  p.  261-262. 


534  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

CRITICISM  BY  RECENT  EXPERTS 
Central  Africa 

"These  backwoodsman-ideas  of  God  and  of  sacrifice  that  is  due  to  Him 
made,  I  repeat,  a  profound  impression  upon  me",  says  Bishop  LeRoy, 
"superior  by  far  as  they  were  to  those  commonly  found  among  tlieir  agri- 
cultural, sedentary,  and  comparatively  civilised  neighbors.  They  reversed 
the  conceptions  that  I  had  formed  on  the  subject,  and  which  wanted  to 
make  out,  (according  to  the  books),  that  religious  and  other  knowledge 
goes  hand  in  hand  with  material  civilisation".^' 

"Contrary  to  the  generality  of  the  neighboring  blacks,  the  Negrillos  of 
the  bantu  lands  seem  not  only  to  everywhere  recognise  a  personal  and 
sovereign  God,  but  to  place  at  his  side  and  to  otTer  him  sacrifices.  For  my 
part  at  least,  I  have  found  no  group  in  which  he  was  unknown"." 

"Thus  it  was  in  all  probability",  writes  Stow,  "that  a  germ  of  the  relig- 
ious element  sprang  up  in  their  (the  Bushmen's)  breast,  and  their  super- 
stition (  !)  created  the  idea  of,  as  he  has  been  styled  by  Arbousset,  the  Chief 
of  the  Sky,  whom  they  named  Kaang,  and  who  was  also  called  the  Man, 
or  the  Master  of  all  things"." 

South  America 

Dr.  Ehrenreich  gives  similar  impressions  from  the  Amazonian  region. 
"The  Botokudos  invoke  what  they  believe  to  be  a  Sky-being  under  the 
name  of  Tupan,  'chief  or  'master'.  He  dwells  in  the  clouds  and  his  voice 
is  the  thunder,  for  which  reason  they  shoot  arrows  into  the  air  during 
storms  in  order  to  implore  his  protection  .  .  they  evidently  fear  him"." 

"Kamiishini",  says  Baron  Von  den  Steinen,  "is  the  oldest  figure  of 
Bukairi  mythology.  He  is  a  father  or  grandfather  .  .  .  belongs  to  a  dif- 
ferent people  .  .  .  makes  men  out  of  arrows  .  .  .  spins  threads  like  a 
spider  ...  he  is  a  heavenly  spider"." 

"Characteristic  is  the  Tupi-myth.  It  begins  with  Monan,  the  Creator, 
of  whom  it  is  related  that,  being  otTended  by  mankind,  he  caused  a  con- 
flagration, which  through  the  prayers  of  the  only  survivor,  was  quenched 
by  the  rain".^" 

"The  deeds  of  the  culture-heros  include,  apart  from  the  general  equip- 
ment of  the  world,  such  as  the  fetching  { !)  of  sun  and  moon,  which  is  gen- 
erally the  ofTice  of  twins,  all  the  higher  interests  of  man"."  (Strong  cul- 
ture-heroes!) 

"The  religious  ideas  of  the  Alacalufs  verge  upon  dualism.  They  believe 
in  a  good  spirit,  the  author  of  all  good,  and  an  evil  spirit,  the  author  of 
evil.  The  former  is  invoked  in  times  of  distress  and  danger,  while  they 
believe  the  latter  can  do  all  kinds  of  mischief,  cause  bad  weather,  send 
famine,  or  illness.    He  is  supposed  to  be  like  an  immense  black  man"." 

These  are  only  the  most  important  testimonies  on  this  subject,  but  the 
belief  covers  a  far  wider  area,  as  may  be  seen  from  our  first  chapter. 

21  Rt.  Rev.  Mgr.  LeRoy,  Les  Pygmees  d'Afrique  et  de  I'Asie,  (1910),  p.  177-178.  "  Ibid, 
p.  187.  "Stow,  Native  Races  of  South  Africa,  (1910),  p.  113.  "Renault  and  St.  Hilaire, 
apud  Ehrenreich,  in  Z.E.  (1887),  p.  35.  '=*  Von  den  Steinen,  p.  365ff.  "*  Ehrenreich,  Mythen, 
p.  40.    "Ibid.  o.  55.    **  Cooper,  op.  cit.  supra,  p.  147-148.     (These  are  short  transcripts). 


SUMMARY  535 

COUNTER-CRITICISM 

The  position  taken  up  Howitt,  Hartland,  Tylor,  Frazer,  and  others,  has 
already  been  considered  in  the  preceding  pages.    It  is  broadly  as  follows: 

(1)  These  ideas  are  genuine,  but  fall  short  of  being  theistic.  The  All- 
Father  is  nothing  but  "the  ideal  headman  in  the  sky-country",  a  super- 
human being,  if  you  will,  but  evidently  evolved  from  the  national  con- 
sciousness of  leadership.     (Howitt,  Hartland,  Van  Gennep,  etc.) 

(2)  These  ideas  are  not  genuine,  but  the  result  of  missionary  influence. 
The  real  primitives  are  the  Aruntas,  Bantus,  Arowaks,  etc.  where  little  or 
nothing  of  such  beliefs  is  to  be  found.  (Tylor,  Frazer,  King,  Marret,  and 
generally  among  the  animistic  or  pre-animistic  "magical"  school). 

The  Objections  Are  Inadequate 

It  is  needless  to  point  out  that  these  opinions  neutralise  one  another  on 
the  score  of  origination-theories,  if  on  no  other.  But  apart  from  this  they 
must  be  judged  in  the  light  of  more  recent  and  more  accurate  knowledge 
as  follows: — 

(1)  It  is  not  denied  that  the  idea  of  "headman"  might  have  suggested 
the  idea  of  "heavenly  father",  at  least  in  his  anthropomorphic  role. 
Nevertheless — 

(a)  Suggestion  is  not  final  derivation.  All  nature  suggests  a  deity,  but 
nature  is  not  deity.  In  like  manner  "headman"  suggests  God,  but  headman 
is  not  God.  Moreover  this  idea  of  headmanship  is  weakly  developed  among 
the  more  primitive  tribes,  and  the  sudden  transition  from  tribal  leader  to 
an  all-knowing,  all-powerful  Creator  is  inconsistent  with  a  wholesale 
derivation  of  the  idea  from  an  earthly  model.  What  becomes  of  this  model 
vi'hen  there  no  leaders  to  follow,  when  each  family  shifts  for  itself,  as  is 
the  case  with  many  of  the  wilder  inhabitants  of  the  East  Indies  and  Central 
Africa?  Yet  it  is  precisely  among  the  least-organised  tribes  that  the  belief 
is  the  strongest,  as  may  easily  be  proved  by  the  gradual  fading  of  the  belief 
among  the  more  developed  branches.  (See  the  testimonies  just  given). 
Howitt's  objection  is,  therefore,  merely  a  speculative  one.  It  concerns,  as 
I  have  said,  the  ongin  of  the  idea,  not  the  idea  itself,  for  he  is  satisfied  that 
Baiame  is  an  "ideal"  being,  that  the  natives  at  present  take  him  to  be 
"supernatural". 

(b)  But  even  supposing,  as  indeed  very  probable,  that  father-in-heaven 
is  nothing  but  a  magnification  of  father-on-earth,  the  magnification  itself 
is  still  to  be  accounted  for.  How  comes  it  that  the  terms  in  which  this 
being  is  described  transcend  as  a  rule  all  finite  categories,  that  the  savage 
vocabulary  is  exhausted  in  trying  to  express  his  immensity?  Hartland's 
contention  that  these  epithets  are  not  always  divine  because  clothed  in  a 
mythology  at  times  corrupted,  should  be  carefully  reconsidered,  nor  is 
anything  gained  in  attempting  to  deny  that  many  of  these  surface  corrup- 
tions are  only  too  evident. 


536  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

GOUNTER-CRITIGISM 

The  fact  is,  (here  are  many  instances  in  which  such  corruptions  occur. 
But  \vc  have  taken  special  pains  to  analyse  these  cases,  and  we  have  found 
that  almost  invariably  the  anti-theistic  attributes, — mortality,  sexuality  and 
the  like — ,  can  be  separated  from  the  theistic  nucleus  as  a  later  addition 
derived  from  a  higher  though  degenerate  form  of  culture.  This  is  notor- 
iously the  case  on  the  Australian  continent,  and  to  a  less  degree  in  Borneo, 
and  the  Andaman  Islands.  In  every  case  sky-father  precedes  spider,  lizard, 
emu,  hawk,  or  crocodile,  by  periods  that  cannot  be  measured,  and  the 
marrying,  hunting,  and  dying  god  is  thus  shown  to  be  an  aftermath.  The 
most  primitive  regions  invariably  reflect  the  purest  theology.  (Re-examine 
them). 

(2)  As  to  the  "loan-god"  theory  of  Tylor  and  others,  it  is  rather  late  in 
the  day  to  talk  of  Christian  influence  where  such  an  influence  is  now  uni- 
versally rejected.  I  cannot  repeat  the  cumulative  force  of  the  argument 
against  recent  borrowing,  which  has  been  fully  discussed  above  (509). 
But  as  to  the  precedence  of  the  Aruntas,  with  their  totemism  and  rain- 
magic,  I  have  given  the  whole  of  my  Introduction  and  not  a  little  of  this 
summary  to  show  that  the  scheme  is  ethnologically  and  sociologically 
erroneous,  that  all  the  totem-peoples  are  comparatively  late  arrivals.  This 
has  also  been  made  out  for  each  region  independently.  (See  text).  I  will 
therefore  consider  this  question  as  finally  and  definitely  closed. 

The  Idea  is  Not  Derived  From  Animism 

Now  in  illustration  of  the  points  at  issue,  what  do  we  actually  find?* 
(1)  As  against  Tylor  and  the  old  school,'  it  may  be  confidently  affirmed 
that  there  is  practically  no  animism  that  is  worthy  of  the  name.  The; 
native  of  Gippsland,  like  the  native  of  Malakka,  or  the  rover  of  the  Congo 
forest,  has  no  fear  of  ghosts,  little  faith  in  dreams,  and  no  worship  of  dead 
ancestors.  Among  the  Knrnai  the  yambo  "goes  up  to  the  sky"  and,  though 
seen  in  dreams,  it  cannot  revisit  the  earth,  and  is  never  worshipped. 
Among  the  East  Indian  primitives  the  semangat  escapes  to  the  heavens  and 
never  returns  to  the  earth,  "the  soul  is  invisible  to  mortal  eyes",  while 
among  the  Negrillos  the  soul  is  an  indefinable  substance,  but  "neither 
ghost  nor  pepo".  If  then  by  animism  be  understood  a  cult  of  natural 
objects  as  "soul-beings"  in  the  sense  of  spiritistic  manifestations  of  more 
or  less  vivid  nature,  we  can  only  say  that  this  idea  is  at  the  most  very 
weakly  developed.  An  occasional  belief  in  dreams  has  little  significance, 
when  it  is  considered  that  the  All-Father  is  not  "seen"  in  dreams,  but  "felt" 
in  the  waking  state,  and  the  absence  of  swoons  or  epilepsy  in  worship 
points  in  the  same  direction.  To  know  God  docs  not  mean  to  understand 
the  interior  essences,  the  psychic  "manifestations"  of  things. 


>E.  B.  Tylor,  Primitive  Culture,  4th.  Edition,  (London,  1903).  Vol.  I.  p.  417-431.    Limits 
of  savage  Religion,  in  Journ.  Anthrop.  Instit.  Vol.  XXI.  (1900),  283-299. 


SUMMARY  537 

COUNTER-CRITICISM 

But  if  by  animism  be  understood  a  spiritualisation  of  nature  in  the 
sense  of  a  personification  of  natural  forces,  it  may  readily  be  admitted  that 
"wind"  and  "water-spirits"  are  extremely  ancient,  nay  that  the  Creator 
himself  is  the  "breath  of  heaven".  But  personification  is  not  animism. 
The  primitive  savage  puts  personality  into  everything,  all  nature  "speaks" 
to  him,  but  it  speaks  to  him  as  a  subject, — "I  blow",  "I  rain",  "I  shine", 
"we  help"- — ,  not  as  a  ditTused  life-principle, — "It  is  blowing,  raining, 
shining",  etc.  In  fact  the  primitive  does  not  know  ichat  the  "soul"  or 
"life"  really  is,  nor  can  he  comprehend  the  idea  of  an  infinitely  subtle  life- 
medium,  what  we  call  spirit-substance.  Nevertheless  he  has  a  belief  in  a 
wonderful  being,  whom,  for  want  of  a  better  expression,  he  calls  "Our 
Father".  Can  it  be  possible  that  this  idea  was  evolved  from  the  spirit- 
soul,  when  as  yet  the  believer  has  no  comprehension  of  the  psychic  nature 
of  the  antu,  though  he  is  firmly  convinced  that  he  and  his  "father"  will 
live  for  ever  in  sky-land?  Clearly  there  is  a  term  missing  in  the  logic  that 
would  connect  the  All-Father  directly  with  a  soul-cult,  for  there  is  no  soul- 
cult  in  the  earliest  times. 

Nor  Yet  From  Totemism 

(2)  As  against  Frazer,=  all  must  depend  of  course  on  the  meaning  that 
is  assigned  to  that  exceedingly  equivocal  term,  totemism.  If,  as  I  take  it 
with  Dr.  Theal,  it  involves  an  essential  identity  of  a  man  with  his  guardian, 
in  such  sense  that  he  comes  out  of  his  totem  and  normally  returns  to  it  by 
a  metempsychosis  or  rebirth,  we  have  offered  conclusive  proof  in  the  pre- 
ceding pages  that  this  belief  is  very  generally  absent  among  the  most  primi- 
tive races  of  mankind,  and  is  therefore  not  the  genesis  of  a  theistic  belief. 
If,  however,  the  guardian  is  simply  a  protector,  animal  or  otherwise,  but 
having  no  genetic  relation  to  man,  we  are  back  in  the  primitive  belt,  with 
its  divine  "messengers",  and  in  this  sense  totem  and  angel  are  identical 
terms. 

Nor  Is  It  Evolved  Out  of  Primitive  Magic 

(3)  As  against  King,  Marett,  and  others,^  the  case  is  a  more  subtle  one. 
Magic  is  admittedly  widespread.  Primitive  man  apparently  draws  super- 
natural effects  out  of  impersonal  objects, — stones,  sticks,  and  boomerangs. 
But  it  must  never  be  forgotten  that  the  worship  does  not  terminate  in  the 
object,  but  in  the  person  operating  the  object, — in  other  words  there  is 
good  and  bad  magic,  depending  upon  the  operator.  Now  the  important 
point  to  consider  is  this :  Magic  steadily  decreases  the  Clearer  we  approach 
to  the  primitive  zone.  Here  it  either  disappears,  or  is  completely  over- 
shadowed by  the  "Great  Master".  In  this  case  magic  becomes  "mystery", 
the  recognised  channel  of  supernatural  power.* 


2Frazer,  Totemism  and  Exogamy,  (1910).  I.  p.  141ff.  ^  King,  The  Supernatural,  Its 
origin,  nature,  and  evolution  (N.  Y.  1892).  Marett,  Pre-animistic  Religion,  Folk-Lore  XI 
(1900),  162ff.     «Comp.  Lang,  Magic  and  Religion,  (1901),  p.  46-75. 


538  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

COUNTER-CRITICISM 
But  Is  Derived  From  the  Notion  op  Fatherhood  as  First  Cause 

If  then  the  idea  of  a  transcendent  "person"  is  demonstrably  prior  to 
any  of  the  above  notions,  there  remains  to  consider,  what  could  have  been 
the  possible  source  or  basis  of  its  formation.  Now  I  believe  that  we  have 
sufficient  evidence  to  show  that  the  idea  of  super-man  is  colored  by  that  of 
father  or  paternal  first  cause  in  all  most  primitive  regions  that  are  acces- 
sible to  us,  that  this  is  in  fact  the  "natural"  origin  of  the  notion  of  God. 

To  begin  with  Malakka,  we  have  abu-ta-peng,  "great  father",  as  the 
equivalent  of  kan-ple,  thunder-fruit,  and  at  least  equally  ancient.  In  the 
Andamans  puluga  is  distinctly  an  abu,  abe,  apai,  a  father  in  the  sky, 
though  he  is  also  thunder.  In  Ceylon  kande-yaka  is  an  all-bestowing  ma- 
hap-pa  (ammat),  or  father  above,  in  the  Philippines  anito  is  probably  an 
a-ma,  father,  though  with  less  security.  In  Borneo  it  is  quite  certain  that 
aba-lingo-ama-ka  lies  at  the  root  of  such  forms  as  amei,  balingo,  etc.,  the 
Malakkan  pe7ig  reappearing  in  penya,  penxja-long,  father,  master,  while 
amei-tingei  is  the  formula  of  invocation, — our-high-father.  In  Celebes  pa- 
lingo  is  father-in-heaven  while  in  Amboina  a-ma-ka  appears  pure,  as 
great-father.  The  same  of  abu-da,  ancient  father,  in  the  Aru  islands,  and 
perhaps  for  aivona-kawa  in  New  Guinea.  In  Australia  baiame  is  certainly 
a  father,  whatever  be  his  etymology,  and  the  high  gods  are  commonly 
called  papang,  with  the  same  sense.  Crossing  over  to  Africa,  we  have  abe- 
yehu  as  our-father,  and  in  Brazil  aba-angui  as  father-above.  Derivations 
or  combinations  with  mu  appear  very  early.  Thus  we  have  mu-untu,  or 
nmntu-unlii  in  Celebfs  for  highest-one,  mungan-ngaua  in  Australia  for 
our-father,  mungu  and  abe-yehu-mulungu  in  Africa  for  our-father-in- 
heaven,  while  aba-angui-papa-kamushini  represents  a  Brazilian  combi- 
nation for  which  there  is  good  evidence, — father-in-heaven-father-of- 
shining-lighf. 

But  quite  apart  from  the  linguistic  data,  in  which  the  root  ab  or  am  is 
so  conspicuous,  the  most  cursory  perusal  of  our  earliest  legends  will  show 
how  prominently  the  "Our  Father"  figures  in  the  mind  of  the  natives. 
This  is  most  strong  in  the  East-Indies  and  Australia,  precisely  the  regions 
of  greatest  antiquity,  and  this  suggests  that  it  is  a  primary  concept. 

And  One  Founded  on  Love  Rather  Than  Fear 

For  just  as  the  notion  of  earthly  father  conjures  up  to  the  mind  the 
vision  of  tender  afTection,  so  the  transfer  of  the  attribute  of  paternity  from 
man  to  super-man  brings  out  the  feeling  of  love  as  a  primary  element. 
Moreover  the  father-god  is  universal,  while  the  thunder-god  is  only  local 
and  this  and  the  above  data  seem  to  me  very  difiicult  to  explain,  unless  we 
suppose  that  the  father-notion  is  the  first  one.  (See  the  analysis  on  pp. 
30,  122,  Stiff.)  Apart  from  the  influx  of  the  supernatural,  for  which  we 
must'  always  be  prepared,  this  is  obviously  the  easiest  method  for  ascend- 
ing from  nature  to  the  Supreme  Cause  of  the  world. 


SUMMARY  539 

COUNTER-CRITICISM 

And  Reflected  in  the  Morality  of  the  Natives 

This  is  brought  into  further  prominence  by  the  attested  morality  of 
those  who  ostensibly  profess  the  belief,  even  if  in  shattered  and  occasion- 
ally corrupted  form. 

"They  are  most  peaceful,  afTectionate,  and  faithful,  both  to  their  family 
and  friends,  and  never  make  war  on  each  other  or  go  in  for  any  sort  of 
inter-tribal  fighting.  Murder  is  exceedingly  rare,  theft  equally  so,  divorce 
is  extremely  rare,  the  punishment  for  adultery  is  death.  None  of  these 
races  are  cannibals,  and  there  is  no  proof  at  all  of  past  cannibalism". 
(General  statement  for  the  Malay  Peninsula  and  very  generally  applicable). 

"The  sick  and  the  afllicted  invariably  fair  better  than  their  more  for- 
tunate brethren.  Cannibalism  and  infanticide  are  alike  unknown"  (Anda- 
man Islands). 

"The  Vedda's  constancy  to  their  wives  is  a  very  remarkable  trait  in  their 
character.  The  Hennebeddas  have  retained  their  old  virtues  of  truthful- 
ness, chastity,  and  courtesy.    They  are  afTectionate  parents"  (Ceylon). 

"Murder  is  so  rare  as  to  be  almost  unknown,  the  negrito  is  peaceable" 
(Philippines). 

"The  Land-Dayaks  are  amiable,  honest,  grateful,  moral,  and  hospitable. 
The  Bakatans  are  very  mild  savages,  they  are  not  head-hunters,  do  not  keep 
slaves,  are  generous  to  one  another,  and  probably  never  do  any  injury  by 
making  a  false  statement.  They  are  very  fond  of  their  children  and  kind 
to  the  women.    The  Bakatans  are  not  cannibals"  (Borneo). 

"The  Kurnai  men  carry  their  wives  about  the  country  when  too  old  or 
too  sick  to  walk.  There  was  no  cannibalism  Tasmania"  (Australian 
region). 

"Among  the  Negrillos,  a  man's  wife  is  his  and  his  only.  The  sentiment 
of  shame  is  universal.  Theft,  slander,  and  calumny  are  alike  reproved" 
(Africa). 

"The  Botocudos  have  a  high  regard  for  their  women  and  infidelity  is 
punished  with  blows.  In  their  natural  state  they  are  harmless  and  peace- 
able" (Brazil).* 

An  "Ascending"  Syllogism 

The  earliest  logic  of  the  human  race  is  therefore  a  simple  one.  Man 
looks  up  into  the  heavens  and  says, — "I  see  power,  beauty,  law,  order, 
symmetry,  bountiful  provision,  everywhere  I  gaze".  Atqui, — "That  which 
causes  all  this  power,  beauty,  symmetry,  and  provision,  must  be  at  least  as 
perfect  as  I  am;  nay,  he  must  be  a  far  more  wonderful  being  than 
I,  whose  highest  title  is  father,  and  who  certainly  never  made  these  things ; 
he  must  be  an  immense,  an  infinite  father,  an  All-Father".  Therefore — "I 
see  the  All-Father  in  the  heavens".  The  problem  of  evil  finds  an  equally 
simple  solution.  "There  would  be  no  death  if  all  men  were  good", — it  is 
sin  that  has  upset  the  universe.  Thus  with  all  our  modern  philosophising, 
we  have  not  advanced  in  any  essential  upon  the  early  theology  of  man. 

♦  See  the  moral  statistics  on  p.  XXXVff.  and  under  each  section,  beginning  with  p.  4. 


540  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

COUNTER-CRITICISM 

The  position  taken  up  by  Westermarck  is  ditHcult  to  estimate.  He 
says : — 

"Generally  speaking  then,  it  seems  that  the  All-Father,  supreme  Being, 
or  high  god  of  savage  belief  may  be  traced  to  several  different  sources. 
When  not  a  "loan-god"  of  foreign  extraction,  he  may  be  a  mythical  an- 
cestor or  headman,  or  a  deification  of  the  sky  or  some  large  or  remote 
object  of  nature,  like  the  sun,  or  a  personification  or  personified  cause  of 
the  mysteries  or  forces  of  nature.  The  argument  that  a  belief  in  such  a 
being  is  irreducible  because  it  prevails  among  savages  who  worship 
neither  ancestors  nor  nature,  can  carry  no  weight  in  consideration  of  the 
fact  that  he  himself,  as  a  general  rule,  is  no  object  of  worship"." 

Does  is  not  seem  as  if  the  writer  was  here,  unconsciously  perhaps, 
evading  the  main  question.  He  is  a  loan-god  and  yet  the  ancestor,  a  sky- 
god,  and  yet  the  headman,  a  personality,  and  yet  unworshipped,  and  this 
not  always,  but  only  "as  a  general  rule"(!).  It  is  to  be  feared  that  the 
author  is  endeavoring  to  catch  the  unwary  by  a  disjunctive  argument,  an 
apparent  dilemma,  a  favorite  device.  If  A  is  not  B.  then  it  may  be  C,  or  it 
may  be  D,  or  it  may  be  E,  F,  and  so  on, — but  never  A  is  equal  to  B.  C.  or  D, 
definitely.  But  what  if  these  qualities, — divine,  personal,  worship-pro- 
ducing— ,  be  all  united  in  the  same  being  to  the  exclusion  of  the  opposite 
series?  Can  the  same  conclusions  be  drawn  in  that  case?  Now  this  is 
precisely  the  condition  of  affairs  with  the  great  majority  of  the  All-Fathers. 
They  can  be  proved  to  be  original,  (admitted  by  W.  "in  various  instances"), 
personal  (also  admitted,  they  are  "personifications",  "sky-fathers"),  and 
worshipful  in  the  best  sense,  (admitted  "in  some  cases",  even  if  exceptions 
to  the  "general  rule"), — from  which  in  their  united  force  it  is  possible  to 
draw  conclusions  of  solid  scientific  value.  As  to  the  opposite  qualities, — 
cosmic,  astral,  impersonal — ,  they  are  either  not  found  at  all,  {Kari- 
Amaka-Mungan-ngaxM-Waka),  or  they  can  easily  be  separated  as  a  later 
accretion,  due  to  the  totem-culture,  as  explained  above. 

This  is  a  good  illustration  of  the  way  this  subject  is  handled  by  some 
modern  writers,  who,  however  proficient  in  other  respects,  show  a  gross 
want  of  schooling  in  the  scientific  ethnology  of  particular  districts. 
Recently  the  tone  has  become  more  serious,  and  shows  promise  of  better 
results." 

For  those,  in  fact,  who  wish  to  pursue  this  subject  to  its  last  issues  a 
good  deal  of  modern  technical  reading  is  essential.  The  above  is  merely 
the  skeleton  of  the  argument  for  an  original  one-God  belief,  not  its  com- 
plete or  absolutely  exhaustive  form. 


"Westermarck,  The  Origin  and  Development  of  Moral  Ideas,  (1908),  II.  p.  685. 
•Compare  the  Transactions  of  the  third  International  Congress  of  Religions,  at  Oxford. 
(1908)  :  E.  S.  Hartland,  on  the  "Relatively  Supreme  Being",  p.  21-32.  Clodd,  on  Pre- 
animistic  Religion,  p.  33f.  Marett,  on  "Mana",  Jevons,  on  "Magic"  etc.  Also  IV.  Intern. 
Congr.  at  Louvain,  (1912)  :  Articles  by  Schmidt,  Pinard,  Bros,  Hcstermann,  Bouvier,  LeRoy, 
Lemonnier.  etc.— all  excellent.  But  only  Schmidt  and  Hestermann  handle  the  subject  cul- 
turally and  sociologically.  Quite  recently  W.  SoUas,  in  Ancient  Hunters.  (1915),  has  come 
out  boldly  for  a  primitive  monotheistic  belief,  (p.  26n.     See  p.  533  above. 


SUMMARY  541 

CONCLUSIONS  FOR  THE  PRIMITIVE  AGE 
What  then  are  the  conclusions  to  which  an  impartial  examination  of 

the  earliest  beliefs  of  mankind  would  seem  to  lead  us? 

Quite  apart  from  the  dogma  of  a  monotheistic  revelation,  it  should  be 
borne  in  mind  that  this  matter  is  one  of  illustration  rather  than  of  dogmatic 
defmition  It  is  not  a  question  of  the  creation,  elevation,  and  supernatural 
equipment  of  man,  for  of  these  truths  we  are  certain  on  entirely  inde- 
pendent grounds,  they  are  part  of  the  deposit  of  faith  It  is  rather  an. 
attempt  to  shed  some  light  on  the  modus  opperandi  by  which  the  Heavenly 
Father  has  revealed  Himself  to  His  creatures  in  the  arliest  ages  of  man  as 
vet  known  to  us.  It  is  not  for  us  to  decide,  hoiv  the  Creator  is  to  train  the 
human  race,-whether  by  creative  miracle,  or  by  slow  process  of  develop- 
ment,-both  are  equally  supernatural-,  but  that  He  has  done  so  in  the 
past,  is  only  too  evident,  and  the  question  of  the  how  admits  of  valuable 
illustration  from  the  preceding  material. 

A  FIN.4L  Survey 

From  the  beginning  we  find  an  intimate  relation  between  man  and  his 
Maker     He  is  no  far-off  mystery,  He  is  a  living  reality.    Though  He 
"cannot  be  seen  with  the  eyes  but  only  with  the  heart  of  man",  though  He 
is  "of  supernatural  size  and  invisible".  He  is  nevertheless  pictured  under 
human  forms.  He  is  a  Father,  who  lives  in  the  skies,  whose  voice  is  heard 
in  the  thunder,  whose  shafts  are  seen  in  the  lightning,  but  of  whose  inner 
nature  there  is  as  yet  no  consciousness,— He  is  simply  a  supernatural 
Person     This  being  is  believed  to  have  made  all  things  "by  his  breath", 
either  directly,  or  bv  means  of  a  creating  demiurge,  his  "sons"  and 
"daughters"  being  the  winds  of  heaven,  the  first  intimation  of  an  angelic 
hierarchy     In  no  case  is  He  a  married  divinity  in  the  earliest  stream  of 
tradition-  He  is  sexless  and  wifeless,— a  superhuman  being.   Opposed  to 
Him  are  a  legion  of  rebellious  ones,  whose  origin  is  not  quite  clear,  but 
whose  dependent  position  is  in  most  cases  well  established.    Heaven  and 
earth    light  and  darkness,  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  and  finally  man,— all 
issue 'at  His  command,  they  are  His  "servants".    In  the  formation  of  the 
first  human  couple,  it  is  He  alone  that  "inspires  the  soul"  of  man,  whatever 
be  his  bodily  origin.    He  places  them  in  the  paradise  of  fruits  or  the 
"rising  land"  where  there  is  no  death  or  sickness,  and  where  there  is  "such 
an  abundance  of  well-water  that  it  brings  forth  seven  lakes  "     Here  He 
teaches  them  the  first  arts  and  industries,  and  institutes  the  first  sacrifice 
of  abstention— the  command  to  abstain  from  certain  fruits  during  certain 
seasons  and  this  under  penalty  of  death,  a  tradition  that  comes  to  us  from 
the  far-eastern  archipelago.    This  throws  a  valuable  sidelight  on  the  bib- 
lical narrative,-it  is  the  mystery  of  the  first  prohibition.   Whence  came  it? 


542  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

CONCLUSIONS  FOR  THE  PRIMITIVE  AGE 

In  nearly  every  case  in  which  a  fall  of  man  is  mentioned,  it  is  con- 
nected, directly  or  indirectly,  with  the  breach  of  a  divine  command,  and 
quite  commonly  with  the  violation  of  a  taboo,  with  a  contravention  against 
the  laws  of  fasting,  with  the  eating  of  a  forbidden  fruit.  Man  has  lost 
immortality  through  a  moral  rebellion,  he  is  now  the  enemy  of  heaven;  but 
he  can  still  be  reconciled  by  penitential  actions,  by  keeping  the  laws  and 
sacred  customs,  by  ofTering  to  his  Father  that  which  he  prizes  most 
dearly, — the  first-fruits  of  the  field,  and  the  firstling  of  the  flock — ,  the 
vegetable  and  the  animal  creation.  In  the  second  great  catastrophe  to 
man, — the  deluge — ,  it  is  again  the  sins  of  humanity,  the  violation  of  the 
food-precept,  the  neglect  of  the  couvade,  the  growing  adultery,  blasphemy, 
sacrilege,  that  rouses  the  anger  of  heaven  and  destroys  the  whole  of 
humanity  with  the  exception  of  the  righteous  few,  who  repeople  the  earth 
and  inaugurate  a  new  posterity. 

It  will  be  noted  that  throughout  his  dealings  with  man,  the  divinity  acts 
as  a  person,  and  moreover  in  the  singular  number, — there  is  only  one 
Father  in  heaven,  though  his  messengers  are  innumerable.  There  is  thus 
a  vivid  consciousness  that  mankind  has  been  created,  elevated,  proved, 
punished,  destroyed,  and  re-instated,  in  very  remote  times  by  a  personal 
Creator  and  Judge,  and  it  seems  difficult  to  account  for  this  persuasion, 
for  a  "talking",  "commanding",  and  "instituting"  God,  unless  we  suppose 
that  He  has  revealed  his  will  in  a  special,  and  probably  supernatural 
manner. 

This  institutional  aspect  of  religion  is  generally  known  as  the  divine 
positive  law.  It  embraces  a  series  of  precepts,  which,  unlike  those  of  the 
natural  law,  are  not  in  themselves,  mediately  or  immediately,  evident,  but 
require  a  definite  external  proclamation  in  order  to  make  themselves 
known.  We  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  what  the  first  laws  and  divine 
institutions  of  humanity  really  were;  but  it  seems  quite  certain  that  they 
included  certain  ceremonial  and  sacrificial  observances,  which,  though  not 
prescribed  in  detail  by  the  Almighty,  were  the  means  of  salvation  (or  that 
nrje,  the  external  signs  through  which  faith  in  a  future  Redeemer  was 
visibly,  though  confusedly  expressed.  (S.  Thorn.  III.  qu.  61,  art.  3.  ad  sec. 
Comp.  III.  qu.  70,  art.  2.  ad  prim.) 

Among  these  the  custom  of  consecrating  a  child  from  its  infancy  by 
bringing  it  under  the  "paradise-tree"  and  naming  it  in  honor  of  one  of  the 
trees  that  grew  in  the  garden  of  pleasure  is  suggestive  enough  of  "chris- 
tening", and  even  the  water  may  have  some  symbolic  meaning,  if  we  re- 
gard the  numerous  lustrations  as  indicative  of  religious  rather  than 
utilitarian  notions,  for  which,  as  we  have  seen,  there  is  considerable 
evidence.    It  is  a  solemn  moment, — it  means  dedication. 


SUMMARY  543 

CONCLUSIONS  FOR  THE  PRIMITIVE  AGE 

Still  more  distinctive  is  the  antediluvian  custom  by  which  the  father 
retires  from  the  world  for  at  least  a  week,  abstains  from  all  foods  and 
drinks  which  he  thinks  will  endanger  the  life  of  his  child,  so  intense  is  his 
consciousness  that  father  and  son  are  in  some  sense  a  vital  unit,  that  the 
virtues  of  the  father  will  pass  on  to  the  son,  that  the  child  is  his  and  his 
only,  in  a  special  sense  his  own  creation.  It  is  the  neglect  of  the  couvade 
which  is  a  frequent  cause  of  divine  visitations. 

The  initiation-ceremony  tells  a  similar  story.  The  youth  is  put  through 
a  fasting-test,  during  which  he  is  instructed  in  all  the  essentials  of  a 
religion,  in  the  divine  commandments,  in  the  tribal  customs,  in  the  sacred 
mysteries.  These  consist  of  the  first-fruit  sacrifice,  followed  by  their 
festive  consumption, — the  first  adumbration  of  a  communion-rite. 

Has  he  strayed  from  the  path  of  virtue,  he  can  still  procure  pardon  by 
acts  of  penance,  by  an  open  proclamation  of  guilt,  by  fasting  and  sacrifice. 
Does  he  wish  to  invoke  the  blessing  of  heaven  upon  his  married-life,  he 
will  present  his  partner  with  a  "birth-bamboo",  a  token  that  the  union  will 
be  both  fruitful,  and  pleasing  to  the  Almighty.  Is  he  finally  summoned  to 
appear  before  His  throne,  he  will  be  signed  with  red  ochre  and  laid  to  rest 
with  the  firm  confidence,  that  if  he  has  lived  a  good  life,  he  will  enter  the 
heavenly  fruit-palace,  if  a  bad  one,  he  will  go  to  the  land  of  darkness 
there  to  be  punished  or  purged  in  proportion  to  the  gravity  of  his  crimes. 

From  beginning  to  end  we  have  a  continuous  drama  of  divine  inter- 
ventions, a  complete  theological  system.  It  is  not  a  dry,  theoretical,  but  a 
living,  practical  religion, — a  sacramental  religion,  which  culminates  in 
the  unbloody  sacrifice  of  the  first-fruits  of  the  earth,  accompanied  by  fast- 
ing and  abstinence.  This  in  its  more  vivid  form  passes  over  into  the  mys- 
tical sacrifice  of  human  blood, — "Blood!  I  throw  you  up  to  heaven!", — the 
first  intimation  that  the  fruit-sacrifice  is  not  sufficiently  powerful,  it  must 
supplemented  by  something  more  precious.  It  is  only  through  the  shed- 
ing  of  human  blood  that  the  holy  of  holies  can  ever  be  re-entered. 

The  question  arises  whether  this  vivid  consciousness  of  a  divine  law- 
giver can  be  accounted  for  on  purely  naturalistic  and  psychological  lines 
or  whether  it  demands  a  more  realistic  and  external  method  of  communi- 
cation, a  direct  manifestation  of  the  divine  will  by  supernatural  agencies. 
We  have  seen  that  although  the  idea  of  God  might  well  have  arisen  spon- 
taneously, by  a  simple  reflexion  on  the  facts  of  consciousness,  an  inter- 
vening and  commanding  God  is  something  that  cannot  be  evolved  out  of 
a  mere  "speculation",  it  is  something  in  which  the  recipient  is  largely 
passive, — it  demands  some  kind  of  "illumination." 


544  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

CONCLUSIONS  FOR  THE  PRIMITIVE  AGE 

How  then  did  the  All-Father  reveal  himself  to  his  creatures?  If  these 
ideas  were  confined  lo  the  broad  dictalr's  of  natural  theology,  to  a  vague 
belief  in  a  "supreme  being",  with  or  without  an  external  cult,  there  would 
be  no  diificulty  in  deriving  them  from  the  essential  constitution  of  human 
nature,  from  the  natural  desire  of  union  with  the  divine.  But  when  we 
come  to  a  divine  legislator, — prescribing  definite  ritos  and  customs  to  be 
carried  out  under  penalty  of  the  fire  and  brimstone  of  heaven, — we  are 
standing  upon  a  different  footing.  These  things  cannot  be  surmised,  nor 
can  they  be  allowed  to  bind  under  such  terrific  sanctions  without  some 
clearly-revealed  decree.  On  the  other  hand  anything  like  a  decree,  divine 
rule,  or  "theocracy",  presupposes  the  divine  positive  law,  and  this  is  hardly 
conceivable  without  a  direct,  personal,  supernatural  revelation. 

But  how  are  we  to  picture  such  a  revelation  to  have  been  effected? 
"And  the  Lord  God  walked  in  the  garden  of  Eden  in  the  cool  of  the  day". 
An  anthropomorphic  role  is  here  suggested.  He  who  cannot  be  seen  with 
mortal  eyes  shows  Himself  in  the  form  of  a  man, — He  discourses  with 
them.  He  tries  them.  He  punishes  them.  We  are  here  in  presence  of 
something  out  of  the  ordinary,  something  beyond  the  normal,  something 
of  the  nature  of  a  divine  vision, — a  theophany.  It  is  not  my  purpose  from 
the  existing  evidence  to  assert  that  such  is  the  only  method,  that  the  AU- 
Father-Law-giver  necessitates  ipso  facto  a  miraculous  vision.  Neverthe- 
less a  re-examination  of  the  earlier  traditions  will  bring  the  conviction 
more  and  more  to  the  front,  that  some  such  divine  action, — personal,  direct, 
sense-affecting — ,  is  the  only  form  of  communication  that  will  satisfy  the 
existing  data  with  anything  like  completeness.  The  creation-legends  alone 
show  a  marvellous  uniformity  and  are  realistic  in  the  extreme.  The  same 
is  true,  to  a  greater  degree,  of  the  paradise  and  the  flood-legends.  But 
whatever  be  the  form  of  communication,  it  is  enough  for  the  present  to 
have  established  the  fact  that  some  such  communication  has  been  made, 
that  God  has  "spoken"  to  man  in  the  very  earliest  epoch  of  his  earthly 
existence. 

The  main  results  of  this  investigation  are  therefore  as  follows: — There 
is  in  the  earliest  ages  of  man  a  distinct  consciousness  of  a  supreme,  per- 
sonal, and  superna-lural  Bei)ig,—a  comparativehj  high  theology,  with  a 
correspondingly  pure  morality, — and  although  this  tfiesis  is  undoubtedly 
capable  of  further  elucidation,  the  onus  probandi  ivill  rest  upon  those  who 
deny  it. 


SUMMARY  545 

TOTEMIC  INTERPRETATION 

A  COMPARISON  OF  THE  PRIMITIVE 

WITH  THE  LATER  PHASES  OF  BELIEF 

If  then  we  find  a  comparatively  lofty  notion  of  divinity  in  the  earliest 
times,  the  question  that  will  arise  and  suggest  itself  as  a  possible  difTiculty 
is  this: — Given  a  high  grade  of  belief  in  the  most  primitive  period  of  the 
race,  how  was  the  belief  corrupted?  how  was  the  idea  lost?, — or  was  it 
ever  entirely  lost?  To  answer  this  question  with  anything  like  satisfac- 
tion, a  few  statistics  from  the  later  pages  of  religious  history  are  essential. 
The  following  points  will  therefore  be  of  assistance  in  estimating  the  char- 
acter of  these  beliefs,  the  nature  of  their  partial  deterioration,  and  the 
probable  causes  of  this  deterioration. 

A  REVIEW  OF  THE  TOTEMIC  PERIOD 
The  Concept  op  Petty 

The  four  typical  divinities  for  this  age  have  already  been  sufficiently 
analysed.  They  are. — Sin-Bonga  for  Central  India,  Mulunga  for  East 
Africa,  Altjira-Tnknra  for  Central  Australia,  and  Wnkanda  for  North- 
America. 

Now  in  re-examining  the  data  that  have  so  far  been  accumulated,  we 
shall  find  that  the  ancient  concept  of  a  personal  Creator,  though  in  most 
cases  faded,  may  be  generally  recognised  in  the  background, — He  is  there 
in  vague  outline.  On  the  other  hand.  He  has  been  so  mixed  up,  if  not 
identified,  with  His  own  creation,  that  His  personal  features  are  often  diffi- 
cult to  trace. 

Thus  Sin-Bongri  (61)  is  described  as  the  ever-benevolent  god  of  gods, 
the  author  of  the  world,  the  maker  of  all  the  bongas,  apparently  the  judge 
of  man,  and  the  object  of  prayer  and  rice-sacrifice.  At  the  same  time,  he 
is  sun-spirit,  or  light-month  (?).  he  "'hatches"  the  world  by  solar  power, 
he  is  Marang-Buru,  or  Great  Mysteiy,  and  the  idea  of  metempsychosis  is 
well  developed,  showing  a  possible  transmigration  of  souls  into  at  least 
339  clan-totems. 

Again  Mulungu  (67)  is  also  a  sky-lord,  who  is  believed  to  be  the  author 
of  the  world  and  of  all  that  is  therein.  But  although  his  name  is  invoked 
in  parts,  it  is  more  often  and  very  generally  forgotten,  and  mulungu  is 
simply  the  generic  designation  for  a  bum  or  nature-power,  whose  essence 
is  incomprehensible,  but  not  necessarily  personal.  He  is  simply  taboo, 
totem,  mystery,  and  the  reincarnation  of  the  dead  in  the  form  of  serpents 
and  hyaenas  shows  that  the  idea  of  a  direct  personal  judge  has  largely 
been  lost.  Here  also  long-distance  magic  takes  precedence  of  direct  sup- 
plication,— it  is  the  sun — and  thunder-men  that  are  in  supreme  control 
of  the  cult. 


546  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

TOTEMIC  INTERPRETATION 

Again,  AUjirn-Tuknra  (71)  is  an  "olernal"  being,  who  lives  in  the 
heavens,  and  is  apparently  "good"  or  benevolent.  But  though  he  is  pic- 
tured as  a  man.  he  and  his  family  have  emu-  or  dog's  feet,  he  is  not  the 
creator  of  the  world,  which  is  eternal,  and  he  is  neither  feared  nor  loved. 
He  is  but  one  of  the  innumerable  inkara  or  inter-intera,  out  of  which,  as 
out  of  shapeless  masses,  the  whole  universe  was  evolved.  All  things  were 
fashioned  by  lizard-gods  from  the  bosom  of  nature,  there  is  strong  sun-, 
rain-,  or  fertilisation-magic,  and  each  soul  is  the  reincarnation  of  some 
totemic  ancestor,  to  which  he  may  return  at  the  hour  of  death. 

Again.  Wakancla  (75)  is  reported  to  be  the  "best  of  beings,  the  creator 
and  preserver  of  all  things,  and  the  fountain  of  mystic  medicine".  Omnis- 
cience, omnipresence  and  vast  powers  are  attributed  to  him,  and  he  is  sup- 
posed to  afllict  mankind  with  sickness  and  other  calamities  for  their  evil 
deeds.  But  he  is  also  the  sun, — the  Wakanda,  the  Great  Mystery. — he  can 
be  controlled  by  rain-magic, — in  the  sun-dance — ,  he  appears  under  animal 
forms, — as  totemic  medicine — ,  and  the  dead  return  into  these  forms,  or 
are  absorbed  in  the  Great  Wakanda.  If  to  this  be  added  the  mysterious 
figure  of  the  California  divinity,  who  is  supposed  to  be  good,  supreme, 
and  benevolent,  but  whose  worshippers  believe  that  "they  came  from  cer- 
tain trees,  rocks,  or  animals",  it  may  be  regarded  as  fairly  certain  that  all 
these  wakans,  mulungiis,  buru-bonrjas,  and  altjirn-inkaras,  are  connected 
together,  that  they  are  but  different  expressions  for  the  same  underlying 
concept,  for  a  single,  though  vague,  and  multiform  divinity. 

Now  it  is  evident  that  we  are  here  in  presence  of  a  more  complex  line 
of  thought  than  in  the  preceding  period.  Had  the  All-Father-God  been 
all  too  simple  a  concept  to  withstand  the  encroachments  of  a  growing 
knowledge  of  nature  and  man.  He  was  at  least  in  his  own  sphere  a  unique 
personality,  He  had  no  relation  to  the  lower  creation  other  than  that  of 
its  lord  and  master.  He  was  in  every  sense  a  transcendent  being.  Here, 
however,  we  seem  to  trace  the  beginnings  of  a  cosmic  theology,  which  in 
its  first  attempt  to  pierce  into  the  mystery  of  things,  to  gain  a  wider  knowl- 
edge of  the  whence  and  hotv  of  creation,  was  of  necessity  forced  to  expose 
the  ancient  concept  to  the  risk  of  a  confusion  with  nature,  to  a  more  or 
less  one-sided  naturalistic  development.  At  the  very  outset  there  is  a 
growing  estrangement  between  the  transcendent  and  the  immanent  God, 
till  finally  the  doctrine  of  immanence  becomes  all-important,  it  is  nature 
herself,  and  only  nature,  that  merits  the  attention  and  the  worship  of  man. 
While  the  common  sense  of  the  race  never  carries  an  erroneous  notion  to 
its  logical  issue,  the  confusion  of  God  and  nature  is  here  so  marked  as  to 
suggest  that  we  are  living  in  a  double-sided  theological  atmosphere. 


SUMMARY  547 

TOTEMIC  INTERPRETATION 

What  is  the  Nature  of  the  Tot::ji-God? 

From  what  has  been  so  far  accessible  in  the  line  of  evidence,  it  would 
seem  that  this  divinity  has  been  clearly  evolved  out  of  the  ancient  Heaven- 
God,  whose  All-Father  character  may  still  be  traced  in  remote  outline. 
He  is  "good",  "wise",  "beneficent",  "omniscient",  "omnipresent",  in  some 
cases  he  is  still  the  "maker  of  all",  and  even  the  "judge  of  all".  The  sur- 
prising thing  is  that  the  All-Father  has  been  fused  with  an  entirely  different 
notion, — the  idea,  namely,  that  all  things  are  of  one  substance,  that  God, 
man.  universe  and  devil  are  but  so  many  parts  of  one  universal  and  im- 
personal essence,  that  the  highest  is  the  lowest,  the  beginning  is  the  end, 
the  top  is  the  bottom;  there  is  no  law  and  order  in  this  "dream-time";  every 
grain  of  sand  is  a  mulungu,  a  wakan,  every  blade  of  grass  an  inkara,  an 
immortal  one.  The  difTerent  medicines  or  totems  are  no  mere  channels  or 
mediators  between  God  and  man,  they  are  themselves  the  divinity;  they 
contain  within  themselves  the  power  to  effect  all  cures,  to  operate  all 
wonders.  Hence  the  magical  rain-making  and  fructification-rites,  which 
take  the  place  of  the  simple  invocations  to  the  Father  of  all.  It  is  hopeless 
to  expect  consistency  in  this  system ;  it  is  a  pantheistic  monism,  in  which 
time  and  eternity,  the  material  and  the  spiritual,  the  finite  and  the  infinite, 
have  been  jumbled  together  in  one  huge  mass  of  orenda,  wakan,  kaluk, 
manitoo,— leaving  a  Great  Mystery,  if  you  will,  but  casting  Him  down 
from  his  throne  in  heaven,  making  him  cosmic,  commonplace,  impersonal. 

Has  the  Idea  of  Transcendence  Been  Lost? 

Yet  with  all  the  strong  evidence  we  possess  for  a  gradually  intruding 
nature-worship,  we  must  beware  of  one-sided  interpretations.  I  believe 
that  sufficient  material  has  been  given  in  the  preceding  pages  to  show 
that  in  nearly  every  case  a  supreme  personality  may  be  vaguely  discerned 
in  the  olTmg,  and  that  much  of  the  "nature-worship"  is  of  a  mystical  or 
symbolic  character,  which  does  not  exclude  but  rather  expands  the  notion 
of  deity  by  making  the  Creator  more  all-pervading  in  His  activity  than  was 
possibly  ever  recognised  in  the  consciousness  of  early  man. 

This  represents  in  part  an  upward  development, 

for  by  keeping  the  divinity  free  from  the  nature-entanglement,  and  at  the 
same  time  recognising  his  universal  presence  and  power  in  every  plant 
or  pebble  in  creation,  a  distinctly  deeper  notion  is  gained  of  the  divine 
operations  than  is  possible  with  a  more  simple  theology.  To  what  extent 
this  has  been  the  case  in  the  present  instance,  I  will  endeavor  to  illustrate. 


548  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

TOTEMIC  INTERPRETATION 

Principlks  of  the  Toxemic  Theology 

At  llio  beginning  a  mysterious  figure  is  recognised  as  the  cause  of 
existence.  Tiiis  being  retains  the  outlines  of  a  great  personality,  whether 
as  the  Father  of  Heaven  in  India,  the  Ancient  of  Days  in  Africa,  the 
Aboriginal  One  in  Australia,  or  the  Man  Above  in  North  America.  In 
each  case  there  is  sufficient  evidence  to  prove  that  in  some  instances  al 
least  He  is  recognised  as  above  and  distinct  from  the  creation,  a  unique 
being.  Compare  the  above  data,  and  this  will  be  sufficiently  evident. 
Though  he  is  occasionally  disfigured  by  sexual  and  unworthy  notions,  his 
human  can  be  separated  from  his  cosmic  and  animal  traits,  and  in  this 
sense  his  nature  is  identical  with  that  of  the  old  Heaven-God.  he  is  an 
eternal,  omniscient,  and  omnipotent  Father. 

The  Notion  of  Creation  Has  Been  Lah«elv  Mouifieu 

But  it  is  in  the  act  of  creation  that  we  begin  to  note  the  first  striking 
diJTerence.  While  the  old  deity  produces  the  world  "by  his  breath"  and 
without  the  marriage  relation,  the  newer  deity  has  wife  and  family,  he 
pro-creates  his  sons  and  daughters,  and  he  hatches  the  world  by  means 
of  his  solar  power  quite  after  the  manner  of  the  brooding  process  in  nature. 
Thus  the  bongas  of  India,  the  mulungus  of  Africa,  the  nltjiras  of  Australia, 
and  the  wakans  of  North  America,  in  so  far  as  they  are  still  recognised  as 
personal,  are  genealogically  connected  with  the  supreme  totem;  they  can- 
not be  called  his  children  except  in  a  lower  anthropomorphic  sense,  they 
are  hardly  "angels".  While  this  is  not  always  directly  provable,  it  may  be 
inferred  from  the  fact  that  in  nearly  every  instance  in  which  a  "sonship" 
is  mentioned,  it  is  taken  in  a  procreative  sense,  and  if  the  immediate 
entourage  of  the  deity  is  of  this  nature,  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  the  minor 
spirits  are  of  such  a  nature  also.  Then  again,  in  the  production  of  things 
there  is  no  clear  evidence  of  anteriority  on  the  part  of  the  divine  being,  the 
expressions  "eternal"  and  "self-existing"  are  applied  with  equal  force  to 
sun,  moon,  and  other  celestial  phenomena,  and  we  have  already  seen  that 
even  in  India,  which  possesses  the  most  well-rounded  creation-legend, 
there  is  no  clear  proof  that  the  world  is  not  co-eternal  with  its  supposed 
maker,  though  glimpses  of  such  a  notion  are  occasionally  revealed. 

To  put  the  matter  briefly,  it  is  important  to  distinguish  between  the 
human  and  the  cosmic  picture  of  divinity.  In  so  far  as  he  is  a  "super- 
man" he  is  a  personal  Creator,  with  a  legion  of  dependent  children;  in  so 
far  as  he  is  sun,  plant,  or  animal,  he  partakes  of  the  nature  of  an  indefin- 
able essence,  which  is  simply  the  moving  or  genetic  power  of  the  universe. 


SUMMARY  549 

TOTEMIG  INTERPRETATION 

The  cosmic  aspect  of  this  subject  is  well  illustrated  by  the  current 
notions  of  creation  as  we  actually  find  them.  The  world  is  made  up  of 
primaeval  potencies  or  monads,— fiwrw,  muluvgu,  inkara,  inter-mtera — , 
which  cannot  be  further  defined  than  as  "mysteries",  but  which  are  recog- 
nised as  the  concrete  source  of  all  life,  of  all  existence.  These  entities  are 
neither  material  nor  spiritual,  personal  or  impersonal,  formed  or  unformed, 
they  are  simply  the  common  basis  of  all  being,  the  sun  being  the  nearest 
approach  to  the  original  ancestor.  But  though  they  defy  all  further  anal- 
ysis, they  have  marvellous  power,  they  can  develop  into  anything,  they  are 
high  potentials.  Among  these  are  certain  objects,  animals,  or  plants,  that 
have  this  power  in  a  special  degree,  the  greatest  burn  being  generally  the 
sun,  followed  by  the  corn,  the  grass-seed,  or  the  bhelva-tree,  these  again 
by  the  snake,  the  serpent,  and  the  lizard,  and  these  by  the  bear,  the  buffalo, 
the  emu,  and  the  hyaena,— all  of  which  are  peculiarly  sacred,  they  are 
taboo.  Thus  all  things  are  derived  out  of  the  material  sun  by  spontaneous 
generation,  and  even  man  himself  is  no  exception  to  this  rule.  In  India 
he  slips  out  of  the  swan's  egg,  in  Africa  he  is  the  ofTspring  of  snakes,  in 
America  he  claims  special  kinship  with  the  bear  and  the  bufTalo,  in  Aus- 
tralia he  is  directly  descended  from  the  inter-intera,  the  shapeless  mon- 
sters that  lived  in  "dream-time",  the  alcheringa  or  paradise  of  the  ances- 
tors. Of  creation  in  the  proper  sense  there  is  here  not  a  vestige.  It  is  an 
enormous  system  of  immanent  evolutionism,  in  which  the  lower  gives 
birth  to  the  higher  without  any  influx  of  the  higher,  or  any  intimation 
that  a  higher  power  existed  from  the  beginning, — thus  anticipating  many 
of  the  monistic  systems  of  modern  times. 

Now  it  is  important  to  take  note  that  these  ideas  exist  side  by  side  with 
the  more  ancient  notion  of  a  personal  Creator.  In  many  cases  he  is  called 
the  "father  of  all  the  totems"  and  as  such  his  alliance  with  the  new  wave 
of  immanentism  is  susceptible  of  a  possible  though  cautious  interpreta- 
tion. Even  if  evolution  were  an  established  fact,  which  it  is  far  from  be- 
ing, no  consequence  against  the  doctrine  of  creation  would  arise,  because 
evolution  would  then  be  the  mode  of  creating,  and  not  a  substitute-idea  at 
all.  The  rationes  seminales  of  St.  Thomas  have  nothing  in  common  with 
the  above  notions;  they  admit  of  germinal  units  only  in  a  strictly  limited 
sense,  that  is,  when  informed  or  inspired  by  the  direct  action  of  the  Creator. 
But  while  some  of  these  ideas  may  illustrate  the  modus  operandi  of  crea- 
tion when  coupled  with  a  transcendent  Being,  they  are  the  source  of  equally 
baneful  aberrations  wherever  such  a  belief  is  wanting.  That  this  was 
destined  to  be  the  case  in  many  instances,  has  been  sufficiently  illustrated 
above.    (See  under  Creation,  pp.  151-160,  189  ff,  190  IT.) 


550  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

TOTEMIC  INTERPRETATION 

The  Historical  Aspect  is  More  Vague 

Coming  to  the  personal  relations  between  the  totem-god  and  his 
creatures,  only  in  India  have  we  anything  like  a  homogeneous  account  of 
his  dealings  with  man.  The  old  paradise-legend  survives,  though  in  faded 
form.  Immortality  and  innocence  have  been  lost  through  eating  the  ili. 
or  rice-fruit,  though  this  is  not  distinctly  stated,  the  ili  being  a  stimulant 
rather  than  a  forbidden  food.  (Paradise,  209).  In  later  ages,  humanity 
was  destroyed  by  a  rain  of  fire  owing  to  their  rebellion  against  the  laws  of 
the  sun-god.  In  all  other  regions  these  legends  have  simmered  down  to 
vague  recollections  of  a  state  of  deathlessness,  brought  to  an  end  by  the 
moral  depravity  of  man,  and  the  subsequent  punishment  of  the  race  by 
some  sort  of  catastrophe,  diluvial  or  otherwise  (210-212,  227.  Retribu- 
tion, 431ff.) 

Totemic  Beliefs  and  Practices 

(1)  Birth  Ceremonies 

As  all  these  peoples  believe  themselves  to  be  descended  from  their 
totems,  birth-ceremonies  are  naturally  of  some  importance.  Among  tribes 
whore  patrilinear  descent  is  in  vogue,  which  is  the  prevailing  form  as 
against  the  class-culture,  the  child  inherits  the  totem  of  the  father  and  is 
named  after  it.    He  is  marked  with  the  totem-sign  (in  oil),  and  dedicated. 

Bear,  Wolf,  Buffalo,  Hyaena. — may  Sun-god  protect  you!  (349,  391). 

Charm-bamboos  and  birth-sticks  are  here  once  more  in  evidence,  but 
as  they  are  habitually  connected  with  the  lower  creation  and  not  with  the 
Sky-father,  they  have  lost  much  of  their  religious  value,  they  are  mere 
good-luck  amulets.  The  Couvade  survives  in  parts,  as  well  as  the  soul- 
bird,  but  they  are  more  rarely  connected  with  a  personal  deity. 

(2)   INITIATION 

Maturity-customs  show  a  more  complex  as  well  as  a  more  sanguinary 
character.  In  place  of  the  simple  abstention-rite,  prolonged  and  some- 
times terrible  fasts  are  sustained  in  order  to  procure  the  "guardian"  or 
special  totem  that  watches  over  the  individual's  welfare.  In  most  of  the 
Old-World  regions  circumcision  is  the  passport  to  manhood,  with  the 
formula — 
Sun-boy,  I  circumcise  you!  Snake-girl,  I  cut  you  with  this  flint!  (392). 

This  in  Australia  is  supplemented  by  subincision,  a  ghastly  practice, 
whose  moral  import  is  not  quite  clear.  In  all  these  functions,  however, 
strong  moral  lessons  are  sought  to  be  inculcated,  courage,  bravery,  loyalty 
to  the  tribal  customs,  observance  of  the  laws  of  marriage,  the  latter  being 
regarded  as  specially  binding.  Wherever  the  initiation  is  still  practiced, 
it  has  a  semi-rejlglous  significance,  it  prepares  the  youth  for  the  duties  of 
life. 


SUMMARY  551 

TOTEMIC  INTERPRETATION 

(3)   THE  MYSTERIES 

The  sacrifice  of  the  first-fruits  of  the  earth  may  still  be  traced  in  the 
numerous  taboos  on  food,  which  are  even  more  pronounced  in  this  age 
than  in  any  previous  one.  Among  these  the  corn  and  rice-oblations  of 
India  are  perhaps  the  most  distinctive  and  the  least  tarnished  with  mag- 
ical elements.  Before  every  meal  a  small  quantity  of  rice  is  set  aside  and 
offered  to  the  deity  as  an  act  of  thanksgiving,  and  this  directly  to  Him,  not 
to  the  buru-bongas  or  nature-spirits,  unless  we  call  the  sun-god  himself 
a  bum,  which  in  a  certain  sense  he  is.  But  as  to  these  buru-mysteries 
themselves,  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  any  proof  that  they  are  more  than 
wonder  rituals,  whose  object  is  to  increase  the  fertility  of  nature  by  more 
or  less  occult  agencies.  Such  are  among  others  the  Soso-Bonga  ceremonies 
of  India,  and  the  Intichiuma  ceremonies  of  Australia,  paralleled  by  the 
North-American  and  African  corn  and  rain-making  rites,  and  culminating 
in  the  famous  Sun-dance.    Invocations  are  here  and  there  to  be  found— 

0  Sin-Bonga,  save  us!  0  Mulungu,  mercy!  0  Altjira,  help!  0  Wakanda, 
pity!  (349-357.) 

I  have  already  considered  the  case  of  the  totemic  "sacrament",  in  which 
the  taboo  is  suddenly  taken  off,  and  the  worshipper  consumes  that  which 
is  most  sacred,  that  which  he  may  not  touch,  in  order  to  share  the  wonder- 
working power  of  the  totem,  to  become  one  with  his  ancestor.  Such  a 
•'communion-rite"  proves  at  the  most  that  the  communicant  becomes  one 
with  the  totem,  not  one  with  the  deity,  unless  we  suppose  that  the  deity- 
is  concealed  in  the  totem,  of  which  there  is  some  evidence,  but  no  certain 
proof.  Thus,  when  the  medicine-man  sings  the  praises  of  Sin  Bonga, 
consecrates  the  Bhelva-tree  with  rice,  and  then  consumes  the  egg,  which 
is  typical  of  the  world-egg,  out  of  which  Sin-Bonga  made  mankind  to 
issue,  the  entire  action  suggests  that  the  God  of  heaven  is  believed  to  operate 
through  some  suggestive  medium,  that  in  some  mysterious  manner  He  im- 
parts his  strength  in  the  sacred  herb  or  <igg,  which  contains  the  elixir  of  life 
(65,349). 

We  have  evidence  of  similar  banquetting  rites  in  Africa  (351),  America 
(356),  and  Australia  (353),  but  no  certain  evidence  that  they  are  connected 
with  a  supreme  Personality.  When  the  Omaha  sings,— "//aii,  mysterious 
power,  thou  who  art  the  sun!"—,  if  he  is  addressing  the  "power  that 
moves"  as  the  "Man  above",  it  is  not  impossible  that  the  Creator  of  all  may 
pity  His  poor  client,  who  thus  worships  Him  under  the  mistaken  form  of 
the  sacred  corn,  the  bear,  or  the  buffalo,  and  which  action  is  in  a  special 
sense,  "the  Great  Mystery",  the  culminating  act  of  religion.  But  these  cases 
are  few  and  far  between.  The  wakan  or  the  mulungu  is  primarily  a 
mystery-force,  a  magical  multiplication-formula  (Sacrifice,  394). 


552  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

TOTEMIC  INTERPRETATION 

(4)   EXPIATION 

Personal  expiations  for  sin  as  a  condition  of  moral  and  physical 
healing  have  become  more  prolonged  as  well  as  more  terrifying.  It  is  no 
longer  the  gentle  taps  with  the  palm-branch  and  a  few  abstentions  that  are 
able  to  reconcile  the  sinner,  he  must  be  rubbed  with  oil,  have  his  veins 
opened,  run  in  the  boiling  sun,  or  even  allow  his  skull  to  be  trepanned,  in 
order  to  rid  himself  of  the  evil  magic  of  the  bone-wizard.  Concomitantly 
a  declaration  of  innocence  on  the  part  of  the  patient  is  often  demanded,  and 
is  forced  out  of  the  penitent  by  what  may  be  called  a  third-degree  rite,  by 
occasional  physical  torture.    It  remains  to  be  seen  how  far  the  words-- 

/  absolve  you — /  take  away  your  xinsi  (352) 
can  be  proved  to  be  a  really  genuine  formula:  it  is  so  far  reported,  by 
our  own  Catholic  missionaries,  only  for  Central  Africa.  But  the  continuity 
of  some  form  of  manifestation  of  guilt,  accompanied  by  an  assurance  of 
pardon,  is  on  the  face  of  it  very  probable,  and  is  certainly  the  practice  in 
North  America,  (358,401). 

(5)  PRIESTHOOD 

In  the  mean  time  the  family  "father"  of  the  old  days  has  become  the 
professional  "medicine-man",  whose  office  is  independent  and  requires 
considerable  compensation.  The  patti  is  thus  distinguished  from  the  7nati 
or  "ghost-finder"  (India),  from  the  "healer"  (Africa),  from  the  "bone- 
wizard"  (Australia),  and  from  the  "mystery-doctor"  (North-America), 
although  the  genuine  patti  or  father-priest  quite  frequently  rises  to  the 
highest  position,  (350,  406) .  He  is  appointed  by  the  reigning  headman,  and 
may  be  his  son. 

The  Pat-Munda  gives  you  the  pagri  as  the  emblem  of  your  office!  (350). 

In  these  words  is  described  the  snake-shaped  head-dress,  which  in 
India  is  given  to  the  village  pahans  when  they  succeed  to  the  supreme 
authority.  (Roy,  401,  402).  In  other  cases  the  feather-crown,  the  prayer- 
stick,  the  nose-quill,  or  the  magic  crystal,  represent  the  chief  priestly 
insignia  (406). 

(6)  MATRIMONY 

Whatever  be  the  nature  of  the  Marang  Bum,  or  Great  Deify,  it  is  quite 
certain  that  he  has  an  intimate  relation  to  matrimony,  to  that  union  by 
which  physical  life  is  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation.  The 
doctrine  of  a  personal  descent  from  lower  and  even  lifeless  forms  of 
existence,  has  produced  such  a  strong  feeling  of  consanguinity  between  a 
man  and  his  "guardian"  that  he  is  not  allowed  to  marry  a  woman  of  his 
own  totem  under  penalty  of  death.  In  India  again  we  find  an  apparently- 
edifying  form — 

May  our  hands  remain  clasped  for  ever!  (350), 

the  parties  being  sprinkled  with  rice,  and  even  anointed  with  oil. 


SUMMARY  553 

TOTEMIC  INTERPRETATION 

However  extreme  such  a  doctrine  may  appear  to  us,  it  liad  the  advan- 
tage of  checking  or  preventing  too  close  a  union  of  blood-allies  for  which 
we  cannot  be  sufTiciently  grateful.  The  institution  of  monogamy  sur- 
vives, but  polygamy  is  also  sanctioned,  it  is  a  recognised  matrimonial 
state.  And  this,  with  the  growing  practice  of  divorce  and  of  marrige  by 
purchase  and  capture,  must  be  pronounced  to  be  the  most  striking  feature 
of  the  age.  It  is  precisely  on  the  sex-question  that  the  totem-culture 
reveals  its  greatest  weakness  (409). 

(7)   DEATH  .\ND  THE  FUTURE  LIKE 

In  the  matter  of  eschatology,  again,  we  find  the  most  glaring  differ- 
ences from  the  earlier  beliefs.  Not  only  is  the  simple  earth-grave  supple- 
mented by  platform  and  tree-burial,  with  occasional  mummification  and 
even  cremation  of  the  corpse,  but  there  is  no  immediate  trial  at  the  court 
of  divine  justice,  at  most  an  indirect  reward  or  punishment  by  its  reap- 
pearance under  higher  of  lower  forms  of  life  respectively. 

You  are  going  back  to  the  bufjalos,  you  are  going  back  to  your  ancestors! 

While  this  is  a  typical  formula  for  most  of  these  regions  (350.  404fT.) 
there  are  occasional  glimpses  of  a  better  fate.  Some  reappear  as  perfect 
men,  others  return  to  the  Ancient  of  Days,  while  still  others  are  absorbed 
in  the  Great  Wakanda.  Yet  even  with  these  more  hopeful  promises,  it 
cannot  be  questioned  that  the  doctrine  of  retribution  is  by  comparison 
vague.  Now  it  is  precisely  this  vagueness,  this  want  of  a  strong  moral 
sanction  for  human  conduct,  that  makes  the  totem-god  a  comparatively 
weak  figure.  The  so-called  "beatific  vision"  obtained  by  superhuman  fasts 
is  certainly  an  inspiring  title;  but  it  is  altogether  exceptional,  its  nature  is 
very  mysterious,  and  only  the  few  are  ever  believed  to  attain  it.  Reincar- 
nation is  the  only  outlook  for  the  great  majority  of  the  human  race  (471- 
478). 

Practical  Aspect  of  Totemic  Religion 

To  appreciate  the  nature  of  these  beliefs  with  greater  force,  the  social 
and  moral  side  of  the  question  is  one  which  we  cannot  ignore.  While 
the  essential  moral  constitution  of  man  remains  practically  the  same  in 
all  ages,  while  nobility  and  even  sanctity  are  no  doubt  always  to  be  found 
wherever  we  look  for  them,  there  are  certain  broad  tendencies  which  when 
found  in  sufficient  abundance  must  perforce  color  our  verdict  on  the 
general  morality  of  the  times.  Though  nothing  is  more  deceptive  than 
"moral  statistics",  the  growing  corruption  of  this  age  is  hardly  deniable, 
and  the  following  data  will  illustrate  some  of  its  less  pleasing  aspects 
taken  as  they  are  from  standard  and  recognised  authorities  on  the  social 
condition  of  four  continents :— 


554  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

TOTEMIC  INTERPRETATION 
A  Few  Illustrations 

(a)  Among  the  Mundas  of  India  the  sakam,  or  divorce,  is  openly  rec- 
ognised, and  the  most  prominent  vices  are  a  love  of  drinii  and  the  sexual 
liberty  of  the  unmarried.  The  ondoka,  or  human  sacrifice  is  still  practiced 
in  secret.' 

(b)  At  the  time  of  circumcision  the  Wa-gogo  of  East-Africa  indulge  in 
much  abusive  language,  the  women  especially  lose  all  sense  of  modesty, 
and  the  country  becomes  a  mighty  bedlam.' 

(c)  Among  the  Aruntas  of  Central  Australia  monogamy  is  the  rule,  but 
polygamy  is  equally  sanctioned,  and  there  is  a  very  wide  license  at  the 
corroborees,  or  sacred  dances,  when  ivife-loaning  is  commonly  practiced.' 

(d)  Among  the  North-American  Indians  monogamy  is  found  to  be  the 
prevalent  form  of  marriage  throughout  the  continent.  The  economic 
factor  is  everywhere  potent,  but  an  actual  purchase  is  not  uncommon.  The 
marriage-bond  is  loose,  and  may  icith  few  exceptions  be  dissolved  by  the 
wife  as  well  as  the  husband.* 

This,  of  course,  is  only  one  side  of  the  picture,  but  it  shows  that  where- 
ever  we  find  a  strong  totem-cult  there  are  considerable  moral  irregularities. 
Even  allowing  that  cannibalism,  head-hunting,  and  human  sacrifice,  have 
no  direct  connection  with  the  cult,  they  are  here  beginning  to  assert  them- 
selves, and  the  laxity  of  marriage-tie  is  notorious.  Again  we  find  the 
growing  practice  of  tribal  warfare  and  individual  blood-revenge,  and  the 
decidedly  cruel  and  unnatural  initiations,  such  as  the  mica-operation,  or 
"subincision",  of  Australia,  and  the  prolonged  starvation,  sweating,  bleed- 
ing, boiling,  and  shivering-ceremonies  of  Australia.  Africa,  and  North- 
America, — all  of  which  possess  no  doubt  a  deep  religious  significance,  but 
reveal  the  inroads  of  a  more  cruel,  more  barbarous,  more  blood-thirsty 
civilisation. 

Two  Sides  to  the  Question 

At  the  same  time  it  would  be  short-sighted  as  well  as  unfair  not  to- 
recognise  the  important  services  that  the  institution  of  totemism  has  ren- 
dered to  the  human  race  in  more  than  one  aspect.  It  has  preserved  the 
race  from  the  dangers  of  close  breeding,  it  has  raised  the  animal  world  to 
its  true  dignity,  and  it  has  painted  the  face  of  nature  in  magic  colors, — it 
has  become  tiie  nursing-mother  of  fine  art  and  of  natural  subjects, — as 
witness  the  Magdalenian  and  Bushman  paintings.  Indeed,  if  the  apoth- 
eosis of  nature  be  looked  upon  as  a  by-product,  it  is  in  many  respects  an 
advance  upon  the  simple  and  crude  beginnings  of  early  man.  Unfor- 
tunately it  has  cultivated  the  notion  of  guardian  to  such  an  extreme  as  to 
lose  sight  of  the  Creator. 


'Roy,  op.  cit.  455,  542,  488.  ^  h.  Cole,  Notes  on  the  Wa-gogo  of  German  East-.^frica, 
Journ.  Anthrop.  Inst.  XXXII  (1912),  p.  307.  »  Spencer  and  GiUen,  Northern  Tribes,  p. 
133ff.    *  Hodge,  Hindbook  of  American  Indians,  Vol.  I.  p.  809. 


SUMMARY  ^5^ 

TOTEMIG  INTERPRETATION 

An  Estimate  op  Dr.  Frazer's  Theory  op  Primitive  Totemism 
AS  A  Pre-Religious  State  op  Mankind 

"The  theory  that  in  the  history  of  manldnd  religion  has  been  preceded 
by  magic  is  confirmed  inductively  by  the  observation  that  among  the. 
aborigines  of  Australia,  the  rudest  savages  of  whom  we  possess  accurate 
information,  magic  is  universally  practiced,  whereas  religion  in  the  sense 
of  a  propitiation  or  conciliation  of  the  higher  powers  seems  to  be  nearly 
unknown".'  In  these  words  of  Prof.  Frazer  he  clearly  insinuates  that  there 
was  a  pre-religious  age  of  humanity  in  which  magic  and  impersonal  forces 
alone  were  recognised.  After  the  exhaustive  studies  of  all  the  more  recent 
anthropologists,  who  have  discovered  a  decaying  religion  in  Australia,  and 
a  living  personal  religion  among  far  "ruder"  savages,  it  is  needless  to  say 
that  the  above  theory  falls  to  the  ground.  The  Aruntas  are  not  primitive 
savages,  and  moreover  they  have  some  form  of  theistic  belief.' 

But  as  to  the  author's  additional  surmise  that  the  beginnings  and  there- 
fore the  essence  of  totemism  are  to  be  found  in  the  savage  ignorance  of 
the  power  of  procreation,  all  we  can  say  is  that  this  may  have  been  a  path- 
ological feature  accompanying  the  cult,  but  that  it  is  certainly  not  a  uni- 
versally safe  criterion  upon  which  a  broad  definition  of  totemism  can  be 
founded  '  Whatever  be  the  proximate  cause  of  this  decadent  philosophy  it 
seems  far  better  to  define  it  in  terms  that  are  more  easily  and  universally 
verified,  as  follows: — 

Totemism  is  that  form  of  religious  belief,  in  which  certain  natural 
objects,  animals,  or  plants,  are  recognised  as  genetically  related  toman 
in  such  sense  that  he  comes  out  of  his  "totem"  and  returns  to  it  at  death, 
with  a  consequent  prohibition  of  marriage  to  those  of  the  same  totem. 

This  definition  is  not  only  supported  by  Prof.  Wilken «  aad  Dr.  The«l  • 
two  eminent  specialists,  but  it  seems  that  the  doctrine  of  metempsychosis 
is  the  only  direct  criterion  by  which  the  identity  of  a  man  and  his  totem 
can  be  infallibly  recognised.  In  any  case,  it  is  the  invariable  concomitant 
onhe  totemic  matrimonial  taboo,  wherever  we  have  been  able  to  trace  it, 
and  th  s  points  to  a  close,  an  essential  alliance  between  otemism  and 
ransmigration.  If  the  latter  is  occasionally  found  without  the  former  as 
n  modern  Brahminism,  we  must  remember  that  Brahmmism  represents  a 
furn  with  the  old  Indian  totemism,  and  a  survival  of  the  doctrine  is  only 
to  be  expected.  Metempsychosis  and  matrimonial  interdict  seem  alike 
essential  to  the  concept.^" 


'£^:^TZJRc?r6toTsZ^^st.rn  Africk    VC.  VII.  p.  404ff.    ^o  Re-exam.ne  the 
pure  totem-arias,  and  the  conclusion  seems  irresistible. 


556  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

CONCLUSIONS  FOR  THE  TOTEMIG  AGE 

But  whatever  be  the  final  solution  of  this  ditTicult  question,  the  follow- 
ing general  conclusions  will.  I  think,  appear  to  be  justified:— 

There  is  throughout  this  period  a  more  vivid  consciousness  of  the  gen- 
etic relation  of  things  on  the  material  side  than  we  find  in  the  earlier  days 
of  humanity.  While  a  supreme  Personality  still  directs  the  destines  of 
man  in  the  abstract,  in  practice  his  worship  is  less  direct,  more  mysterious, 
more  occult,  more  magical,  more  mixed  up  with  lifeless  and  impersonal 
agencies.  In  this  we  discern  a  mental  tendency  which  is  never  without 
danger,  the  desire  to  know  too  much  of  the  origins  of  things,  to  trace  the 
divine  operations  in  every  shining  crystal,  in  every  living  cell.  It  was  im- 
possible to  make  this  experiment  without  the  risk  of  a  one-sided  develop- 
ment, of  degenerating  into  a  vague  mystery-cult,  which  is  frankly  nature- 
worship.  Yet  side  by  side  we  find  the  definition  of  deity  as  "The  Great 
Mystery",  and  the  occasional  glimpses  of  a  "Man  beyond",  of  a  "Father" 
of  all  the  totems,  suggest  at  least  that  some  of  these  practices  may  be  in- 
Iprjireted  in  a  higher  find  hpttt^r  sense.    Thus: — 

CONTUAST   IS  THE   KEYNOTE  OF  THE  I'ERIOU. 

tiiere  is  a  wider  view  of  the  divine  activity;  but  like  ail  tentative  move- 
ments it  was  destined  to  bring  forth  many  unfortunate  secondary  symp- 
toms,— a  confusion  of  the  world  with  its  Maker,  and  a  more  dim  realisa- 
tion of  the  direct  moral  responsibility  of  man. 

The  "Middle  Ages'"  of  Humanity 

The  combined  evidence  inclines  me  more  and  more  to  the  opinion,  that 
in  this  "mediaeval"  period  of  the  race  there  is  evidence  of  a  mental  and 
moral  dualism,  of  a  splitting  of  belief  and  practice  into  two  opposite  chan- 
nels, the  one  conservative,  monotheistic,  and  monogamous,  the  other  asso- 
ciated more  or  less  with  a  vague,  pantheistic  nature-cult,  in  which  the 
primitive  ideas  of  matrimonial  chastity  have  been  in  great  part  lost. 
Father  Schmidt's  assertion  that  totemism  has  no  relation  to  theology,  is 
one  which  I  have  not  been  able  lo  verify.  It  is  true  that  in  India,  the  pos- 
sible cradle  of  the  movement,  we  have  a  well-closed  theological  system, 
but  in  the  more  advanced  regions  of  Australia,  Africa,  and  North-America, 
there  is  an  endless  confusion  of  ideas, — theisiic,  pantheistic,  palingenetic 
or  "theosophic", — which  in  practice  amounts  to  a  new  religion,  though  a 
Father  of  all  is  still  visible  in  the  rift.  In  fact  it  may  yet  be  wilhin  the 
power  of  proof  to  alTirm  that  at  no  period  of  humanity  has  the  cult  of  the 
All-Father  been  entirely  lost,  though  its  greater  or  less  corruptions  are  only 
too  evident. 


SUMMARY  557 

RECENT  INTERPRETATION 

OR 

NEOLITHIC  DEVELOPMENT 

With  the  dawn  of  the  second  stone  age  we  enter  into  an  entirely  differ- 
ent era  of  thought.  The  bearers  of  this  culture  are  for  the  most  part  the 
Caucasian  or  white  races,  though  its  influences  can  be  felt  in  every  quarter, 
it  embraces  the  globe.  It  has  been  seen  that  the  most  striking  character- 
istic of  this  age  is  the  development  of  the  idea  of  "spirit-power"  as  distinct 
from  that  of  "genetic  relation", — the  notion,  namely,  that  each  unit  of 
being  is  strong  enough  to  be  self-subsistent,  an  independent  center  of 
spiritistic  activity  which  has  no  immediate  connection  with  higher  or 
lower  forms  of  existence.  This  idea,  collectively  known  as  mana,  but 
individually  as  the  manes,  or  disembodied  spirit,  has  converted  the  old 
totems  into  personal,  independent  divinities,  it  has  peopled  the  earth  with 
a  multitude  of  "gods".  What  is  the  nature  of  these  gods,  and  to  what  ex- 
tent are  they  subject  to  a  supreme  God?  This  is  the  object  of  the  following 
survey,  together  with  a  few  items  of  a  social  or  ethical  interest. 

Analysis  op  Deity 

For  the  early  neolithic  and  lacusfrian  period  we  have  amongst  others 
the  proto-Caucasians,  Sumerian,  Egyptian,  Semitic,  or  Aryan,  whose 
fundamental  ideas  have  already  been  analysed  in  the  preceding  chapters. 
By  combining  this  material  with  the  Polynesian  and  Gordilleran  data,  we 
obtain  the  following  picture  for  the  entire  area : — 

(1)   THE  NOTION  OP  SUPREMACY 

(N,  1)  Anu,  the  "Heavenly  One",  is  apparently  supreme,  singular,  and 
unique.  Existing  evidence  and  the  antiquity  of  the  symbol  point  to  a 
divine  unity,  though  En-lil  and  En-ki  seem  to  contest  it  from  the  earliest 
times  (83). 

(N,  2)  Osiris,  "All-seeing-One",  is  indefinitely  ancient  as  a  hieroglyph, 
but  is  preceded  by  Tum-Ra-Nun,  analogous  to  the  Babyl.  mummu  (91). 

(N,  3)  Ashur,  "Heavenly  King",  is  decidedly  prominent  but  late  (97). 
The  same  of  ilu  as  an  appellative,  or  of  el  or  Hut  as  proper  names.  Jahwe 
is  unique  (101). 

(N,  5)  Ahura,  "Life-Spirit",  is  practically  supreme,  as  the  evil  spirit, 
though  eternal,  is  destined  to  be  vanquished.    But  what  is  his  age?  (105). 

(N,  6)  Batara  is  "Lord"  of  all,  but  opposed  by  a  Batara  of  the  shades 
(111). 

(N,  6)  Rangi  is  the  Polynesian  "Sun",  but  husband  of  Papa,  Earth 
(114). 

(N,  7)  Aivona-Tirawa  is  evidently  transcendent,  though  all  the  powers 
of  nature  are  also  invoked.     (Typical  for  North-American  Neolithic  115). 

(N,  7)  Pachacamac  is  the  Peruvian  "World-Soul",  but  the  evidence 
seems  to  show  that  he  was  formerly  an  elemental  deity.  (South- American 
Bronze  119). 


558  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

(2)   THE  IDEA  OF  CREATOR 

(N,  1)  Anu  creates  in  the  person  of  Bel-Marduk,  demiurge.  The  crea- 
tion-epic however  insinuates  a  (former)  evolution  of  gods  out  of  natural 
forces,  mummu.  The  seven  tablets  reveal  progressive  periods  of  creative 
activity  (161). 

(N,  2)  Osiris  inherits  the  attributes  of  Atum-Ra,  the  creator  of  the 
heavens,  the  maker  of  all  existences.  But  the  earliest  triad,  Atum-Shu- 
Tafnut,  (Father- Air-Dciv)  suggest  a  parallelism  with  nature,  a  concatena- 
tion (167). 

(N,  3)  Ashur  in  liis  present  form  is  a  strong  creator,  the  self-begotten, 
the  fashioner  of  the  heavens, — pictured  as  the  winged  orb  of  heaven  (169). 

(N,  4)  Jahv:e-Elohim  creates  by  His  Word.  He  is  the  Lord-God,  the 
Great  I  AM  (172). 

(N,  5)  Ahura  creates  by  his  seven  spirits,  but  Angra-Mainyu  does  like- 
wise (176). 

(N,  6)  Batara  is  maker  of  all,  but  Pulang-Gana  perhaps  his  equal  (178). 

(N,  7)  Awona  has  evolved  things  by  "thinking  himself  outward  in 
space"  (180). 

(N,  7)  Tiraiva  is  the  power  above  that  moves  the  world  (181). 

(N,  7)  Pachacamac  is  the  World-Soul,  who  advances  the  sun  far  above 
all  the  stars  of  heaven,  implying  a  pre-mundane  being  (181). 

(3)   THE  IDEA  OP  LAWGIVER  AND  THE  QUESTION  OF  PERSONALITY 

(N,  1)  Anu  is  invoked  as  the  god  of  heaven  as  early  3100  B.  G.  He  is 
"king  of  the  lands",  and  prayer,  sacrifice,  and  temple-worship  are  here 
implied  (83). 

(N,  2)  Osiris,  like  all  the  Egyptian  gods,  is  strongly  human,  if  clothed 
in  animal  symbols.    He  is  the  father  of  Egypt,  the  ideal  Pharaoh  (91). 

(N,  3)  Ashur  is  a  very  similar  deity  of  military  character,  a  "war- 
lord" (97). 

(N,  4)  Jahwe-Elohim  is  the  ideal  Lawgiver,  the  Author  of  the  Torah, 
the  supreme  Person  par  excellence  (101). 

(N,  5)  Ahura-Mazda  is  Creator-Lord,  the  author  of  Kshathra,  law, 
dominion  (105). 

(N,  6)  BaJtara  is  the  lord  and  master  of  mankind,  with  a  developed 
ritual  (111). 

(N,  6)  Rangi  is  the  Father  of  the  human  race,  the  teacher  of  his  peo- 
ple (114). 

(N,  7)  Awona  is  the  All-Father  with  an  elaborate  worship  (115). 

(N,  7)  Tirana  is  Spirit- Father,  and  Our- Father-in-all-places  (116). 

(N,  7)  Pachacamac,  though  a  world-soul,  is  moved  by  prayers  and 
petitions, — "they  worshipped  Him  in  their  hearts" — ,  implying  a  filial  rela- 
tion (119). 

An  inspection  of  this  table  will  show  that  the  idea  of  unity  and  trans- 
cendence is  fairly  conspicuous.  Only  under  N,  5,  6,  is  a  possible  dualism 
implied.  But  as  to  personality,  the  test  of  worship  requires  it.  All  these 
beings  are  invoked  or  petitioned  as  fathers,  pharaohs.  kings,  lords,  or  msis- 
ters.  they  are  super-/ir//na»  beings. 


SUMMARY  559 

RECENT  INTERPRETATION 

Nature  of  the  Neolithic  Divinity 

From  a  re-examination  of  this  material  a  tolerably  safe  conclusion  may 
be  arrived  at  on  ttie  subject  of  the  nature  of  this  newer  divinity. 

(1)   CONTINUITY  WITH  THE  PAST 

There  is  no  necessity  for  postulating  a  break  in  the  continuous  tradi- 
tion of  the  All-Father  cult.  The  above  data  show  that  this  notion  has  been 
preserved  in  its  essentials  from  the  earliest  times.  {"Ann,  my  beloved 
father").  Moreover  it  can  be  traced  right  through  the  totem-belt  down  to 
the  primitive  zone,  (East  Indies).  The  neotithic  "god"  is  still  the  one  true 
God  of  primitive  tradition,  he  has  the  attributes  of  transcendence  and  per- 
sonality that  distinguish  him  from  all  totems  or  taboos,  however  sacred. 
Nevertheless  he  has  undoubtedly  been  tainted  by  the  naturalistic  under- 
growth, the  conception  of  his  operations  shows  signs  of  a 

(2)    DISENTANGLEMENT   PROM   THE  NATURE-CONNEXION 

This  reveals  itself  in  the  fact  that  in  nearly  every  case  the  ancient  hiero- 
glyph has  a  cosmic,  astral,  or  animal  motif,  that  astrology  and  divination 
are  strongly  developed,  that  the  existing  cosmogonies  of  Egypt  and  Baby- 
lonia are  suspiciously  suggestive  of  a  generation  of  gods,  of  a  theogony, 
that  half-animal  ideas  have  lingered  on  far  into  historic  times.  The 
Sphinx  of  Giza  and  the  Assyrian  Cherubim  will  tell  their  own  stories  in 
the  matter.  Again  the  existing  Polynesian  mythology  shows  a  vivid  per- 
sonification of  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  which  notions  can  be  traced  far  into 
the  Cordilleran  region,  where  they  obtain  a  more  perfect  astronomical 
setting  but  are  still  of  the  essence  of  theological  thinking,— Pueblo,  Aztec, 
or  Inca.  All  this  shows  that  the  "High  God"  has  not  completely  severed 
his  connexion  with  nature,  that  he  is  to  some  extent  a  deus  ex  machina,  a 
machine-made  divinity,  a  half-naturalised  god. 

(3)    CONTACT  WITH  THE  ANIMISTIC  PLANE 

On  the  other  hand  there  are  signs  of  a  new  power  which  is  destined  to 
modify  not  inconsiderably  the  notion  of  God.  It  is  the  power  of  mana, 
that  spiritual  and  imponderable  essence,  which  acts  in  and  through  all 
being,  and  manifests  itself  in  a  thousand  difTerent  centers,  making  them 
sacred  and  inviolable,  taboo.  It  is  more  than  magic;  it  is  an  advanced 
system  of  spiritism,  in  which  the  whole  world  is  peopled  with  ghosts  and 
fairies,  with  psvchic  centers,  with  "bruwas".  The  whole  of  creation  is 
alive  everything  is  spirit.  The  chief  divinity  is  now  defined  as  the  "Great 
Spirit"  but  he  is  surrounded  by  a  host  of  minor  antus,  who  are  quite  often 
malignant.  They  are  hungry  ghosts,  crying  for  food,  thirsty  for  human 
blood. 


560  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

REGENT  INTERPRETATION 

(4)    ELUCIDATION   OF  "MANA'" 

The  following  definitions  may  help  to  illustrate  these  tendencies: — 

"That  invisible  power",  writes  Dr.  Codrington,  "which  is  believed  to 
cause  all  such  efTects  as  transcend  their  conception  of  the  regular  course 
of  nature,  and  to  reside  in  spiritual  beings,  whether  in  the  spiritual  part 
of  living  men,  or  in  the  ghosts  of  the  dead,  is  that  generally  known  as 
mana". 

"This  power,  though  in  itself  impersonal,  is  alivays  connected  tvith 
some  person,  icho  directs  it.  All  spirits  have  it,  ghosts  generally,  and  some 
men".  "No  man  however  has  this  power  of  his  own.  All  that  he  does  is 
done  by  the  aid  of  personal  beings,  ghosts,  or  spirits,  and  it  essentially 
belongs  to  personal  beings  to  originate  if." 

It  is  therefore  important  to  realise  that  this  power  differs  from  magic 
in  that  it  proceeds  or  originates  from  persons,  it  differs  from  primitive' 
theism  in  that  the  persons  operating  it  are  possessed  of  a  secret  power  by 
which  they  control  the  patient  by  more  or  less  occult  agencies, — the  essence 
of  telepathy.  There  is  now  an  opinion  among  experts,  that  a  distinction 
must  be  made  between  manistic  animism  and  impersonal  magic.  While 
the  latter  appears  very  early,  animistic  or  spirit-magic  is  comparatively 
late,  and  both  are  preceded  by  the  simple  concept  of  personality,  one  which 
holds  its  own  throughout  the  history  of  man,  and  is  here  once  more 
brought  into  bold  relief  by  the  doctrine  of  a  personal  spiritual  power 
which  is  more  than  an  mystery-force  on  the  one  hand,  or  a  simple  com- 
manding divinity  on  the  other.  "What  ive  have  in  the  beginning" ,  says 
Father  Schmidt,  "is  personality,  not  animism.  Animism  begins  ivhen 
souls  are  attributed  to  lifeless  objects"."  But  what  is  a  person  without  a 
soul?  Precisely  the  "I  blow",  "I  shine",  "I  give",  of  the  earliest  theology, 
regardless  of  what  the  "I"  consists  of,  it  is  simply  a  moral  self-conscious- 
ness, and  nothing  more.  Here  however  the  idea  of  soul  as  a  telepathic 
substance  is  elaborately  worked  out.  It  is  not  simply  the  case  of  "I  shine", 
but  "I  shine  with  Universal  Life"." 

Now  although  mana  as  a  technical  term  is  confined  to  the  Oceanic 
portion  of  the  neolitiiic  belt,  we  have  seen  tiiat  the  same  idea  can  be  traced 
to  the  banks  of  the  Nile  and  the  Euphrates,  and  it  is  here  quite  probably 
that  we  have  its  originating  source.  "As  in  Egypt,  so  in  Babylonia,  anim- 
ism was  the  earliest  shape  assumed  by  religion,  and  it  was  through  anim- 
ism that  the  Sumerian  formed  his  conception  of  the  divine".^' 


"H.  Codrington,  The  Melanesians,  (Oxford,  1891),  pp.  119,  191.  >=W.  Schmidt,  Myth- 
ologie  der  Austronesischcn  Volker,  (Vienna,  1910),  p.  139.  "Compare  Prof.  W.  Wilken, 
Het  Animisme,  Indische  Gids  (1884),  p.  136.  "The  whole  of  nature  is  animated,  even  life- 
less stones  are  the  object  of  this  anthropopathic  concept".  '*  A.  H.  Sayce,  The  Religious 
of  ancient  Egypt  and  Babylonia  (1903),  p.  276. 


SUMMARY  561 

RECENT  INTERPRETATION 

Principles  of  the  Animistic  Theology 

It  is  the  flowering  reed, — symbolic  of  the  tree  of  life — ,  which  is  here  for 
the  first  time  applied  in  a  more  generic  sense  to  the  concept  of  life  as  such, 
and  above  all  things  to  self-conscious  existence  as  acting  through  a  subtle 
and  rare  medium,  a  refined  or  ethereal  substance, — the  fundamental  notion 
of  spiritism.  From  the  beginning  there  are  gradations  in  this  concept. 
There  is  the  material  or  ghastly  self,  known  as  the  ka  in  Egypt  and  the  lilu 
in  Babylonia, — frankly  an  apparition — .  and  there  is  the  invisible  khu,  the 
Mesopotamian  z\,  which  expresses  the  interior  consciousness  of  man,  the 
imperishable,  the  unchangeable  ego.  (89,  95).  These  notions  are  paralleled 
in  part  by  the  Assyrian  kabittu,  (lebit).  which  as  heart  or  liver  expresses 
the  "soul"  or  interior  of  being  (100),  by  the  Iranian  manah  (mainyu), 
(108),  and  above  all  things  by  the  Hebrew-Palestinian  ruach,  which  as  the 
"breath"  of  existence  has  no  definite  philosophical  value,  but  is  vaguely 
indicative  of  subtlety,  of  spirituality  (102).  If  to  these  be  added  the  mana 
of  the  far  East  (113) .  and  the  mavitoo  of  the  far  West. — the  latter  of  uncer- 
tain etymologj-,  but  attested  in  the  sense  of  "spirit-person"  at  least  in  one 
instance  (116) — ,  it  is  difficult  to  resist  the  conclusion  that,  with  so  many 
similarities  in  mythology  and  general  culture,  there  is  not  some  distant 
equation  of  values  between  zi,  khu,  kabittu,  ruach,  bruwa,  rawa,  manah, 
mana,  manitoo.  which  is  more  than  of  a  descriptive  nature,  and  which 
stands  for  a  somewhat  different  line  of  thought  than  that  of  the  preced- 
ing series, — buru,  mulungu,  altjira,  inkara,  kaluk,  ivakan,  loakanda, 
orenda,  etc.  While  the  latter  are  taken  vaguely  for  mysteries,  personal 
and  impersonal  forces  alike,  the  former  are  initiated  only  by  personal  and 
self-conscious  beings,  living  or  dead  spirits;  they  are  personal  agencies. 

EXPANDING   POWER  OF  THE  ANIMISTIC  CONCEPT 

Now  in  applying  this  new  system  to  the  old  totem-god,  it  was  destined 
to  broaden  and  deepen  the  concept  of  divinity  by  no  inconsiderable 
degrees.  Ami  {Bel-Enlil-Ea)  is  the  god  of  heaven,  the  king  of  the  lands, 
the  lord  of  the  deep,  and  the  lord  of  life  (en-ti),  and  it  is  "by  the  life  of  the 
gods",  "by  the  life  of  heaven  and  earth"  {zi-an-ki),  that  the  conjuration- 
formulas  reach  their  climax  (359).  Similarly  Atum-Ra  and  Osiris  are 
symbolised  by  the  eye,  they  are  "all-seeing  ones",  ka-ho-tep,  "shining 
spirit"  (95),  Ashiir  is  king  of  heaven,  "lord  of  our  fate"  (99),  Jahwe- 
Elohim  is  "life"  itself  (I  AM),  and  ruach  or  "pure  spirit"  (102),  Ahura- 
Mazda  is  vohu-manah,  "holy  spirit".  Batara  is  lord  of  the  antu,  Quat- 
Marawa  lord  of  the  vui,  Raiigi  supreme  mana,  Awona-Tirawa,  father  of 
spirits  {rawa),  Kitchi  Manitoo  the  "Great  Spirit"  etc.,— throughout  there 
is  a  decided  tendency  to  read  more  into  the  term  than  we  find  in  the  primi- 
tive folklore  of  humanity. 


562  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

RECENT  INTERPRETATION 

An  Explicit  Development  of  a  Formerly  Implicit  Idea 

I  do  not  pretend  that  this  notion  of  "spirit-power"  is  an  entirely  novel 
one.  The  dofinition  of  God  as  the  "breath"  or  "wind"  of  existence  goes 
back  to  the  earliest  Oceanic  belt,  as  we  have  seen.  But  while  the  nature  of 
deity  other  than  that  of  "father"  is  left  unconsciously  vague,  being  simply 
"invisible";  He  is  here  explicitly  identified  with  a  definite  philosophical 
concept.  He  is  a  spiritual  or  ethereal  essence,  having  analogies  with  the 
soul  of  man.  and  indeed  with  all  living  things,  but  clearly  marked  ofT  from 
the  "ghost"  by  His  attributes  of  transcendence  and  ubiquity,  however  much 
He  may  have  been  confused  with  the  family  ancestor  in  individual  in- 
stances. The  extent  of  this  spiritistic  movement  has  been  fully  discussed 
in  the  preceding  pages.  It  is  not  sutTiciently  all-absorbing  to  compromise 
the  statement  that  none  of  the  fairies,  vampires,  or  hobgobblins  have  ever 
taken  the  place  of  the  King  of  Heaven,  the  Lord  of  the  Lands,  the  All-seeing 
One,  who,  however  corrupted  in  parts,  shows  his  benignity,  power,  wis- 
dom, and  goodness  in  the  records  that  have  been  preserved  of  his  action  in 
the  realm  of  nature  and  man.  This  is  a  renaissance  rather  than  a  new, 
invention. 

The  Idea  op  Creation,  Though  Tainted,  is  More  Fully  Developed 

But  the  god  of  animism  has  had  to  shake  off  the  fetters  that  bound  him 
too  closely  to  the  world  of  nature,  to  the  lifeless  universe.  In  nearly  every 
case  the  act  of  creation  shows  the  marks  of  a  preceding  nature-worship 
which  is  too  strong  to  be  entirely  efTaced,  it  colors  the  whole  of  the  cosi- 
mogony.  Anu  is  derived  from  mummu,  as  Osiris  is  derived  from  nunu, 
two  suspicious  parallels,  if  both  are  authentic  and  stand  for  "water- 
chaos"  the  "mother  of  them  all"  (Creation,  161,  167).  To  what  extent 
these  are  personalities  or  personifications,  it  is  impossible  to  say,  but  they 
seem  to  be  the  survivals  of  an  age  of  cosmic  evolutionism  and  are  yet 
traceable  in  many  of  Brahminislic,  Polynesian,  and  Pan-American  world- 
systems.  Apart  from  this  the  supreme  divinity  is  a  creator,  he  is  "father  of 
all  the  gods",  as  in  Mesopotamia  and  Egypt,  and  under  the  form  of  Bel- 
Marduk  in  Babylon  he  slays  the  world-typhon,  from  which  he  makes 
heaven  and  earth,  sea  and  land,  sun,  moon  and  stars,  plants  and  animals, 
and  finally  man,  the  latter  by  the  cutting  off  of  his  head  and  mixing  the 
blood  with  the  slime  of  the  earth.  This  may  serve  as  a  type  for  many  of 
the  cosmogonies  of  this  period;  but  there  are  two  that  tower  head  and 
shoulders  above  the  others,  the  Hebrew  and  the  Iranian.  Both  are  free 
from  the  weeds  of  naturalism,  and  in  the  former  Elohim  creates  "by  His 
Word",  while  in  the  latter  Ahura-Mazda  creates  by  his  "seven  spirits",  a 
beautiful,  though  probably  late  form  of  theological  speculation. 


SUMMARY  563 

RECENT  INTERPRETATION 

The  Historical  Aspect  is  Once  More  Recognised 

Thus  the  idea  of  creation  is  more  vivid  and  clear-cut  than  in  the  pre- 
ceding period,  where  it  is  far  more  vague,  in  some  cases  absent.  This  is 
further  illustrated  by  the  paradise-legends,  in  w^hich  the  leading  actors 
stand  out  in  historical  prspective,  there  is  a  definite  drama  of  the  fall 
(Paradise,  228).  Outlines  of  the  ancient  tradition  are  preserved  in  many 
of  the  Western-Asiatic  versions,  there  is  a  garden  with  a  tree  of  life,  in 
some  cases  a  serpent,  with  hints  of  a  temptation  and  fall,— but  in  none 
have  the  ancient  ideas  been  handed  with  anything  like  moral  complete- 
ness save  only  in  the  Jewish-Palestinian  version,  in  which  creation,  para- 
dise, deluge  and  dispersion  of  humanity  are  singularly  free  from  mytho- 
logical accretions,  and  in  which  a  Redeemer  is  clearly  promised,  an  idea 
which  finds  its  deficient  counterpart  in  the  savior-gods  of  Babylonia  (Re- 
demption, 271 ) .  "Sacrifice  is  the  navel  of  the  world",  it  is  only  through  the 
shedding  of  blood  that  the  divinity  can  now  be  appeased,  he  requires  a 
steadily  increasing  toll  of  life.  Reconciliation  can  only  be  effected  by  san- 
guinary means,  but  once  obtained,  it  is  a  passport  to  life  eternal,  it  admits 
the  bearer  to  a  peaceful  though  unpromising  land  of  shades. 

Practical  Application 

Such  are  the  main  features  of  the  newer  belief  in  the  Great  Spirit  in 
so  far  as  it  represents  an  advance  upon  the  previous  notions.  It  will  be 
interesting  to  see  how  these  principles  are  applied  in  practice. 

(i)  birth  customs 

Purification  with  water  and  oil  is  a  conspicuous  feature  in  the  earliest 
Sumerian-Babylonian  practice,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  numerous 
traditions  which  associate  these  elements  with  a  preternatural  healing- 
power.  It  is  Gilgamesh  who  is  cleansed  of  his  leprosy  in  the  "waters  of 
life",  and  in  the  Adapa-legend  it  is  the  Ocean-god  who  prompts  the  hero  to 
ask  of  Anu  "clothing  and  oil",  a  more  utilitarian  and  moreover  a  fatal' 
request,  but  showing  the  importance  of  oil  in  the  religious  conscience  of 
the  nation.  But  simple  water  seems  to  have  been  in  use  on  all  the  greatest 
occasions: — 

"With  pure  sparkling  ivaler,  with  bright  shimmering  water,  seven  times, 
and  again  seven  times,  besprinkle,  cleanse,  puriftj!"  (359). 

This  Babylonian  formula  may  be  paralleled  to  some  extent  in  Egj'pt 
(365),  in  Persia  (373),  and  in  fact  throughout  the  more  recent  Orient, 
though  not  of  course  with  verbal  identity  (377ff.)  We  cannot  say  how  far 
this  "sprinkling"  was  also  an  infancy-rite,  though  all  the  evidence  points 
in  this  direction.  The  Jewish  "circumcision",  on  the  other  hand,  is  clearly 
the  seal  of  a  special  divine  pact,  a  unique  Covenant  (369) . 


564  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

RECENT  INTERPRETATION 

(2)  MATURITY  RITES 

On  the  other  hand  the  old  tribal  initiation  has  apparently  disapp-^ared 
except  in  the  wilder  regions  of  this  cultural  zone.  The  Maklu-v\[ua]  of 
Babylonia  represents,  however,  a  very  similar  idea.  It  is  a  kind  of  second- 
ary exorcism,  an  advanced  initiation-rite.  But  instead  of  burning  the  can- 
didate, it  is  the  demons  that  are  burned  in  elTigy  with  the  words: — 

/  will  raise  the  torch,  I  will  consume  your  effigies. 

May  the  strangulating  Fire-god  strengthen  my  hands!  (359). 

On  other  occasions  the  sangu  heals  or  "confirms"  the  patient  by  invok- 
ing the  Chaldean  triad,  by  pouring  on  water  and  oil,  and  above  all  by 
applying  the  tigillu,  or  sacred  herb,  distantly  connected  with  the  gesh-tin 
or  tree  of  life,  which  shows  the  essentially  symbolic  nature  of  the  cere- 
mony. If  the  magical  thunder-shaman  and  the  spirit-hunter  are  also  well- 
represented  in  this  region,  it  may  be  put  down  as  the  result  of  a  spiritistic 
interpretation  of  the  zi,  which  as  the  manistic  worship  of  the  lilu  or 
departed  ancestor  substituted  the  ghost  for  the  invisible  Spirit,  and  was 
distinctly  baneful  in  its  mental  and  moral  results.  This  growing  degenera- 
tion with  its  tendency  to  phallic  fertilisation-magic  has  already  been  made 
due  allowance  for.  It  characterises  the  whole  of  the  more  advanced 
agrarian  belt  of  the  later  neolithic  age,  and  is  accompanied  by  a  more 
bloodthirsty  ritual, — firewalking,  skull-cult,  and  human  sacrifice.  This 
confiict  between  the  spiritual  and  the  spiritistic  has  left  its  footprints  as 
far  as  Oceania  and  South  America,  where  we  have  a  dignified  dedication- 
rite  side  by  side  with  the  "ghost-society",  with  its  firebrands,  its  hypnotic 
swoons,  and  its  phallic  secrets. 

(3)  THE  MYSTERIES 

It  is  in  the  matter  of  sacrifice  that  we  meet  with  the  greatest  extremes 
of  practice, — a  surprisingly  lofty  "feast  of  the  gods"  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  wholesale  offering  up  of  women  on  the  funeral  pyres  of  their  husbands, 
the  mowing  down  of  countless  thousands  by  the  irresistible  Juggernaut 
car,  on  the  other.  This  reveals  what  is  only  to  be  expected  from  the  gen- 
eral dualistic  movement  of  the  period,  the  survival  of  many  primitive 
notions  of  innocence  and  unbloody  propitiation  of  the  divine,  together 
with  the  growing  consciousness  that  the  sins  of  man  are  sufTiciently  ter- 
rible to  merit  an  equally  terrible  satisfaction.  As  it  is  inconceivable  that 
a  good  God  can  habitually  desire  the  destruction  of  man,  it  seems  impos- 
sible to  trace  this  custom  except  to  the  growing  influence  of  demonism, 
to  a  perverted  aspect  of  the  divine  nature.  No  person  on  earth  would  ofTer 
up  his  daughter  to  be  consumed  in  the  flames  unless  he  felt  that  he  was 
too  sinful  to  live,  that  either  he  or  his  ofl'spring  would  have  to  make  a  su- 
preme atonement. 


SUMMARY  565 

REGENT  INTERPRETATION 

Among  the  unbloody  alimentary  rites  those  of  Babylonia  take  the  pre- 
cedence. As  early  as  the  fourth  millennium  before  Christ  we  find  the 
patesis  pouring  out  libations  to  their  patrons,  generally  Anu  and  Ishtar, 
the  oldest  male  and  female  members  of  the  pantheon.  Lugal-Tarsi  builds 
the  great  temple  of  Kish  in  their  honor,  Ur-Nina  owes  his  name  to  the  god- 
dess, Lugal-Zaggizi  is  the  high-priest  of  Anu,  and  offers  to  En-lil,  the  god 
of  Nippur  an  "oblation  of  bread"  and  "pure  water",  while  Gudea  attests 
that 

In  this  food  is  contained  the  abundance  of  the  gods  (360) 

They  are  generally  of  the  number  of  twelve,  they  are  unleavened  or  fre- 
quently sweetened,  they  are  placed  on  the  "table"  of  the  gods,  and  to  the 
accompaniment  of  instrumental  music  and  the  burning  of  aromatic  sub- 
stances they  are  solmenly  offered  to  the  divinity  with  the  following 
words : — 

Receive  the  banquet  of  all  the  great  gods!  (361) 

This  is  the  heavenly  banquet  as  such,  the  supposed  "impanation"  of 
the  divine.  The  existence  of  similar  offerings  in  Egypt  and  ancient  Persia, 
the  feeding  of  Osiris  with  the  corn-fruit  of  the  lower  Nile  (366),  the  pro- 
pitiation of  Ahura-Mazda  by  the  oblation  of  the  sacred  soma  (374),  not  to 
speak  of  the  contemporary  Hindoo,  Polynesian  and  North-American  "corn- 
mysteries",— all  are  so  many  manifestations  that  the  first-fruit  sacrifice 
has  not  been  forgotten,  it  exists  in  a  more  developed,  more  complicated, 
more  ritualistic  form  (377-386).  As  illustrations  take  the  following  bene- 
dictory invocations: — 

Praise  unto  thee  Osiris,  thou  son  of  heaven!  (Egyptian  Corn-god) 

/  am  Haoma  tfie  Holy,  the  driving  death  afar!  (Persian  Soma). 

/  am  the  fourfold-containing  womb  of  life!  (American  Mother-Corn). 

Even  the  manna  of  the  Jews  is  linguistically  a  mincha,  a  divine  gift:— 
This  is  the  bread  which  the  Lord  hath  given  you  to  eat!  (370), 
though  here  the  monotheistic  setting  of  the  Jahwe-worship  is  the  distinc- 
tive feature.    The  fact  that  some  of  the  breads  are  invariably  eaten  shows 
that  the  sacrifice  is  also  a  sacrament,  a  communion-rite. 

The  sacrificial  nature  of  the  banquet  in  the  sense  of  a  destruction  of 
the  victim  is  more  forcibly  brought  out  in  the  7iiku  or  bloody  sacrifice. 
Here  it  is  not  only  the  gift  {kiStu),  the  ox,  the  hog,  or  the  lamb—,  but  the 
pouring  out  of  the  blood  {niliu),  that  alone  can  appease  the  offended 
divinity.  This,  with  the  partial  consumption  of  the  shew-bread  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  external  destruction  was  regarded  as  necessary  to  all 
sacrifice  in  the  propitiatory  as  distinct  from  the  latreutic  sense.  But  the 
whole  subject  of  "immolation"  has  been  amply  discussed  above,  (see  under 
Sacrifice,  p.  398-400). 


566  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

RECENT  INTERPRETATION 

(4)    EXPIATION   OR   RECONCILIATION 

The  subjective  ads  on   the  part  of  the  worshipper  include  a  very 
moderate  fast,  an  abstinence  from  certain  taboos,  a  public  and  sometimes 
a  priestly  accusation  of  faults,  and  above  all  the  practice  of  vocal  prayer, 
the  recitation  of  "litanies"  which  are  here  more  prominent  and  prolonged 
than  perhaps  in  any  preceding  age.    Sufficient  examples  have  been  given 
to  show  that  these  are  genuine  exhibitions  of  sorrow,  and  in  the  Baby- 
lonian shiptu-rites  three  or  four  distinct  acts  seem  to  be  traceable : — 
Has  he  blasphemed  his  God?  dishonored  his  father?  spoken  a  lie?— 
0  Lord,  mxj  transgressions  are  many,  great  are  my  sins?  (Accusation). 
Come  to  deliver  us,  thou  son  of  justice,  release  the  ban!  (Absolution). 
Lord  of  the  land,  return,  took  down  upon  thy  city!  (Satisfaction). 

It  is  impossible  to  say  how  far  these  ditTerent  actions  can  be  said  to 
constitute  a  strictly  continuous  moral  function  analogous  to  the  sacra- 
ment of  penance.  But  we  have  seen  that  all  these  ceremonies  are  grossly 
polytheistic  and  thaumaturgic,— the  Sangu  delivers  his  patient  from  charms 
of  sorcery,  not  from  a  personal  rebellion  against  the  God  of  Heaven, — it 
is  merely  an  absolution  from  witchcraft  (363,  406) .  In  Palestine  the  whole 
confession  is  summary,  but  is  made  directly  to  the  great  Jehovah:— 

Pardon,  0  Lord,  pardon  thy  people,  and  be  not  angry  with  us  for  ever! 

(372),  but  the  nature  of  the  kappora  on  the  Day  of  Atonement  is  very 
mysterious.  We  have  noted,  however,  that  the  examination  of  conscience 
was  no  trivial  ordeal,  whether  in  Palestine,  Egypt,  or  Babylonia,  and  the 
early  Vedic  and  Avestic  lawbooks  show  that  the  custom  of  self-accusation 
of  sin  may  well  have  been  at  one  time  universal  in  Western  Asia  (376fr.), 
as  it  was  certainly  a  recognised  institution  among  the  Aztecs  of  North 
America  (386). 

(5)  PRIESTHOOD 

One  of  the  most  distinctive  marks  of  the  recent  period  is  the  separation 
of  the  offices  of  physical  and  moral  healer,  of  the  spiritual  sangu  from  the 
old  medicine-man.  Tlie  title  of  "father",  once  universal,  is  now  confined 
to  the  ruling  j)riest-king,  the  head  of  the  hierarchy.  We  have  traced  its 
evolution,  from  the  root  ab  as  follows:— /m,  papa,  peng,  penglima,  pahan, 
pal,  patesi,  the  latter  being  the  title  of  the  Sumerian  rulers  (363) .  Even 
Ab-ram  is  the  "father  of  light"  and  Ab-raham  the  "father  of  power",  the 
rabbi  being  at  least  a  "great-one",  a  father-master.  The  Egyptian  pha- 
raohs,  the  Persian  pailish.  and  the  Polynesian  and  Peruvian  "popes"  cor- 
respond to  some  extent  to  the  Babylonian  patesi,  who  as  the  sanga-mahu 
or  High-Priest  is  the  equivalent  of  the  Jewish  rabbi-kohen,  with  solemn 
mitre  and  mace. 

Thou  art  the  living  form  on  earth  of  Ihg  father  Atum!  (368). 

These  words  express  the  cult  of  the  age  to  the  anointed  son-of-heaven, 
(406). 


SUMMARY  ^^^ 

RECENT  INTERPRETATION 

(6)    MATRIMONY 

The  union  of  the  sexes  is  now  no  longer  determined  by  a  mythical 
descent  from  certain  animals  or  objects.  The  totemic  crests  wherever 
preserved,  have  become  the  family  emblems,  the  royal  coat-o  -arms,  the 
symbols  of  leadership.  The  rule  of  exogamy  is  still  applied,  but  it  has  lost 
much  of  its  old  severity.  In  its  place  there  is  a  growing  practice  of  endog- 
amy a  tendencv  to  place  the  ruling  power  in  the  hands  of  a  few  amilies 
an  hereditary  aristocracy,  sometimes  with  maternal,  but  more  often  with 
paternal  descent.  Monogamy  prevails,  but  polygamy  and  even  po  yandry 
are  quite  frequently  sanctioned,  there  is  no  uniformity  in  the  relations  of 
sex  We  have  noted,  however,  that  in  most  cases  a  primitive  monogamy 
precedes  the  degenerate  practices  of  later  times,  and  that  a  clasping  of 
hands  in  presence  of  the  priest  is  regarded  in  some  instances  as  essential  to 
its  validity     In  the  Arvan  countries  especially  the  sacerdotal  union  sur- 


vives. 


By  this  faith  which  I  utter,  receive  ye  the  life  of  the  Good  Mind!  (376). 
This  and  the  Roman  confarreatio  points  to  a  high  regard  for  the  bond,  in 
which  a  complete  divorce  does  not  seem  to  have  been  originally  recognised. 
The  legal  and  religious  equality  of  men  and  women  is  no  less  striking;, 
though  it  took  some  centuries  to  mature,  and  in  the  Vestal  Virgins  of  Rome 
we  have  the  first  premonition  of  better  things  to  come,  a  prophetic  hght 
amid  the  surrounding  darkness  (380).  Taking  it  as  a  whole  the  position 
of  women,  though  surrounded  by  terrible  pitfalls,  is  decidedly  better  than 
in  the  days  of  the  buffalo-hunt.  She  is  reasserting  her  primitive  rights  to 
equality,  to  a  mutually  constant  affection  in  the  tie  (409). 

(7)   DEATH  AND  THE  FUTURE  LIFE 

The  doctrine  of  universal  metempsychosis  can  no  longer  be  found 
except  in  certain  isolated  areas,  where  a  contact  with  the  totem-peoples 
was  a  strong  factor  for  its  survival,  as  in  parts  of  India,  Egypt,  and  North 
America  The  conversion  into  wild  beasts  is  more  of  the  nature  of  a  pun- 
ishment than  of  a  normal  destiny  for  the  soul,  it  is  a  prehistoric  "hell". 
But  the  distinctive  note  of  the  more  recent  eschatology  is  its  greater  hope- 
fulness and  more  direct  judgment.  Even  the  body  seems  to  count  for 
something,  there  is  a  careful  tomb-burial,  more  rarely  exposition  or  cre- 
mation of  the  corpse.  The  soul  descends  to  the  land  of  shades,  but  there 
is  often  a  brighter  vision : 

Be  clean  as  heaven,  be  clean  as  earth,  shine  like  the  innermost  heaven! 
(482)  /  come  unto  thee,  0  my  God!  I  draw  near  to  see  thine  excellences! 
I  am  pure,  I  am  pure!  (483) .  Pity  me.  Sun!  You  have  seen  my  life,  you 
know  that  I  am  pure!  (490).  We  see  ourselves  living  with  Tirawa!  (490). 
We  have  noted,  however,  how  far  all  this  is  removed  from  a  Beatific 
Vision  in  the  full  supernatural  sense  in  which  we  understand  it  (500) . 


568  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

RECENT  INTERPRETATION 

The  Social  and  Ethical  Data  in  Their  Relation  to  the  Religious  Belief 

If  the  social  and  moral  element  be  taken  once  more  as  a  test,  we  shall 
find  that  a  twofold  current  of  thought  is  paralleled  by  a  twofold  system  of 
morals  revealing  enormous  extremes,  the  one  surprisingly  edifying,  the 
other  showing  a  depth  and  degredation  almost  indescribable. 

Once  More  a  Dualism 

(1)  As  against  the  matriarchal  systems  of  the  late-glacial  and  transi- 
tional period,  the  patriarchate  is  once  more  re-established,  there  is  sta- 
bility in  the  family,  law  and  order  with  an  historic  succession  in  the 
state.  Kingship,  aristocracy,  and  priosthoods  take  the  place  of  the  tribal 
chief,  the  council  of  eldors,  the  medicine-man.  They  become  a  definite 
class,  fixed  more  or  less  by  the  laws  of  heredity,  by  primogeniture.  (Com- 
pare the  Sumerian  pafesis  with  the  Polynesian  and  Aztec  priest-kings). 
Then  again,  we  have  noted  the  comparatively  high  regard  for  women,  and 
the  gradual  evolution  of  higher  female  rights,  culminating  in  the  idea  of 
virginity  as  an  ideal  state  of  womanhood,  however  defectively  realised. 
Tacitus  says,  "they  would  rather  fall  on  the  sword  of  the  enemy  than  lose 
their  chastity". 

(2)  On  the  other  hand,  the  brutality  and  corruption  of  this  age  are  no 
less  conspicuous.  We  have  only  to  recall  the  steadily  increasing  custom 
of  rape  and  infanticide,  of  child  or  wife-purchase,  of  the  practice  of 
slavery,  of  the  lex  talionis,  of  the  wager  of  battle, — we  have  only  to  picture 
the  corrupted  temple  "devotee",  and  above  all  the  more  and  more  sanguin- 
ary character  of  religious  worship,  which  roaches  its  climax  in  the  iuiman 
sacrifice,  in  the  offering  up  of  innocent  maidenhood  to  some  terrible 
Moloch, — a  practice  which  seems  to  have  been  particularly  strong  in  South 
America, — and  the  combined  impression  that  presents  itself  is  far  from 
ideal,  it  reveals  an  intense  consciousness  of  sin,  of  growing  social  and 
moral  degeneration.  Such  an  antithesis  of  right  and  wrong,  of  god  and 
demon,  is  only  to  bo  expected.  It  is  completely  in  harmony  with  the  men- 
tal development,  which  is  also  difiicult  to  analyse,  but  which  shows  symp- 
toms of  a  deep  internal  struggle,  the  desire  to  preserve  intact  the  ancient 
tradition,  to  keep  the  God  of  Heaven  untarnished,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
satisfy  the  demand  for  a  more  popular  theology,  for  a  multitude  of 
guardian-spirits,  which  shall  be  the  immediate  helpers  of  man, — in  itself 
a  legitimate  concept,  but  liable  to  abuse  by  "divinisalion".  To  what  extent 
such  a  divinisalion  has  been  carried  by  substituting  the  ghost  and  the 
phallic  demon  for  the  living  God  of  Heaven,  has  been  abundantly  illus- 
trated in  the  preceding  chapters.  Though  never  entirely  obscured,  it  may 
be  said  with  some  confidence,  that  the  pure  image  of  the  Creator  has  been 
largely  blurred,  if  not  directly  soiled,  by  these  deplorable  practices. 


SUMMARY  569 

REGENT  INTERPRETATION 

Unity  versus  Plurality 

With  this  epoch  bogins  the  great  battle  between  the  divine  Unity  on 
the  one  hand,  and  manistic  phn'alism  on  the  other.  Had  the  old  totem,- 
worship  lendrd  to  split  the  divinity  into  many  forms,  the  nnvvcr  faith  in 
universal  spiritism  has  driven  (ho  wedge  slill  further,  it  has  produced  a 
deep  cleavage  between  the  transcendent  and  the  immanent  God,  two  ideas 
that  should  never  be  separated,  if  by  immanence  be  understood  the  ubiqui- 
tous, the  all-penetrating  activity  of  the  Creator.  Thus  it  has  come  to  pass 
that  while  the  great  God  of  Heaven  still  holds  his  own.  He  is  in  each  case 
threatened  with  a  formidable  rival,  with  a  multitude  of  lessor  gods.  (Com- 
pare the  mythologies  passim).  I  do  not  assert  that  these  deities  are  the  nec- 
essary result  of  the  animistic  movement.  In  so  far  as  they  are  mere  teraphim 
or  iiouso-hold-gods,  they  arc  harmless  enough,— have  we  not  our  own 
patron-saints?  Nor  is  a  pronounced  ancestor-worship  with  spirit-feeding 
inconsistent  with  loyalty  to  a  supreme  taboo,  a  world-soul,  an  anima  mundi. 
It  may  even  help  to  e.xpand  an  all  too  narrow  conce|)t  of  tlie  divine  action, 
of  the  divine  nature.  But  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  with  this  universal 
life-philosophy  there  has  come  a  strong  pluralistic  tendency.  The  totems 
have  become  personal  "gods"  and  if  not  held  together  by  a  World-Soul  as 
identified  with  a  good  Crealor,  they  have  sunk  lo  the  level  of  cruel,  blood- 
thirsty, and  exacting  divinities,  they  are  mere  demons.  (Compare  Bel  of 
Nippur  with  Baal  of  Canaan). 

The  Triumph  op  Unity 

If,  then,  the  tofemic  age  was  tinctured  with  pantheism,  the  neolithic  age 
has  been  productive  of  polytheism,  the  doctrine  namely,  that  the  dill'er- 
ence  belween  the  Crealor  and  his  creatures  is  one  of  degree  rather  than 
kind,  that  all  are  equally  divine,  even  though  one  be  the  greatest,  the 
"father"  of  the  pantheon.  Thus  there  are  gods  innumerable  and  lords 
innumerable.  Yet  in  spite  of  this  there  is  a  distinct  undercurrent  of  mon- 
otlieisic  thought,  the  All-Father  is  still  to  be  recognised,  He  is  still  invoked, 
He  is  still  implored,  even  if  by  a  narrower  circle,  the  priesthood,— the  first 
theologians  of  the  race.  In  their  battle  for  the  divine  Unity,  they  have 
raised  the  figures  of  Ami,  Ashur,  Ahurn,  Dalara,  Aivona,  Pachacamac,  lo 
their  true  dignity,  they  have  preserved  the  ancient  cult  of  the  Father  of 
Heaven  from  extinction,  at  the  same  time  bringing  it  up  to  a  higher  sland- 
ard,  a  broader  mentality,  a  more  complex  civilisation.  Their  theology  is 
best  described  as  a 

Reconstructed  Monotheism 

This  is  sometimes  called  "Henotheism",  as  insinuating  that  one  divinity 
has  been  singled  out  and  made  to  be  the  controlling  power  of  all  the 
others,  at  the  same  lime  recognising  the  others  as  separate  divine 
hypostases. 


570  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

RECENT  INTERPRETATION 

Animism  Not  Necessarily  Anti-Theistic 

If,  then,  the  point  be  urged  with  renewed  emphasis  ttiat  animism  is  the 
key  that  will  unlock  all  mysteries,  that  the  "spiritualisation"  of  nature  will 
account  for  the  Great  Spirit,  such  an  assertion  can  only  be  justified  in  the 
sense  that  a  definite  mental  attitude  will  naturally  color  our  views  of  the 
divine  Being  as  a  philosophical  "essence",  not  that  it  will  account  for  the 
origin  of  the  idea  or  for  any  of  its  deeper  theological  ramifications.  As 
well  might  it  be  said  that  totemism  will  account  for  the  Great  Mystery  in 
the  sense  of  an  incomprehensible  Power,  a  unique  personal  Guardian.  We 
have  seen  that  the  idea  of  a  ubiquitous  Person  antedat(?s  the  above  notions, 
that  before  man  began  to  speculate  on  the  nature  of  the  divine  Being,  he 
had  the  consciousness  of  a  supreme  Personality,  the  Author  of  all  exist- 
ence, the  Father  of  the  human  race.  Upon  the  truth  of  this  statement  must 
of  course  depend  the  entire  weight  of  the  argument,  but  a  re-examination 
of  the  evidence  on  this  head  will,  I  think,  convince  any  fair-minded  per- 
son that  the  All-Father  notion  is  prior  to  the  animistic,  and  a  fortiori  to 
the  spiritualistic  tendencies  of  human  thought.  Long  before  the  sun- 
ancestor  and  the  ghost-god  has  assumed  a  position  of  supreme  import- 
ance, the  Father  in  Heaven  was  invoked,  or  at  least  recognised,  by  a  simple 
though  suggestive  ritual.  The  continuity  of  this  idea  is  perhaps  equally 
striking,  and  in  its  animistic  phase  it  has  simply  defined  the  Creator  in 
terms  of  the  current  philosophy,  He  is  the  "Immanence  of  Life". 

The  "Modern"  Period  op  Hum.\nity 

This  being  the  last  of  the  great  prehistoric  cycles  of  humanity,  it  may 
be  conveniently  called  the  modern  age  of  the  race,  the  period  in  which  the 
broad  foundations  of  the  higher  historic  civilisations  were  definitely  laid. 
What  has  been  its  influence  on  the  religious  history  of  man? 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  evidence  on  this  subject  is  not  as  univer- 
sally clear  as  might  have  been  desired.  Palaeontology  is  practically  dumb, 
archaeology  speaks  with  a  hesitating  voice,  hieratic  literature  throws  some 
light  on  the  subject,  but  modern  ethnologj'  seems  to  confirm  what  the 
former  are  distinctly  hinting  at.  If,  therefore,  the  living  survivals  be  com- 
pared with  the  buried  civilisations  as  far  as  known  to  us,  their  combined 
testimony  is  surely  of  some  value.  They  have  revealed  the  fact  that  the 
worship  of  the  supreme  Being  has  never  been  entirely  lost,  the  Father- 
above  is  still  with  his  children.  The  nature  of  this  infiuence  is  best  appre- 
ciated by  taking  a  brief  birds-eye  view  of  the  preceding  developments  and 
noting  their  manifest  tendencies. 


SUMMARY  571 

GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS  FOR  THE  PREHISTORIC  AGE 

In  the  earliest  epoch  of  humanity  we  find  an  extremely  simple  culture 
associated  with  an  equally  simple  religious  belief.  The  exaggerated 
notions  of  a  material  paradise,  of  a  state  of  extraordinary  ma,terial  and 
cultural  refinement,  from  which  mankind  has  fallen  as  the  result  of 
original  sin,  belong  to  those  later  speculations  on  a  purely  material 
millennium,  to  the  perversion  known  as  "chiliasm".  It  is  hardly  neces- 
sary at  this  hour  to  repeat  that  the  elevation  and  fall  of  man  is  a  super- 
natural, not  a  natural  process,  that  the  infusion  of  grace  is  primarily  a 
moral  act,  it  is  physical  only  in  the  sense  that  the  intellectual  and  appeti- 
tive faculties  of  man  are  given  that  degree  of  supernatural  stimulus  which 
is  necessary  for  the  attainment  of  their  supernatural  end, — the  direct  vision 
of  the  All-Father  face  to  face.  All  other  elYects  are  secondary  and  proble- 
matical, even  if  they  can  be  called  "congruous".  The  all-knowledge  of 
Adam  is  a  sublime  theological  truth,  but  it  gains  nothing  by  being  applied 
to  the  purely  secular  interests  of  life.  "And  they  were  both  naked,  the 
man  and  the  woman,  and  were  not  ashamed".  This  high  state  of  perfec- 
tion is  too  all-absorbing  to  be  coupled  with  the  trivial  and  the  merely 
superfluous,  and  this  makes  the  supernatural  order  stand  out  in  all  the 
bolder  perspective.  The  knowledge  of  God  has  nothing  to  do  with  the 
art  of  building,  even  if  the  first  man  possessed  all  the  arts  and  sciences 
in  a  single  vision.  And  so,  in  the  primitive  picture  of  man  as  presented 
to  us  after  the  fall,  we  find  a  material  blank  side  by  side  with  the  re- 
mains of  a  supernatural  fulness.  Nature  is  his  only  clothing,  the  palm 
leaf  his  only  protection,  the  wild  fruits  of  the  earth  his  only  nourishment. 
Yet  he  sees  the  All-Father  in  the  lightning,  he  hears  His  voice  in  the 
thunder,  he  accepts  His  peace-message  in  the  rainbow.  For  him  the 
cathedral  of  God  is  the  tropical  forest,  the  aisles  are  the  lofty  cedars,  the! 
organ  is  the  great  Monsoon,  that  tunes  the  forest  to  a  deep  monotone,  the 
lights  are  the  fire-flies,  the  incense  the  delicious  perfumes  of  the  ginger- 
worts  and  the  magnolias.  This  is  the  aftermath  of  a  once  gigantic  fact, — 
that  God,  man,  and  nature  were  at  one  time  the  all-sufficient  reality. 

With  the  gradual  adolescence  of  man  he  becomes  more  curious  of  the 
whence  and  how  of  existence.  It  is  not  enough  to  invoke  the  heavenly 
Father;  there  must  be  a  more  proximate,  more  visible  source  of  human  life, 
and  nature  was  ready  at  hand  to  suggest  such  a  source.  The  origin  of  fer- 
tility now  becomes  the  absorbing  subject,  if  commands  the  chief  attention 
of  man,  with  the  consequence  that  he  is  gradually  weaned  away  from  the 
Creator  and  seeks  in  creation  itself  the  solution  of  his  own  existence. 


572  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

CONCLUSIONS  FOR  THE  PREHISTORIC  AGE 

His  genealogy  is  traced  to  the  sacred  baboon,  then  to  the  tiger,  the  bear 
and  the  buffalo,  then  to  the  emu,  the  carpet-snake,  the  lizard,  the  grass- 
seed  and  the  red  earth, — and  finally  to  the  sun,  the  "original  source  of  all 
totems",  the  first  attempt  at  a  system  of  evolution.  In  this  movement  the 
Creator  is  defined  as  the  "Great  Mystery",  present  in  the  sacramental  totem, 
or  perhaps  He  is  simply  the  Great  Unknown,  the  indefinable  basis  of  all 
existence.  In  so  far  as  He  is  still  personal,  this  represents  an  advance,  in 
so  far  as  He  is  impersonal,  an  equally  pronounced  degeneration.  Man  is 
now  capable  of  multiplying  entities  by  sun-magic,  which  in  connection 
with  a  personal  God  becomes  the  great  Sun-Mystery,  the  source  of  all  life, 
but  which  without  this  connection  dwindles  down  to  a  mere  nature-wor- 
ship, it  is  a  vague  occultism  in  which  sympathetic  forces  alone  are  recog- 
nised. Man  has  advanced,  mentally  and  materially,  but  it  has  been  at  the 
expense  of  a  double  morality,  inclining  in  a  higher  or  a  lower  direction, 
according  the  prevalent  philosophy  of  the  times. 

This  upward  and  downward  tendency  becomes  more  and  more  accen- 
tuated with  the  growing  age  of  the  race.  In  the  recent  or  riper  period  of 
humanity,  there  has  been  a  social  and  religious  development  which  is  out 
of  all  proportion  to  its  comparative  brevity.  It  is  almost  like  an  upheval. 
In  place  of  the  old  myslery-cult,  we  have  the  definition  of  diviniy  as  Life, 
Spirit,  Goodness,  Love,  which,  though  implicitly  recognised  from  the 
earliest  times,  is  now  brought  out  in  all  its  philosophical  fulness,  it  is  pre- 
eminently the  "essence"  of  God.  The  manistic  or  animistic  power  vested 
in  the  personal  medium,  living  or  dead,  and  terminating  in  the  entire 
creation,  is  now  transferred  to  the  Father  in  Heaven,  He  is  the  "Great 
Spirit",  the  septessence  of  all  the  minor  spirits, — mana  raised  to  the  infinite 
power.  Side  by  side  we  have  the  ghost-god,  the  discarnate  double,  the 
spirit  of  the  woods,  a  necessary  by-product  of  the  animistic  movement.  To 
these  two  notions  corresponds  a  twofold  tendency  in  the  social  sphere,  one 
towards  a  centralised  theocracy  with  a  priest-kingship,  the  patesi  being 
the  "vicar"  of  God;  the  other  towards  a  more  or  less  indep?ndent  shaman- 
ism, in  which  the  thaumaturge  and  the  spirit-hunter  play  the  leading  role. 
Man  is  now  in  possession  of  more  perfect  tools.  He  rears  huge  temples  to 
the  "Lord  of  the  Lands",  he  offers  the  unbloody  sacrifice  with  the  sculp- 
tured pomp  and  vested  ritual  of  which  he  is  capable.  At  the  same  time 
astrology  and  divination  have  become  a  fine  art,  the  deity  requires  more 
and  more  hecatombs,  until  finally  human  life  is  offered  up  as  the  only 
reparation  for  the  shameful  prostitution-rites  with  which  that  same  temple 
has  been  desecrated.  It  is  truly  an  age  of  mental  and  moral  contrasts, — an 
age  of  paradox. 


SUMMARY  573 

CONCLUSIONS  FOR  THE  PREHISTOHIC  AGE 

To  sum  up  then,  the  combined  religious  picture  for  the  prehistoric  era 
may  be  said  to  reveal  a  development  which  seems  to  be  traceable  in  at 
least  three  broad  stages  of  mental  and  social  evolution.  These  stages  may 
be  described  as  follows : — 

I.     FOR  THE  PRIMITIVE  PERIOD 

Here  the  divinity  is  supreme,  personal,  and  worshipful  in  the  best 
sense  by  prayer  and  mild  sacrifice, — without  cruel  rites.  He  is  strictly 
5Wjoer-natural,  not  involved  or  confused  with  nature,  but  rather  a  super- 
human  being,  a  super-ma??,— infinitely  big,  and  so  on.  He  creates  directly, 
or  by  means  of  a  demiurge,  the  whole  universe  and  man,  his  sons  being 
in  each  case  dependent,  in  no  case  the  result  of  sex-union,  with  lower 
creatures,  the  few  exceptions  being  later  intrusions,  fully  discussed  above. 
He  is  supreme  Lawgiver  of  the  race,  and  His  character  reveals  itself  in  a 
relatively  clean  morality,  a  comparatively  innocent  manner  of  life. 

This  is  the  Monotheistic  Age  of  Humanity, 

in  which  the  idea  of  transcendence  is  apparently  uppermost.  He  is  the 
only  One,  but  He  is  all  in  all, — Amaka — ,  the  universal  Father.  As  yet 
there  is  no  consciousness  of  the  nature  or  essence  of  things.  He  is  simply 
the  All-Father,  revealing  Himself  to  his  children  in  childlike  form. 

II.     FOR  THE  TOTEMIC  OR  GLACIAL  PERIOD 

This  ancient  divinity  can  still  be  traced  in  his  main  features.  All  the 
above  qualities  apply  here  with  equal  force,  they  can  be  sifted  out.  Never- 
theless the  idea  of  genesis  beginnings  to  attract  the  attention  of  man. 
Where  did  he  come  from?  Is  he  not  intimately  related  to  nature?  Is  he 
not  her  direct  offspring?  By  degrees  the  notion  is  formed  that  nature  is 
nearer  to  man  than  the  Heavenly  Father,  later  that  she  herself  is  divine, 
nay  the  only  divinity,  and  finally  that  all  thinkable  beings  are  of  one  sub- 
stance, that  the  All-Father  is  but  the  last  link  in  an  endless  chain  of  devel- 
opment, that  He  and  all  things  are  contained  in  the  lowest  forms  of  lifeless 
matter,  in  the  inkaras,  or  world-units  of  dream-time.  While  Altjira  still 
sits  on  his  throne,  he  is  forgotten,  his  universe  is  self-developing. 

This  is  the  Age  op  Pantheistic  Monism, 

in  which  the  notion  of  immanence  becomes  all-important,  it  is  nature  her- 
self which  is  the  All.  And  yet  the  idea  of  a  unique  being  has  not  be.fn 
entirely  lost,  the  Wakanda  is  still  "The  Great  Mystery",  "the  Creator  of 
heaven  and  earth,  the  Fountain  of  Mystic  Medicine".  Among  the  righteous 
the  totem  is  a  blessing,  the  growing  knowledge  of  nature  has  but  deepened 
their  love  for  the  Creator. 


574  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

CONCLUSIONS  FOR  THE  PREHISTORIC  AGE 

III.     FOR  THE  NEOLITHIC  AND  RECENT  PERIOD 

The  second  stone  age  marks  in  many  respects  a  reform,  a  revival  of  tlie 
primitive  notions.  The  Wakanda  has  been  disentangled  from  nature,  he 
is  no  longer  connected  with  the  lower  creation,  he  has  become  an  Awona- 
iL'ilo7ia,  a  "Father  of  All",  once  more  emphatically  a  supreme  Person. 
What  then  has  become  of  the  totems?  Have  they  disappeared?  By  nd 
means.  They  have  ceased  to  be  mere  connecting-links  with  the  red  earth, 
it  is  true;  but  they  are  more  than  mere  mysteries  in  germ,  mere  ''medi- 
cines". They  are  no  longer  guardian-things,  or  guardian-animals ;  they 
have  become  guardian-^pin?*',  endowed  with  mana,  great  personalities, 
who  act  on  the  lower  creation  by  their  secret  power,  focussing  their 
influence  on  certain  objects,  making  them  inviolable  or  sacrosanct, — taboo. 
A  neolithic  tabu  is  therefore  more  than  a  totem.  It  is  the  abode  of  a  per- 
son, and  as  there  are  many  tabus,  so  there  are  many  persojis  operating  the 
tabu,  not  excluding  a  supreme  Tabu,  who  thus  becomes  the  head  nf  the 
pantheon. 

This  is  the  Age  op  Polytheistic  Syncretism, 

in  which  the  "Great  Spirit"  is  surrounded  by  a  host  of  minor  spirits  of  the 
same  nature,  who  are  frequently  co-eternal  and  who  contest  his  author- 
ity. But  this  is  not  the  invariable  rule.  The  great  Awona  is  still  behind 
the  tabu,  willing  to  make  it  the  instrument  of  his  power,  his  own  exclusive 
possession.  In  this  case  his  alliance  with  the  new  wave  of  animism  has 
served  to  deepen  the  concept  of  his  activity,  it  has  filled  the  world  with  his 
"spirit",  it  has  broadened  the  idea  of  his  nature,  it  has  defined  his  essence. 

An  Expanded  Monotheism  Has  Been  the  Result. 

a  system  which  is  larger,  broader,  and  deeper,  in  every  way  more  whole- 
souled,  than  any  of  its  predecessors.  It  is  not  simply  a  case  of  Amaka- 
langi,  "Our  Father  in  Heaven",  but  of  A-ti-us-ta-ka-wa,  "Our  Father  in  all 
places". 

What  then  are  the  conclusions  to  which  the  combined  weight  of  the 
evidence  would  seem  to  incline  us?  It  must  be  admitted  that  this  evidence 
cannot  in  the  nature  of  the  case  be  exhaustive.  A  heavy  pall  of  obscurity 
must  for  ever  hang  upon  many  pages  of  the  prehistoric  past  Nevertheless 
the  existing  material  has  been  sifted  with  sufficient  care  and  completeness 
to  justify  the  assertion  that,  allowing  for  many  contrary  and  degenerate 
tendencies,  there  has  been  on  the  whole  a  gradual  and  progressive  revela- 
tion of  the  divine  nature  from  the  dawn  of  humanity, — first  as  "Paternity", 
second  as  "Fecundity,"  and  finally  as  "Spirituality" — ,  these  three  notions 
corresponding  in  their  main  developments  to  three  great  epochs  in  the 
evolution  of  the  race. 


EPILOG  '" 


THE  DIVINE  TRADITION 

A  FEW  COSSIDEHATIOKS  OK  THE  "FaITH  ONCE  DELIVERED" 

Tf  u  imDossible  to  close  this  chapter  without  calling  allenlion  to  the 
„„,  '„ rsigEoc:  or  the  divine  n.n,es  in  the  Old  and  New  Te^amenU  a 
expressive  of  the  earliest  and  purest  tradition  ot  the  AH-Falher  cu  t     n 
Sconte^porar,  divinities  of  the  A.arna  age  were  ^^^^^^ 

"'*  11  tr'sr  rain  1  .        tl'J,  S  solar  orh,  or  with  lunar 
s™r  US    1   th    more  surprising  to  hnd  in  the  revealed  God  of  Judaism 

Stirdr-r'Se^Sois'-rrnir;^^^^ 

"is  ence    af  n   some   respects   unpicturable,   indefinable,   .nexpressibl  ^ 
coupled  will.  Jahroe-Adonai.  "-.  ^-^''^''^-''^^/'^^rt  „a  ter"  ih 

"■'"•==SSF;E-;  tr  rsuc  =:; 

r". « h. uS  . ™.«i. » ■" ■" •«•■-■  '• '™'s i 

^tar  ,  ^""J^^.'J^^         ,.      .  1  for  the  first  time  the  inner  fecundity  of 

unique,  divine  Sonship   to  '"'^^e^    '«         Ghost -&  profound  but  a  beauti- 

ti^i-jsrrthirsS 

iTt  us  develop  this  subject  with  a  few  final  reflections. 


576  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

UNICITY  OF  DIVINE  FAITH 

If  faith  is  an  "assent  to  revealed  truth  on  the  authority  of  God  the 
Revealer",  it  will  stand  to  reason  that  one  of  its  first  notes  must  be  that  of 
separation  from  all  contrary  forms  of  assent  by  the  attribute  of  unicity  or 
logical  exclusiveness, — it  must  of  its  very  nature  be  opposed  to  all  that  is 
false,  fragmentary,  naturalistic,  or  problematical.  For  as  in  the  human 
sciences  it  is  necessary  to  distinguish  the  facts  from  the  fancies,  that  which 
is  demonstrated  from  that  which  is  clearly  "exploded",  so  in  matters  of 
religious  faith  it  cannot  be  a  matter  of  indifference  to  know,  whether  God 
is  one  or  many,  personal  or  impersonal,  spiritual  or  material,  moral  or 
mechanical.  Any  person  that  would  now  presume  to  doubt  the  existence 
of  the  solar  system  or  the  rotundity  of  the  earth's  surface  would  be  putting 
himself  outside  the  pale  of  normal  humanity.  He  is  no  longer  free  to 
believe  that  the  earth  is  flat,  that  the  sky  is  solid,  that  the  stars  are  punc- 
tures in  the  vault  of  heaven.  The  fact  is  that  every  fresh  discovery  in  the 
realm  of  science  diminishes  his  liberty  of  thinking  the  opposite,  for  it  has 
become  a  scientific  dogma,  and  as  such  is  no  longer  open  to  question. 

In  like  manner  it  is  essential  to  separate  the  purity  of  the  All-Father 
cult  from  the  corruptions  and  excrescences  that  have  ever  grown  around  it. 
It  is  marked  off  from  fetchism,  because  the  All-Father  is  invisible,  from 
magic,  because  He  is  personal,  from  totemism  because  He  is  transcendent. 
It  is  clearly  distinguished  from  spiritism,  because  He  is  the  Lord  of  spirits, 
from  animism,  because  He  is  the  Lord  of  life,  from  polytheism,  because  He 
is  the  Lord  of  gods.  In  each  case  the  primitive  theology  has  been  forced 
to  battle  with  nuw  aspects  of  the  divine  nature  which  she  has  either  assim- 
ilated, when  useful,  or  rejected,  when  baneful,  the  new  aspects  very  often 
springing  out  of  her  own  inner  consciousness,  not  forced  upon  her  from 
the  outside.  She  has  recognised  mystery  long  before  magic,  guardians 
long  before  totemism,  angels  long  before  animism.  In  so  far  as  the  latter 
have  drifted  away  from  her  controlling  hand,  they  are  heretical  move- 
ments, but  in  so  far  they  are  auxiliary  philosophies,  they  have  their  value. 
Thus  unicity,  or  exclusiveness,  is  an  essential  mark  of  all  truth,  and  the 
man  who  sees  no  difference  between  bel  and  baal  is  on  a  level  with  the  man 
who  cannot  distinguish  whales  from  fishes,  or  paste  from  diamonds.  To 
throw  over  a  divine  dogma  is  to  disregard  the  laws  of  gravity,  and  in 
afiirming  the  truth  of  one  proposition,  I  am  ipso  facto  condemning  its 
opposite,  I  am  fighting  for  its  defeat,  I  have  become  an  inquisitor.  The 
bigotry  of  "Romanism"  is  but  another  name  for  intellectual  subtlety.  If 
God  is  Father,  He  cannot  at  the  same  time  be  non-Father,  though  He  may 
be  infinitely  more. 


EPILOG  577 

SIMPLICITY  OF  DIVINE  FAITH 

And  this  leads  us  to  an  aspect  of  religious  faith  which  is  not  often 
realised, — its  simplicity  or  perspicuity.  "If  God  had  given  a  revelation  to 
man,  He  would  have  written  the  message  in  the  skies".  This  shallow 
demand  of  the  rationalist  conscience,  though  meant  with  sinister  purpose, 
contains  an  important  element  of  truth,  if  applied  to  the  external  criteria 
by  which  a  true  religion  may  be  recognised,  and  not  to  its  inner  mys- 
teries. For  if  a  definite  system  of  belief,  like  a  definite  medicine,  is  essen- 
tial to  the  salvation  of  man,  such  a  system  must  not  be  so  abstruse  or  diffi- 
cult of  perception  that  it  can  only  be  discerned  by  the  learned  few,  the 
special  favorites  of  heaven.  It  must  be  simple  and  clear  enough  to  appeal 
to  the  savage  no  less  than  the  sage,  to  the  child  no  less  than  the  philosopher, 
in  default  of  which  it  becomes  a  private  opinion,  it  ceases  to  be  a  Catholic 
truth.  In  other  words,  the  messagn  w.uxt  he  clear  enough  to  appeal  to 
humanity  at  large,  though  the  inner  content  of  the  message,  as  conversant 
with  mysteries,  may,  and  indeed  must  be,  the  subject  of  learned  and  labor- 
ious investigation. 

Now  this  is  precisely  that  quality  of  belief  which  seems  so  character- 
istic of  the  unsophisticated  child  of  nature.  For  him,  as  for  the  simple- 
hearted  of  all  ages,  "the  message  of  God  is  written  in  the  skies",  he  does 
not  have  to  be  a  mathematician  to  discover  law,  a  biologist  to  discover  life, 
an  anatomist  to  discover  wisdom.  All  these  things  are  mirrored  in  nature 
and  the  conclusion  is  easily  read, — "I  believe  in  God  the  Father  Almighty, 
Maker  of  heaven  and  earth" — ,  for  him  as  clear  as  the  daylight.  From 
this  proposition  as  from  a  major  premise  the  whole  of  his  theology  is 
derived,  and  if  the  same  subjects  are  also  mysteries,  we  must  remember 
that  he  is  looking  for  mystery  and  would  be  gravely  disappointed  if  he 
did  not  find  it.  There  is  no  God  ivithout  mystery,  as  there  is  no  science 
without  marvels.  Creation,  fall,  redemption,  sacrifice,  retribution  in  the 
world  to  come, — all  are  accepted  as  facts,  though  he  cannot  fully  explain 
them.  Can  the  optician  fully  explain  the  rainbow?  Hence  there  is  no 
contradiction  in  saying  that  faith  is  simple  and  certain,  and  at  the  same 
time  dark  and  obscure,  for  the  light  shines  nowhere  so  brilliantly  as  it  does 
in  the  darkness,  and  it  is  through  the  darkness  that  the  supernatural  light 
is  revealed.  By  this  light  it  has  been  possible  for  the  mystics  of  all  ages 
to  work  out  the  higher  problems  of  faith,  to  attempt  a  philosophy  of 
religion,  to  show  the  rationality  of  that  which  has  been  delivered.  But  in 
regard  to  the  formal  object  of  faith,  divine  authority,  saint  and  savage  are 
on  the  same  level,  for — "whosoever  shall  not  receive  the  kingdom  of  God 
as  a  little  child,  he  shall  in  no  wise  enter  therein".  (Lk.  18,  17).  Thus 
simplicity  is  at  the  bottom  of  every  religious  assent. 


578  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

CERTAINTY  OF  DIVINE  FAITH 

Needless  to  say,  such  an  assent  must  also  be  certain,  it  must  exclude  all 
vacillation  of  the  intellect;  for  without  firmness  of  mind  there  is  no  firm- 
ness of  morals,  ttiere  is  no  transcendent  motive  for  conduct.  This  cer- 
tainty may  be  natural  or  supernatural,  metaphysical,  physical,  or  moral. 

As  to  the  natural  certainty  of  a  religious  conviction,  it  is  not  com- 
monly understood  that  it  precedes  the  act  of  faith  and  is  independent  of  it. 
I  must  first  know  that  God  has  spoken  before  I  can  obey  his  message, 
otherwise  my  faith  is  "blind,"  I  become  a  traditionalist,  I  sink  into 
"fideism".  It  is,  therefore,  essential  to  realise  that  quite  apart  from  a  super- 
natural illumination  the  savage  is  capable  of  arriving  at  a  knowledge  of 
God  with  a  certainty  which  is  "reductively  metaphysical",  equivalent  to 
the  truth  that  two  and  two  makes  four.  The  main  steps  in  this  simple 
logic  have  already  been  described  (125,  538).  It  is  based  on  what  we  now 
call  the  principle  of  sufficient  reason,  and  though  it  has  been  dubbed  as 
■'horse-sense",  it  is  an  equestrian  philosophy  which  cannot  be  superseded. 
Here  in  brief  is  its  scientific  form: — 

"A  maximum  potential  requires  a  maximum  actual  for  its  realisation" . 
Atqui,  "the  universe  is  replete  with  potential  perfection". 
Therefore  it  requires  a  maximum  perfect  for  its  realisation. 

In  this  syllogism  is  implicitly  contained  the  argument  from  motion, — 
for  we  are  speaking  of  potencies — ,  the  argument  from  contingency, — for 
no  potency  exists  by  necessity — ,  the  argument  from  design, — for  the 
maximum  perfect  is  seen  to  act  with  orderly  purpose — ,  and  the  argument 
frofti  morality, — because  it  takes  an  infinite  Person  to  keep  the  conscience, 
an  A/^Father.  In  like  manner  the  immortality  of  the  soul  as  a  simple 
substance,  and  its  reward  or  punishment  in  the  life  to  come  (491),  all  is 
part  of  a  "natural  theology",  which  elicits  various  degrees  of  mental 
assent  among  all  primitive  peoples. 

But  as  to  a  supernatural  certainty,  it  has  always  been  felt  that  any- 
thing like  a  revelation  of  the  divine  will  above  and  beyond  that  of  the 
natural  law  requires  its  manifestation  by  means  of  supernatural  agencies, 
— commonly  known  as  miracles  and  prophecies.  It  is  by  his  "visions"  that 
the  inspired  prophet  of  old  sees  his  God  as  it  were  "in  a  cloud"  and  accepts 
His  message  with  a  certainty  which  far  surpasses  that  of  discursive  rea- 
soning. It  is  of  course  a  question  how  far  such  visions  were  granted  to 
other  mortals;  but  if  accompanied  by  the  usual  criteria  of  mental  and 
moral  iiluniination,  they  ynay  be  authentic,  the  subject  may  be  in  posses- 
sion of  a  higher  supernatural  light.  This  is  indeed  far  removed  from  those 
attested  supernatural  wonders  which  accompanied  the  historic  revelation 
of  God  in  the  fulness  of  time,  but  it  seems  sufficient  to  account  for  the  facts 
of  prehistoric  "illumination"  as  we  may  possibly  find  them. 


EPILOG  579 

OBSCURITY  OF  DIVINE  FAITH 

And  with  these  words  we  have  indicated  the  essential  obscurity  of  the 
act  of  faith  viewed  as  the  instrument  for  assimilating  the  supernatural. 
This  would  seem  to  be  in  opposition  to  its  simplicity,  to  its  intellectual 
facility, — but  only  apparently  so.  For  although  the  message  itself  is  clear 
and  simple,  as  indeed  it  must  be,  the  full  import  of  the  message,  dealing 
as  it  does  with  the  infinite,  must  of  its  nature  be  dark  and  obscure, — 
though  its  apprehension  is  easy,  its  comprehension  is  difficult,  though 
initiated  in  mind,  it  terminates  in  mystery,  though  the  telegram  can  be 
read  by  all,  the  full  interpretation  of  its  secrets  baffles  even  the  operator. 
All  science  terminates  in  obscurity, — but  why  balk  at  obscurity?  I  may 
say  without  the  fear  of  any  contradiction  that  obscunty  is  the  accompani- 
ment of  many  a  great  truth,  that  a  thing  is  grand,  noble,  efTicient,  awe- 
inspiring,  epoch-making,  and  truly  marvelous,  precisely  in  that  propor- 
tion in  which  it  is  mysterious,  in  which  it  dazzles  our  finite  powers  of 
comprehension.  Are  the  wonderful  properties  of  radium  easy  to  under- 
stand? Is  the  speed  of  the  electric  spark  imaginable,  the  "infinite"  ether 
comprehensible?  Can  the  differential  equations  of  Laplace,  with  their  posi- 
tive and  negative  infinities,  and  their  "vanishing  quantities",  be  said  to  be 
easily  thinkable,  let  alone  picturable?  And  yet  they  have  given  us  the 
solar  system  and  the  electric  light,  the  two  greatest  discoveries  of  man. 
If  now  we  go  one  step  farther,  and  say  that  God  is  mysterious,  though  He 
is  the  Light  of  the  world,  we  are  simply  uttering  a  truism  long  since 
known  to  the  savage.  It  is  precisely  this  ultra-mysteriousness  of  divine 
truth  which  makes  my  assent  to  it  a  free  and  meritorious  act,  for  I  can 
quarrel  with  mystery,  though  I  cannot  quarrel  with  equations. 

And  this  brings  us  to  the  subject  of  external  authority  as  the  normal 
vehicle  of  supernatural  truth.  For  if  its  scientific  basis  is  so  abstruse 
that  it  can  only  be  assimilated  by  the  few,  it  will  follow  that  only  the 
few  are  capable  of  guarding  it,  and  in  this  sense  religion  is  aristocratic 
and  monarchical,  it  requires  a  priesthood  and  a  professional  papacy,  well 
developed  from  the  earliest  times.  Let  no  one  call  this  a  despotism;  it  is  a 
blessing  to  mankind.  It  is  only  an  Enoch  and  Elias  that  ascends  to  the 
skies,  only  a  Peter  that  keeps  the  keys,  only  Paul  that  is  caught  up  to  the 
heavens,  only  a  John  that  sees  in  a  vision  "the  mystery  the  seven  stars". 
These  men  have  pierced  the  veil  of  obscurity,  they  have  worked  out  the 
higher  mathematics  of  faith,  and  as  such  they  are  as  far  above  the  average 
of  humanity  as  a  Newton  is  above  a  first-grade  school-boy;  they  have 
dispelled  the  darkness, — "/  will  utter  things  concealed  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world".  The  Master  implies  that  there  is  a  hidden  wisdom  in 
all  revealed  truth,  that  it  is  essentially  an  "apocalypse"  of  things  obscure. 


580  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

SANCTITY  OF  DIVINE  FAITH 

From  the  simple  unique  character  of  the  divine  message  there  follows 
its  separation  from  all  that  is  profane  and  commonplace, — its  sanctity.  To 
guard  the  message  from  corruption  is  to  guard  the  magnetic  needle  from 
corrosion,  it  must  be  preserved  in  a  glass  case  and  cannot  be  touched, — it 
is  taboo.  Hence  the  penalties  that  follow  the  sin  of  sacrilege  are  thunder 
and  lightning,  fire  and  water-flood,  the  earliest  reminders  that  His  name 
IS  holy,  that  His  commands  cannot  be  trifled  with.  Hence  also  the  pro- 
hibition of  even  pronouncing  His  name,  whether  as  the  "Our  Father"  of 
the  jungle-folk,  or  as  the  great  "I  AM"  of  Israel.  In  each  case  the  divine 
name  is  too  sacred  to  utter,  it  is  a  mortal  sin  to  pronounce  it,  it  must  be 
transcribed  for  common  use;  He  must  be  known  as  "Thunder-Power"  to  the 
world  without, — Kari-Balingo-Elohim — ,  as  "Lord  and  Master"  to  the 
inner  circle, — I'engulu-Adonai — ,  but  as  "All-Father-I-AM"  only  at  solemn 
initiations  or  in  the  sacred  mysteries, — Aba-langi-Amaka-Ya-langi-Ye-ho- 
wah.  In  this  way  the  Jewish  tetragram  is  seen  to  have  many  analogies  in 
the  prehistoric  past,  though  the  idea  of  fatherhood  is  more  pronounced 
than  that  of  personal  subsistence. 

But  the  most  persuasive  note  of  every  true  philosophy  must  ever  remain 
its  immediate  effect  in  the  moral  order,  its  power  to  regulate  human  life  by 
standards  and  practices  that  instinctively  elicit  the  universal  approval  of 
mankind.  For  any  faith  that  can  make  me  truthful  rather  than  tricky, 
generous  rather  than  mean,  chaste  rather  than  dissolute,  merciful  rather 
than  cruel,  charitable  rather  than  extortionate,  all-loving  rather  than  self- 
seeking, — such  a  faith  carries  persuasion  in  its  very  act,  it  must  be  true 
in  a  natural  though  not  in  a  supernatural  sense, — for  we  require  miracles 
as  well.  Now  although  all  forms  of  faith  reflect  these  virtues  to  a  certain 
degree,  it  is  only  where  the  All-Father-cult  exists  in  its  greatest  purity  that 
we  find  a  correspondingly  flawless  moral  development.  Contrast  the  sim- 
plicity, and  comparative  innocence  of  the  early  ages  of  man  with  the  in- 
numerable corruptions  of  those  that  followed  them,  and  the  thesis  is  sufTi- 
ciently  proved;  nature-worship  cannot  long  coexist  with  moral  innocence, 
with  ethical  integrity.  In  other  words,  All-Father-I-AM  is  the  direct  source 
of  purity  in  the  moral  no  less  than  the  mental  sphere,  and  wherever  He  is 
lost  or  obscured  we  find  a  corresponding  weakening  of  the  moral  stand- 
ard, a  growing  invasion  of  rape,  infanticide,  theft,  murder,  adultery,  pro- 
miscuity, and  general  animalism.  This  is  a  strong  statement  to  make,  but 
it  is  absolutely  provable,  though  of  course  with  difTerent  degrees.  No 
nation  has  ever  entirely  rejected  the  cult,  but  whenever  the  certainty  of 
this  faith  collapses,  the  ideals  are  invariably  lowered  (Compare  the  later 
Roman  empire).  "Men  do  not  gather  grapes  from  thorns,  or  figs  from 
thistles.    Therefore  by  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them". 


EPILOG  581 

CATHOLICITY  OF  DIVINE  FAITH 

From  the  moral  necessity  of  faith  there  follows  again  its  catholicity  or 
universality.  For  if  God  "sincerely  desires  the  salvation  of  all  men,  even 
the  most  obdurate",  it  is  clear  that  He  must  give  all  men  the  means  for 
attaining  it,  there  must  be  no  monopoly  in  a  matter  which  is  so  essential 
to  his  welfare.  Perhaps  there  are  more  popular  misconceptions  on  this 
head  than  on  any  other.  People  will  seriously  ask  you  how  a  religion  can 
be  universal  and  yet  exclusive,  catholic  and  yet  wanting  in  universal 
territorial  acknowledgement.  Moreover,  is  it  fair,  they  say,  for  the  Creator 
to  single  out  certain  individuals,  nay,  even  entire  nations,  and  make  them 
His  special  favorites,  the  special  recipients  of  his  supernatural  graces? 

Now  these  conclusions  overlap  their  premises.  For  in  the  first  place 
there  is  the  Catholic  doctrine  of  the  universality  of  grace.  This  means  that 
every  human  being,  in  every  age  and  under  any  clime,  is  given  sufficient 
supernatural  power  to  prepare  his  soul  for  the  influx  of  a  higher  light,  for 
embracing  the  Faith.  What  truths  man  must  know  as  a  preliminary 
step,  we  have  already  discussed,  and  shall  revert  to  presently.  But 
can  it  be  said  that  such  a  possibility  resides  in  the  East-Indian  savage,  in 
the  Hindoo  sage,  in  the  Mohammedan  dervish,  in  the  Chinese  bonze, 
in  the  Egyptian  fellah,  in  the  North-American  bison-hunter,  not  to  speak 
of  the  modern  Jew,  Turk,  infidel,  heretic,  apostate,  rationist,  or  agnostic? 
Undoubtedly  it  can.  It  ivas  Alexander  VIII.  who  condemned  the  proposi- 
tion that  "Pagans,  Jews,  heretics,  and  the  like  receive  no  influx  at  all  from 
Jesus  Christ"  (Decr.S.OfT.Dec.l690).  The  fact  is  that  every  created  soul 
is  a  Catholic  in  so  far  as  he  inherits  the  common  prehistoric  deposit  of 
faith,  in  so  far  as  he  thinks  or  wills  with  the  "soul"  of  the  Church;  he  is 
a  heretic  only  in  so  far  as  he  rejects  the  deposit,  or  wilfully  rejects  the  full 
supernatural  deposit  when  sufficiently  evidenced. 

In  the  second  place,  the  existing  divisions  and  separations  of  faiths  in 
so  far  as  they  are  contradictory  or  mutually  exclusive,  are  without  a  ques- 
tion the  result  of  a  gigantic  apostacy.  If  the  One  True  Faith  is  not  ter- 
ritorially universal,  though  it  ever  tends  to  be  such,  it  is  because  from  the 
dawn  of  humanity  even  unto  the  present  day,  there  have  been  a  series  of 
moral  landslides,  which  have  split  humanity  into  opposing  camps.  It  is 
man  that  has  broken  the  unity  of  faith,  and  not  the  Creator.  Yet  even  in 
our  present  sad  plight,  is  not  the  universality  of  Rome  a  living  miracle? 
Can  anybody  measure  her  boundless  dominion?  And  how  comes  it  that, 
her  soothing  rites  find  such  a  quick  response  in  the  heart  of  the  primitive 
child  of  nature,  precisely  those  nearest  to  the  days  of  original  innocence,  of 
primitive  integrity? 


582  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

CONTINUITY  OF  DIVINE  FAITH 

And  this  brings  us  to  the  allied  subject  of  continuity  or  unbroken 
tradition  of  the  true  faith.  For  if  salvific  grace  is  as  boundless  as  the  air 
we  breathe,  it  does  not  follow  that  a  correspondence  to  grace  is  equally 
universal ;  the  air  may  be  infected  with  germs  which  afflict  the  patient  with 
a  mortal  disease,  germs  caused  by  his  own  disregard  for  the  laws  of  sani- 
tation. Nevertheless  the  air  remains,  it  can  be  purified  or  disinfected,  you 
cannot  abolish  the  essential  requisite  of  life,  it  must  be  continuous.  How 
far  can  such  a  continuity  be  shown  to  exist? 

We  have  seen  that  the  combined  traditions  of  the  human  race  point 
with  a  daily  increasing  certainty  to  some  past  or  primitive  revelation,  by 
the  help  of  which  man  attained  to  truths  not  only  of  a  natural  but,  as  we 
also  discovered,  of  a  supernatural  order.  Nay  more,  we  have  found  that 
certain  central  dogmas  hold  their  own  throughout  the  history  of  man,  they 
seem  to  be  traceable  in  nearly  every  form  of  religious  belief.  Such  among 
others  are  the  broad  doctrines  of  a  supreme  personal  Power  as  the  cause  of 
creation,  His  moral  relation  to  man  as  the  beginning  and  end  of  his  destiny, 
and  what  is  still  more  important.  His  legal  relation  to  man  as  the  institutor 
of  certain  definite  rites  and  ceremonies,  which  culminate  in  the  idea  and 
the  practice  of  sacrifice.  However  much  beclouded,  stifled,  obscured,  or 
even  perverted,  we  have  shown  that  even  in  the  darkest  periods  of  the  race, 
this  old  theology  has  never  been  entirely  lost,  and  to  this  extent  we  can 
speak  of  a  continuous  transmission  of  the  divine  deposit  of  faith. 

On  the  other  hand,  those  who  see  in  the  pagan  and  savage  beliefs  an 
unadulterated  chain  of  religious  dogmas  are  going  too  far,  they  are  again 
wanting  in  the  power  of  discrimination.  For  while  we  have  the  doctrine 
of  original  innocence,  we  have  also  the  doctrine  of  original  sin,  and 
original  sin  has  contaminated  the  whole  of  mankind,  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  an  unadulterated  original.  We  have  done  our  best  to  show  that  while 
certain  very  early  peoples  have  preserved  the  tradition  with  comparative 
purity,  none  can  be  called  "absolute"  primitives,  and  none  are  without 
some  flaws  at  least,  whether  in  faith  or  practice.  This  becomes  far  more 
pronounced  in  the  later  ages  of  man.  where  we  find  the  Persian  soma-cult 
side  by  side  with  the  Hindoo  juggernaut-car,  and  never  a  faith  without 
serious  blemishes.  In  other  words,  there  is  but  one  Tree  of  Truth,  with 
one  and  the  same  sap;  but  in  sprouting  into  maturity  many  of  the 
branches  have  not  been  treated  with  care,  they  have  not  been  pruned,  they 
have  fallen  into  decay.  It  took  the  Messiah  to  "cure"  the  tree  from  the 
ravao-es  of  the  white  ant,  and  now  we  see  its  fruits  and  blossoms  in  all 
their  majestic  glory.  The  air  is  indeed  continuous,  though  a  large  part  of 
mankind  has  been  afflicted  with  "consumption." 


EPILOG  583 

AUTHORITY  OF  DIVINE  FAITH 

But  what  is  truth  without  the  following  of  truth,  of  what  use  the 
grandest  philosophy,  if  it  does  not  stir,  nay,  if  it  does  not  command  me  to 
live  up  to  its  exalted  precepts?  If  is  but  a  sounding  brass  and  a  tinkling 
cymbal,  it  is  a  hollow  platitude.  And  so,  as  a  final  aspect  of  this  subject, 
the  authority  or  the  coercive  power  of  faitli  should  claim  our  attention. 

"If  a  supreme  Person  has  spoken,  he  must  be  obeyed."  This  short 
statement  focusses  the  moral  side  of  the  Lawgiver  in  the  briefest  terms. 
It  is  the  "categorical  imperative",  which  even  Kant  found  to  be  a  necessity 
of  practical  reason.  Applying  it  to  our  prehistoric  data,  we  have  furnished 
sufficient  evidence  to  show  that  the  major  truths  of  religious  faith  cannot 
be  ignored  without  grave  culpability,  that  the  laics  of  the  Heaven-God  bind 
under  severe  penalties.  This  is  revealed  in  part  by  the  universal  theism 
underlying  all  corrupt  phases  of  belief,  with  its  correspondingly  strong 
sanctions  and  safeguards  for  moral  conduct,  in  part  by  the  fact  that  a  fall 
in  religious  faith  is  invariably  accompanied  by  a  fall  in  morals, — showing 
the  essential  connexion  between  faith  and  conduct.  We  have  given 
abundant  examples  of  this  in  our  preceding  pages.  This  proves  that  there 
is  a  consciousness  of  guilt  in  ignoring  the  Creator,  in  rebelling  against  the 
laws  of  Heaven.  Hence  there  is  no  excuse  for  the  normally  developed  man 
to  say  that  he  "does  not  know",  that  "he  cannot  see".  He  does  know  and 
he  can  see,  and  if  he  refuses  to  follow  the  light,  he  is  condemned  as  much 
by  the  voice  of  humanity  as  he  is  by  the  supreme  Person  whom  he  has 
insulted. 

So  much  for  internal  authority.  As  to  external  authority,  we  have 
already  intimated  that,  although  the  message  is  clear,  its  full  interpretation 
is  so  difficult,  dealing  as  it  does  with  the  supernatural  and  the  mysterious, 
that  a  professional  priesthood  and  a  hierarchy  are  absolutely  essential  for 
its  guardianship  and  its  perpetual  transmission.  They  are  the  custodians 
of  truth.  When  a  man  is  battling  with  a  serious  disease,  he  does  not 
attempt  to  cure  himself,  he  sends  for  a  professional  doctor,  and  follows  the 
latter's  prescription,  in  neglect  of  which  he  cannot  recuperate.  This  is 
what  we  find  in  all  the  ages  of  man.  It  is  only  the  few  that  grasp  the 
deeper  meanings  of  things,  it  is  only  the  "father"  or  "medicine-man"  that 
heals,  only  the  "mystery-doctor"  that  understands,  and  from  this  point  of 
view  religion  is  an  absolute  monarchy,  it  can  brook  no  interference  from 
the  voice  of  the  mob.  Thus  it  is  the  Institutional  Church  of  all  ages, 
whether  as  patriarchate,  primacy,  or  historic  papacy,  which  alone  pos- 
sesses the  keys,  which  reflects  the  Papacy  of  the  Father  Above.  "Give  not 
that  which  is  holy  unto  dogs,  neither  cast  ye  your  pearls  before  swine.  He 
that  hearth  you,  heareth  me". 


584  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

POSITIVE  CONTENT  OF  DIVINE  FAITH 

Coming  more  specially  to  the  material  object  of  faith,  the  actual  content 
of  the  divine  message  as  such,  it  is  worth  whilo  to  make  a  broad  survey  of 
the  religious  facts  with  a  view  of  elucidating  their  inner  moaning  and 
tendency,  to  discover,  if  possible,  a  philosophy  of  faith.  Needless  to  say, 
such  a  philosophy  can  only  at  present  be  tentative,  it  must  be  confined  to 
the  barest  essentials  of  religious  belief;  it  cannot  pret'^nd  to  discuss  each 
article  of  faith  in  all  its  philosophical  fulness,  for  this  is  the  province  of 
dogmatic  theology, — again  higher  mathematics.  The  following  summary 
is  therefore  merely  a  final  attempt  to  group  the  religious  phenomena  in 
such  a  way  that  a  definite  system  of  belief  may  be  revealed  in  their  general 
spirit  and  meaning  and  as  the  result  of  a  sufTiciently  complete  analysis. 

(1)  The  Doctrine  of  Personal  Transcendence 

The  first  truth  to  be  mastered  in  this  connection  is  that  of  the  unicity 
or  transcendence  of  the  divine  being.  Without  this  as  our  major  premise, 
the  most  beautiful  philosophy  will  collapse  like  a  house  of  cards.  It  is  the 
"maximum  actual"  which  forms  the  starting-point  of  the  wild  man  of  the 
woods  no  less  than  of  every  sane  metaphysician,  that  initial  "warm" 
feeling  which  is  in  such  violent  contrast  to  the  sordid  vacuum  of  a  mere 
potential.  The  separation  of  the  All-Father  from  everything  that  is  ordi- 
nary, finite,  commonplace,  or  imperfect  is  one  of  the  most  distinctive  fea- 
tures in  the  early  consciousness  of  man,  even  if  He  is  pictured,  as  at  times 
He  is,  in  crude  and  anthropomorhic  form.  This  serves  but  to  emphasize  His 
personal  character,  the  fact  that  He  is  father,  not  simply  force.  And  what  is 
this  persuasion  founded  upon?  Apart  from  our  elaborate  and  learned  dis- 
putations, which  appeal  primarily  to  the  man  of  drilled  intellect,  the  pro- 
fessional reasoner,  its  main  premises  are  as  unshakeable  as  the  pyramids. 
You  cannot  get  a  maximum  perfect  out  of  a  potency,  an  immovable  out  of 
a  moved,  an  infinite  out  of  a  finite,  a  necessary  out  of  a  contingent,  an  in- 
finitely wise  designer  out  of  a  demiurge,  a  supreme  keeper  of  conscience 
out  of  a  mere  sky-prophet.  In  each  case  you  are  bound  to  transcend  the 
series  and  land  in  the  infinite,  in  default  of  which  you  get  an  infinite  series 
of  finite  causes,  an  unthinkable  contradiction.  Regnon,  in  his  "Meta- 
physique  des  Causes",  has  worked  this  out  to  a  nicety,  and  it  represents  the 
last  word  on  the  subject  from  the  modern  standpoint.  Those  who  cannot 
see  the  force  of  this  argument  are  to  be  pitied  rather  than  censured;  they 
had  better  get  at  their  books  and  review  their  logic.  To  the  majority  of 
primitive  savages  this  truth  is  sufilciently  clear.  Even  the  growing  child 
realises  that  nothing  on  earth  can  be  exactly  like  the  Father  above,  that 
He  is  too  big  to  be  put  on  canvas. 


EPILOG  585 

POSITIVE  CONTENT  OF  DIVINE  FAITH 

But  if  God  is  so  immeasurably  beyond  all  that  we  can  ever  imagine  or 
even  comprehend,  can  He  be  said  to  be  a  desirable  object  of  knowledge,  let 
alone  love?  Persons  who  take  this  line  of  thought,  if  such  it  be  called,  are 
more  conspicuous  for  their  superficiality  than  for  their  mental  earnestness. 
Is  it  necessary  to  comprehend  the  workings  of  a  galvanic  battery  in  order 
to  appreciate  the  wonderful  blessings  that  it  has  brought  upon  mankind? 
Do  I  have  to  understand  a  thing  in  order  to  know  it,  to  fully  comprehend  a 
thing  in  order  to  love  it?  Is  it  not  a  fact,  that  my  awe  and  admiration  for 
a  person  is  on  the  contrary  in  proportion  to  his  immense  superiority,  to 
his  elevation  above  everything  that  is  trivial  and  commonplace?  Of  all 
the  shallow  objections  to  theism,  this  is  one  of  the  most  unpardonable. 
Distance,  majesty,  mystery,  unapproachableness,  these  are  of  the  very 
essence  of  nobility  and  grandeur,  the  highest  motive  power  of  our  moral 
life.  Fortunately  we  have  many  analogies  in  nature  to  help  us.  There 
is  the  electric  ether,  infinitely  dense,  yet  infinitely  rare ;  there  is  the  flower- 
ing plant  with  its  power  of  life,  and  its  immanent  action;  there  is  above  all 
things  the  human  soul,  with  its  marvelous  faculty  of  reflex  thought  of 
transcending  the  categories  of  space  and  time,  of  soaring  out  into  the 
infinite.  Can  anybody  say  that  these  things  are  easily  imagined?  And 
yet  they  are  facts,— it  would  be  dangerous  folly  to  deny  them. 

Turning  then  to  the  mind  of  the  primitive,  we  see  that  his  first  impres- 
sions of  an  infinite  being  seem  to  have  been  precisely  of  this  nature. 
Though  pictured  as  man.  He  is  far  removed  from  earthly  necessities,  from 
temporal  or  spatial  limitations.  He  is  All-Father-Light, — a  "photosphere", 
diffusing  His  rays  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  the  nearest  analogue  to  the 
human  form.  He  is  not  the  world,  nor  is  He  the  sun,  nor  is  He  confused 
with  any  object.  He  simply  shines  through  creation  as  an  Infinite  Person, 
and  He  shines  in  dark  places,  being  thus  distinguished  from  the  orb  of 
heaven.  From  this  being  all  things  derive  their  existence,  and  moreover 
as  persons,— there  is  wind-and-waler,  tree-and-earth,  sun-and-star-spirjt,— 
all  hypostatized  and  pictured  as  points  of  light,,  or  as  magic  waves  and 
crosses—,  angelic,  though  hardly  animistic  beings.  But  He  is  a  command- 
ing and  instituting  God.  He  has  written  His  law  in  the  heart  of  man, — 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  decalogue—,  and  he  has  raised  him  to  a 
higher  plane,  which  he  has  forfeited  through  a  rebellion.  He  can  now 
only  be  approached  by  prayer,  penance,  and  sacrifice  and  to  those  who 
follow  His  light.  He  promises  reward,  and  to  those  who  refuse  it,  punish- 
ment. Such  in  the  main  is  the  primitive  creed  of  mankind,  the  foundation 
upon  which  the  higher  faiths  have  been  built,  and  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
is  partly  of  natural,  partly  of  supernatural  origin. 


586  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

(2)  The  Doctrine  of  Physicu.  Immanence 

But  is  this  not  a  stagnant,  an  immovable,  an  unpicturable  God?  What 
about  His  relation  to  the  physical  universe?  Man  looks  up  into  the 
heavens  and  says. — the  heavens  are  God.  this  light  which  I  see  is  the  light 
of  God.  this  air  which  I  breathe  is  the  breath  of  God — .  perhaps  the  divinity 
is  nearer  than  I  had  imagined,  perhaps  He  is  in  these  things  in  such  a 
manner  that  they  can  be  called  His  substance,  part  and  parcel  of  His 
nature.  This  feeling  of  an  intimate  presence  is  the  most  natural  of  human 
experiences.  Can  anybody  deny  the  beauty  of  motion,  of  the  harmony  of 
the  heavens,  of  the  "music  of  the  spheres",  of  the  change  of  seasons,  of  the 
daily  succession  of  light  and  darkness,  of  dawn  and  sunset,  of  the  rise  and 
fall  of  the  tides?  Why  look  for  a  deity  beyond  His  visible  manifestation? 
Is  not  variety  the  spice  of  life?  Perhaps  God  is  motion,  and  I  am  begin- 
ning to  feel  that  He  is  dynamic  rather  than  static,  better  represented  by  the 
spiral  whorl  than  by  the  peaceful  and  monotonous  cross.  I  have  dis- 
covered in  fact  a  new  philosophy. — God  is  tendency  rather  than  terminus, 
His  very  essence  is  change,  and  without  change  there  i.-^  no  really  ex- 
perienced life. 

Now  in  the  development  of  every  great  and  eternal  trutli,  there  is  always 
the  danger  of  mistaking  expansion  for  falsehood,  a  more  profound 
knowledge  of  the  divine  nature  for  an  actual  drifting  away  from  our 
primitive  moorings.  For  it  is  possible  to  emphasise  the  divine  remoteness 
to  such  an  extreme  as  to  lose  sight  of  His  physical  ubiquity,  of  the  fact 
that  He  is  "in  all.  and  with  all,  and  through  all".  Not  that  this  notion 
cannot  be  ferreted  out  of  transcendence.  An  infinite  being  must  of  his 
nature  be  all-pervading  to  satisfy  his  own  definition  as  pure  act.  The 
fact  is,  God  is  physically  immanent  in  all  things,  there  is  nothing  I  can 
see,  hear  or  feel,  which  is  not  directly  supported  by  Him.  which  is  not  an 
imitation  of  His  own  essence, — He  is  throbbing  in  every  sight  or  sound. 
And  so  in  the  later  developments  of  theologj'  there  has  been  a  desire  to 
make  the  totem-god  a  universal  cosmic  force  symbolized  by  the  spiral,  to 
realise  more  fully  that  the  absolute  static  is  the  dynamic,  that  He  is  the 
source  of  change  no  less  than  of  rest.  To  see  God  in  motion,  that  is  the 
ideal, — and  to  this  extent  the  totem-philosophy  is  something  of  a  help. 
But  the  opposite  danger  of  identifying  the  one  Creator  with  His  own 
creation  is  far  more  insidious.  The  doctrine  of  universal  immanence, 
unless  checked  by  the  old  theology,  has  given  us  all  the  shallow  pantheism 
of  our  modern  life.  If  God  is  nothing  but  change.  He  will  give  you  the 
delirium  tremens,  if  the  rainbow  is  nothing  but  quivering  molecules,  it  is 
no  longer  symbolical  of  a  higher  truth. 


EPILOG  587 

POSITIVE  CONTENT  OF  DIVINE  FAITH 
(3)  The  Doctrine  of  Vital  Immanence 

If  then  it  is  essential  to  realise  the  universal  cosmic  activity  of  the 
divine  being,  and  at  the  same  time  keep  Him  clear  from  the  nature- 
entanglement,  it  is  still  more  important  to  recognise  His  universal  vital 
activity.  Life  being  defined  as  "immanent  action",  it  is  more  than  a 
transient  push  of  one  atom  upon  another,  it  is  that  mysterious  kind  of 
motion  which  begins  and  terminates  in  the  same  subject,  which  differ- 
entiates the  plant  from  the  crystal.  Again  it  is  asked, — is  not  this  godlike 
power  sufficiently  marvelous  to  be  itself  the  divinity?  Are  not  the  functions 
of  generation,  growth,  and  decay  sufTiciently  eloquent  of  mystery  without 
the  help  of  a  greater?  Do  I  not  see  God  in  the  protoplasm,  in  the  living 
cell,  in  the  budding  flower,  and  above  all  in  that  marvellous  organism  of 
the  human  body,  of  the  human  brain,  which  contains,  as  it  were,  the  whole 
of  the  universe  in  a  miniature?  Surely  I  do  not  have  to  go  out  of  creation 
to  find  the  cause,  it  is  here  before  my  eyes, — God  is  life,  when  you  are 
looking  into  the  rose,  you  are  looking  into  his  essence. 

Here  again  we  cannot  proceed  without  great  caution.  It  is  of  course 
eternally  true,  that  the  divinity  is  operating  in  every  blade  of  grass, 
diffusing  His  odor  of  sweetness  in  every  flower,  pulsating  in  every  throb 
of  the  heart  of  man.  Who  can  look  into  that  sun  without  saying, — thou 
art  not  only  the  light  but  the  life  of  the  world;  where  thou  shinest;  there  is 
joy,  beauty,  splendor,  happiness;  where  thou  hidest  thy  face,  there  is  death, 
darkness,  misery,  vacuum.  But  what  about  the  scorching  heat  of  the 
desert,  the  poisonous  fumes  of  the  jungle?  Has  not  man  developed  at  his 
highest  in  the  bleaker  and  more  temperate  regions  of  the  world,  nay,  in 
those  very  parts  where  physical  life  is  at  its  lowest?  This  is  a  plain  proof 
that  God  is  more  than  physical  life.  He  cannot  be  expressed  in  terms  of  a 
biological  formula, — God  is  Life — ,  but  a  vitality  of  such  a  nature,  that  He 
transcends  every  conceivable  form  of  life  by  infinitites.  We  have  seen 
that  this  is  the  main  thought  of  animism,  which  in  picturing  the  divinity 
under  the  flaming  sun  or  the  flowering  reed  has  given  us  a  distinctly 
deeper  view  of  the  divine  activity  than  we  find  in  the  earlier  days  of  the 
world.  He  is  not  simply  the  Immanence  of  Light,  and  the  Immanence  of 
Nature,  but,  within  His  own  Essence,  the  Immanence  of  Life,  the  Lord  and 
Giver  of  Life, — the  Divine  Immanence  par  excellence.  We  are  therefore  in 
the  same  plight  as  before.  Wherever  the  initial  note  of  an  all-transcending 
Power  has  been  preserved,  there  we  find  the  happiest  application  of  the 
newer  animistic  cult;  wherever  it  has  been  lost,  there  spiritism  and 
mohatma-worship  tell  their  own  stories  of  mental  degeneration. 


588  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

POSITIVE  CONTENT  OF  DIVINE  FAITH 

(4)  The  Doctrine  of  Symbolic  Manifestation 

Thus  we  see  that  the  human  intellect  is  alternately  wavering  between 
God  and  nature,  between  All-Father-Life  and  the  spectral  double.  The 
question  arises  whether  any  of  these  nature-philosophies  are  entirely  satis- 
factory, whether  the  full  concept  of  deity  is  not  better  defined  in  terms  that 
are  less  liable  to  abuse,  to  a  conscious  or  unconscious  perversion.  For  this 
purpose  we  will  make  a  final  attempt  to  delineate  the  main  points  of  a 
system  which  shall  combine  all  that  is  true  and  good  in  the  preceding,  and 
at  the  same  time  safeguard  the  divine  message  from  a  possible  misinter- 
pretation. We  shall  call  it  "the  philosophy  of  symbolic  manifestation",  as 
conveying  in  the  clearest  possible  language,  that  in  every  pure  form  of 
religion  the  supreme  Deity  is  distinct  from  creation  though  He  manifests 
His  power  by  created  or  external  symbols. 

(a)    AS  REVEALED  IN   NATURE 

A  sacrament,  in  the  broad  sense,  being  defined  as  "an  outward  sign  of 
something  sacred",  the  sign  is  thereby  clearly  distinguished  from  the  thing 
signified,  and  thus  we  are  once  for  all  delivered  from  the  snares  of  panthe- 
ism. When  I  look  into  the  heavens,  I  do  not  see  God,  but  I  see  the  symbolic 
face  of  God,  the  first  mirror  of  the  divine  perfections,  the  first  imitation  of 
His  essence.  "The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firmament 
showeth  His  handiwork", — a  feeling  as  old  as  the  ocean.  But  it  is  only  the 
first  mirror;  I  can  tire  of  constellations,  even  the  sublimest,  though  space 
and  time  give  me  the  first  revelation  of  His  immensity,  of  His  immeas- 
urable eternity.  Individual  objects  give  me  a  more  vivid  picture  of  the 
divine.  The  splendor  of  the  midday  sun,  with  his  pure  rays  of  benev- 
olence,— rays  which  no  one  may  even  look  upon  without  the  danger  of 
being  blinded, — this  suggests  at  once  the  infinite  majesty  of  God,  the  Light 
of  the  world,  whom  no  one  may  approach  without  holy  fear,  without  veil- 
ing his  face.  The  stars  have  a  similar  message,  they  picture  the  angelic 
liierarchy,  they  remind  us  of  the  abode  of  the  blest,  they  are  like  so  many 
scintillating  gems  adorning  the  throne  of  the  Most  High,  while  the  pure 
light  of  the  evening  star  speaks  to  us  of  the  Heavenly  Mother, — "sinless 
and  beautiful,  star  of  the  sea."  All  these  objects  are  doubtless  eloquent  of 
mystery,  of  divine  truth,  even  if  only  in  a  poetical  sense,  and  in  the  living 
rose  I  smell  the  first  scent  of  the  odor  of  sanctity,  of  heavenly  purity.  In 
this  way  the  whole  of  nature  is  a  gigantic  sacrament,  a  visible  manifesta- 
tion of  the  divine. 


EPILOG  589 

POSITIVE  CONTENT  OF  DIVINE  FAITH 

(b)  AS  REVEALED  IN  RITUAL 

But  the  beauties  of  nature  are  not  simply  to  look  at,  they  are  also  to  use. 
Man  being  endowed  with  a  double  nature,  material  and  spiritual,  he  can- 
not soar  into  the  heavens  with  the  speed  of  an  electric  spark,  he  cannot 
rush  in  where  angels  fear  to  tread.  He  requires  an  external  stimulus  to 
bring  before  him  the  internal  substance.  No  person  can  feel  God  inti- 
mately, and  at  the  same  time  be  joking  and  laughing;  there  is  an  incom- 
patibility of  demeanor  no  less  than  of  postures.  In  this  respect  even  the 
natural  law  would  seem  to  dictate  the  observance  of  holy  customs,  of  put- 
ting ourselves  in  the  presence  of  God,  nay,  of  using  certain  objects  as  the 
natural  expressions  of  His  benign  activity. 

Now  if  there  is  one  thing  that  impresses  us  in  the  religion  of  man  as 
such,  savage  or  civilised,  it  is  that  his  religion  is  essentially  ritualistic. 
For  him  the  deity  is  not  so  far  off  and  inaccessible  that  he  cannot  convey 
his  power  through  visible  instruments.  The  distinction  between  the  Crea- 
tor and  the  creation  makes  it  possible  for  him  to  attach  certain  definite 
values  to  certain  definite  objects,  and  to  no  others;  they  are  the  channels 
of  his  power.  Among  these  the  element  of  water  plays  such  a  universal 
part  in  the  purification-ritual  of  mankind  that  we  cannot  regard  it  as 
one  of  the  major  "specifics",  as  the  most  obvious  and  easily  accessible 
purging-element  in  nature.  In  like  manner  the  oil  or  the  sacred  herb,  the 
palm-branch  or  the  bamboo,  the  anointing,  consuming,  tapping,  touching, 
breathing  or  blowing, — all  these  are  not  merely  ceremonial  but  medicinal 
forms  or  actions;  they  heal,  they  feed,  or  they  fortify  the  patient  in  a  vivid 
though  inadequate  manner;  they  are  believed  to  work  by  their  own 
physical  power,  by  the  very  fact  that  they  are  externally  administered.  We 
cannot  of  course  determine  how  far  such  rites  can  be  regarded  as  prelimi- 
nary "purges",  as  tending  to  bring  the  subject  into  a  dim  realisation  of  his 
higher  destiny.  None  of  the  prehistoric  "medicines"  can  be  regarded  as 
efficacious  in  such  sense  as  to  "dispose"  the  savage  for  those  higher  chan- 
nels of  grace  that  are  known  as  the  seven  sacraments.  He  must  be  bap- 
tised with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire,  the  old  medicine  cannot  even 
suggest  it.  But  the  principle  underlying  the  rite  remains  essentially  the 
same.  It  is  the  general  consciousness  that  God  acts  through  visible  and 
material  agencies,  that  He  is  sacramentally  felt.  And  it  is  this  which  dis- 
tinguishes the  universal  religion  of  man  from  all  forms  of  rationalistic 
deism.  To  be  in  harmony  with  the  faith  of  humanity  means,  in  the 
supernatural  order,  to  be  signed  with  the  sign  of  the  cross,  to  be  anointed 
with  the  chrism  of  salvation. 


590  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

POSITIVE  CONTENT  OF  DIVINE  FAITH 

(C)   AS  REVEALED  IN  SACRIFICE 

Finally,  we  have  the  notion  of  oblation  or  immolation,  the  idea  of 
sacrifice,— the  supreme  act  of  religion.  The  inherent  nobility  of  self-sacri- 
fice will  hardly  be  questioned, — it  is  the  measure  of  love.  But  by  some 
universal  instinct  of  human  nature  it  has  always  been  felt  that  a  supreme 
act  of  devotion  requires  some  form  of  externalisation,  some  visible  and 
tangible  proof  that  the  worshipper  is  ready  to  part  with  what  he  holds 
most  precious.  A  man  may  sympathise  with  another  in  a  thousand  differ- 
ent ways,  but  if  he  is  never  known  to  offer  him  a  part  of  his  substance,  he 
is  hardly  a  generous  man,  he  is  a  half-hearted  lover.  Now  it  is  this  inerad- 
icable desire  of  making  some  kind  of  external  dedication,  of  offering  up 
some  sense-perceptible  object,  that  we  find  to  be  such  a  widespread 
phenomenon  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  religious  history 
of  man.  From  the  very  infancy  of  the  race  we  find  the  nomad  hunters 
offering  up  their  choicest  game  and  vintage  to  the  deity,  the  first  and  best 
products  of  the  animal  and  vegetable  creation.  Nay  more,  the  offerings 
are  very  commonly  consumed  in  the  fire,  showing  the  necessity  of  some 
form  of  destruction  or  immolation  in  order  to  make  the  sacrifice  more 
vivid,  more  realistic,  more  complete.  Can  this  universal  consciousness 
be  explained  on  any  other  principle  but  that  of  a  profound  conviction  that 
the  Creator  requires  these  tokens  of  love  from  his  creatures,  that  the  prac- 
tice of  external  immolation  is  essential  to  all  religion,  engraven  on  the  very 
tables  of  the  natural  law?  How  can  we  otherwise  account  for  its  marvel- 
ous uniformity,  its  continual  reiteration  in  all  the  ages  of  man? 

But  there  is  another  secret  lurking  behind  these  rites,  and  one  which, 
with  the  revealed  Mosaic  ritual,  is  portentous  of  far-reaching  theological 
consequences.  It  is  the  growing  consciousness  that  the  accumulated  crimes 
of  mankind  cannot  be  atoned  for  by  any  ordinary  means,  that  the  simple 
sadaka  of  old  must  be  supplemented  by  the  hecatomb,  and  finally  by  the 
human  sacrifice.  Now  it  is  this  utter  despair  of  ever  paying  the  complete 
price  of  sin  which  is  relieved  by  only  one  ray  of  brightness, — the  mystical 
slaughter  of  Jehovah  on  the  altar  of  holocausts  and  His  presence  in  the 
Holy  of  Holies.  Here  alone  do  we  find  a  supernatural  light  amid  the  sur- 
rounding darkness,  a  clear  intimation  that  the  One  God  of  Heaven  will 
some  day  be  slaughtered  in  the  court  of  the  gentiles, — this  world — ,  He  will 
lay  the  foundations  of  the  sanctuary  and  the  altar  of  perfumes, — His 
Church — ,  and  He  will  open  the  Holy  of  Holies  to  all  mankind, — in  Heaven. 
In  other  words,  it  is  the  hollowness  of  the  pagan,  and  the  prophetical  char- 
acter of  the  Jewish  rites,  which  points  with  unmistakable  emphasis  to  the 
altar  of  Calvary  and  the  "Table  of  the  Lord"  as  the  one  all  sufficient  sac- 
rifice once  offered.  But  with  this  we  have  entered  the  inner  temple  of 
faith. — we  have  opened  the  door  of  the  tabernacle. 


EPILOG  591 

CONCLUSION 

Such  then  is  the  united  message  that  comes  to  us  from  the  heart  of 
humanity  as  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  read  it, — a  message  fragmentary 
at  the  best  of  times,  but  reveahng  the  rich  nugget  of  pure  gold  wrapped 
in  the  slimy  ore  of  a  corrupt  tradition.  The  distinctive  dogmas  of  the 
Christian  religion  are  seen  to  have  their  deficient  similars  everywhere. 
their  adequate  source  nowhere  save  only  in  Christ.  These  natural  similars 
are  seen  to  grow  with  the  growing  moral  response  that  is  made  to  them, 
they  are  stifled  with  the  stifling  of  the  moral  conscience  of  those  that  reject 
their  light,  but  they  are  raised  to  a  strictly  supernatural  plane  only  in  the 
historic  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God  and  in  the  paradise  of  the 
living  Church,  founded  upon  the  rock  of  ages.  She  only  is  the  direct  heir 
to  the  Kingdom,  "a  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world".  Here  we  have  an  institution  that  can  trace  its  anticipa- 
tive  lineage  to  the  gates  of  Eden,  which,  in  so  far  as  it  has  a  natural 
counterpart,  exists  in  the  heart  of  the  savage  only  as  the  shadow  reflects  the 
splendor  of  the  substance,  which  exhibits  a  continuous  though  hidden  life 
throughout  the  cycles  of  time, — "first  the  sheaf,  then  the  ear,  then  the  full 
corn  in  the  ear".  To  the  soul  of  this  society  every  human  being  belongs, — 
you  cannot  get  rid  of  the  light  of  heaven, — but  it  is  all  the  sadder  to  think 
that  some  are  born  blind,  that  they  cannot  enjoy  the  light  of  day,  that  they 
seem  indeed  to  be  helpless.  This,  however,  is  only  apparently  so,  for  there 
is  no  disease  that  the  Great  Physician  of  souls  cannot  heal,  no  fatal  im- 
pediment which  He  cannot  remove.  "Young  man,  I  say  unto  thee,  arise!" 
In  these  life-giving  words  is  contained  the  everlasting  answer  to  the  ever- 
lasting complaint. 

In  looking  back  then  upon  the  entire  panorama  of  prehistoric  truth 
and  its  accompanying  error,  we  cannot  resist  the  feeling  that  the  main 
traits  of  the  picture  are  decidedly  reassuring,  not  to  say  inspiring.  The 
study  of  genealogies  is  always  interesting,  and  the  genealogy  of  Christ  is 
none  the  less  exalted  because  some  of  His  ancestors  were  not  of  the  pure 
dye.  What  does  it  matter?  "Before  Abraham  was  made,  I  AM!"  The 
Messiah  is  continually  pointing  beyond  the  narrow  circle  of  later  Jewish 
custom,  to  the  era  before  Moses,  to  the  days  before  the  flood,  nay  to  the 
innocent  age  of  paradise, — for  to  the  common  Mosaic  permission  of  divorce 
He  opposes  a  pre-Mosaic  practice  which  we  have  now  seen  to  be  provable, — 
"From  the  beginning  it  was  not  so."  Thus  we  have  the  best  and  most  ap- 
proved reasons  for  seeking  the  confirmations  of  faith  far  beyond  the  usual 
limits  of  written  history,  to  ascend  with  Christ  to  the  days  when  man  was 
still  dressed  in  the  clothing  of  nature,  to  find  with  Him  the  relics  of  a  golden 
age  preserved  in  the  shattered  fragments  of  a  once  glorious  past  which  He 
came  to  renew. 


592  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

CONCLUSION 

The  results  of  this  study  may  appear  surprising  to  those  who  have 
been  accustomed  to  look  upon  the  remote  history  of  man  as  the  blackest 
night.  Such  was  not  the  standpoint  of  a  Paul  or  an  Augustine,  though  it 
may  be  that  of  a  diseased  pessimism.  "Whom  ye  ignorantly  worship, 
Him  declare  I  unto  you".  There  is  no  such  thing  as  an  absolute  break;  for 
the  gentiles  are  "inexcusable",  they  must  know  something  of  God,  who 
"has  never  left  Himself  without  witness",  but  "in  every  nation  he  that 
feareth  him  as  accepted  of  Him".  The  message  is  universal,  though  its 
historic  corruptions  are  only  too  plain.  It  is  only  the  institutional  Church 
has  kept  the  pure  message.  But  from  the  standpoint  of  modern  science,  it 
has  taken  us  some  time  and  no  inconsiderable  labor  to  realise  the  full  im- 
port of  this  truth,  and  only  in  recent  years  have  religious  data  been  brought 
to  light  that  have  caused  us  to  moderate  some  of  our  former  misgivings  on 
this  head,  and  which  shows  how  cautious  we  should  be  in  accepting  as  final 
that  which  is  largely  fallacious,  if  not  entirely  false.  There  is  one  thing, 
however,  that  recent  ethnology  has  taught  us  to  do.  It  has  taught  us  to 
"think  in  cycles",  to  put  law  and  order  into  religious  phenomena,  and  until 
we  can  master  the  principle  of  stratification,  at  least  in  its  broader  outlines, 
we  are  as  hopelessly  at  sea  as  the  mariner  without  a  compass,  the  geologist 
without  his  pickaxe.  Only  in  this  way  can  we  assign  an  approximate 
date  to  a  belief,  and  follow  its  gradual  historical  development.  This  I  have 
attempted  to  do,  with  what  success,  remains  to  be  seen.  The  "ring  of 
asteroids"  cannot  in  my  mind  be  explained  by  chance-coincidences. 

To  those,  however,  to  whom  the  whole  subject  is  too  involved  and 
obscure  to  be  tangible  or  in  any  sense  useful,  we  would  say  as  a  final  word, 
that  they  have  not  studied  the  parable  of  the  talents.  There  is  nothing  in 
this  world  got  without  much  labor,  without  much  patient  toil.  You  will 
say— I  do  not  like  controversy — ,  who  does?  Argumentation  is  tiresome, 
litigation  is  painful,  it  would  be  much  pleasanter  to  leave  things  as  they 
are,  to  drift  with  the  tides.  This  has  hardly  the  ring  of  gospel-heroism. 
Anything  that  will  give  me  a  deeper  knowledge  of  God  and  of  His  divine 
mysteries  cannot  be  scouted  as  useless.  The  Gospel  of  St.  John  is  heavy 
reading,  but  look  at  the  pearls  which  it  conceals.  The  epistles  of  St.  Paul 
are  not  exactly  novels.  During  our  treatment  of  this  subject,  we  have  done 
much  heavy  digging,  we  have  burnt  much  midnight  oil,  but  our  labors 
have  not,  we  hope,  been  entirely  in  vain.  If  our  investigations  have  done 
nothing  more  than  to  shed  some  light  on  the  past  dealings  of  God  with 
man,  and  to  note  their  harmony  with  those  higher  sources  of  revelation 
which  we  have  learnt  from  our  mother's  knees,  they  will  be  worth  the 
arduous  labor  that  has  been  expended  upon  them. 


EPILOG  593 

THE  TRANSCENDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

SOME  CONCLUDING  REFLEXIONS  ON  THE  UNIQUENESS   OF  THE 
CHRISTIAN  DEPOSIT  OF  FAITH  AND  PRACTICE 

We  cannot  allow  this  fascinating  subject  to  disappear  from  our  eyes 
without  reverting  once  more  to  the  opening  lines  of  our  Prolog  with  a  view 
to  appreciating  in  more  complete  and  universal  perspective  how  strongly 
corroborative  of  the  Divinity  of  Christ  has  been  the  general  trend  of  our 
collected  material,  how  superlatively  eloquent  of  the  dignity  and  nobility 
of  the  human  race.  This  may  be  considered,  as  we  had  then  attempted  to 
explain,  from  a  twofold  point  of  view, — natural  and  supernatural — ,  or 
from  the  standpoint  of  similarity  and  the  standpoint  of  difference.  In  so 
far  as  the  Christian  religion  has  a  naturalistic  aspect,  in  so  far  as  the 
instinctive  yearnings  of  humanity  and  their  higher  supernatural  satisfac- 
tion run  to  a  certain  extent  on  parallel  lines,  we  can  speak  of  our  common 
religious  inheritance  as  being  immensely  old, — nay  as  the  primitive  and 
undivided  religion  of  mankind.  But  when  we  come  to  those  higher  illumi- 
nations that  are  beyond  the  circumference  of  reason  as  such,  we  have  seen 
that  by  no  possibility  can  they  be  derived  out  of  a  purely  earthly  logic,  but 
that  they  are  either  the  relics  of  a  past  revelation  or  they  postulate  the 
influx  of  the  new, — there  is  no  middle  course.  In  this  way  we  have  come 
in  contact  with  certain  prehistoric  "flashes"  of  heavenly  light,  which,  in 
their  intimate  connection  with  the  personality  and  the  office  of  the 
Redeemer,  are  but  so  many  glaring  proofs  of  His  super-human  conscious- 
ness, of  the  fact  that  He  regards  Himself  as  existing  timelessly  throughout 
all  the  cycles  of  existence,  not  simply  temporarily  or  in  a  transitory  sense, 
as  with  some  ordinary  human  prophet.  It  is  therefore  all-important  to 
bring  this  majestic  truth  home  to  ourselves,  and  moreover  to  realise,  that, 
however  exalted  these  prophetic  illuminations  may  have  been  in  the  past, 
however  suggestive  of  a  primitive  and  undiluted  communication  of  God 
to  man,  they  fall  infinitehj  short  of  His  historic  revelation  in  the  fulness  of 
time,  they  are  but  miserable  shadows  that  are  preparing  the  way  for  the 
substance, — forerunners  in  a  decidedly  negative  sense. 

I.    THE  COMMON  ELEMENTS  OF  RESEMBLANCE 

In  order  to  bring  this  more  vividly  before  the  mind,  we  cannot  repeat 
too  often  that  nothing  is  gained  by  throwing  unnecessary  mud  on  the  pre- 
Christian  conscience  of  mankind,  but  that  on  the  contrary,  the  admission 
of  occasionally  grand  and  noble  elements,  even  when  partially  corrupted, 
is  an  indirect  proof  of  our  thesis, — it  shows  the  continuity  of  some  form 
of  moral,  if  not  supernatural  consciousness. 


594  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

THE  TRANSCENDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

If  then  we  make  one  more  appeal  to  the  past  records  of  the  race  by 
way  of  sliowing  how  essentially  similar  is  the  manifestation  of  the  relig- 
ious conscience  in  all  the  ages  of  man.  it  should  make  us  feel  more  secure 
in  the  foundations  of  our  own  faith,  more  especially,  because,  as  I  say,  that 
consciousness  cannot  be  entirely  accounted  for  on  purely  naturalistic  lines, 
but  presupposes  some  form  of  divine  illumination,  and  thus  reflects  on  the 
olTice  of  the  Messiah.  While  these  points  of  resemblance  can  of  course  be 
overdrawn  to  the  point  of  the  phantastic,  the  following  seems  to  us  to  rep- 
resent what  we  may  call  the  "minimum",  the  broadest  and  most  general 
basis  of  comparison. 

Parallelisms  in  Faith 

It  should,  for  instance,  be  strongly  conducive  to  a  robust  form  of 
religious  belief  of  any  kind  to  know  and  to  feel  that  the  common  pulse  of 
humanity  beats  as  a  single  stroke  on  the  all-essential  matter  of  a  supreme, 
personal,  invisible  Cause  of  existence,  however  much  that  Cause  may  have 
been  mixed  up  in  certain  cases  with  its  efTect,  and  thus  partially  fused 
with  its  own  creation.  The  argument  from  the  universal  consent  of 
humanity  appeals  strongly  to  certain  minds,  and  the  fact  that  some  kind 
of  supreme  Power  has  always  been  recognised  fills  a  void  in  the  human 
heart  which  nothing  else  can  replace. — it  is  the  first  and  fundamental 
dogma  of  all  religion.  Furthermore,  some  would  like  to  see  in  His  triple 
manifestations  some  remote  hint  at  a  "trinity",  some  evidence  that  in  the 
very  dawn  of  creation,  man  was  mysteriously  conscious  of  a  triune  Per- 
sonality in  the  Creator,  an  idea  which  can  still  be  theologically  defended, 
though  it  is  by  no  means  binding  on  the  common  conscience  of  Christian- 
ity as  such.  The  same  of  the  "six  days"  of  creation,  of  which  the  savage 
seems  to  have  a  vague  recollection,  and  still  more  of  the  "paradise-fruit" 
of  which  he  is  vividly,  however  remotely,  conscious.  It  can  surely  be  no 
matter  of  secondary  interest  to  discover  that  a  large  body  of  this  tradition 
has  been  preserved  either  on  the  lips  or  in  the  books  of  humanity,  and  it 
calls  for  some  serious  religious  reflexions.  Still  more  ennobling  are  those 
undoubted  vestiges  of  a  paradisaic  promise,  in  which  a  "mother"  of  man- 
kind is  obscurely  pictured  as  imploring  a  "father"  in  heaven  to  rescue  his 
children  from  the  sting  of  the  serpent,  and  finally  to  bring  forth  the  much- 
expected  "son",  one  who  shall  crush  the  serpent's  head.  The  same  triumph 
of  life  over  death  is  symbolised  in  the  primitive  sacrifice,  where  the  para- 
dise-fruit is  offered  to  the  "father"  above.  Finally  we  have  undeniable 
relics  of  a  great  flood,  coupled  with  a  firm  persuasion  that  the  good  shall  in 
some  way  be  rewarded  in  another  world,  while  the  wicked  shall  be 
punished  or  in  some  way  purged  for  their  moral  perversities. 


EPILOG  595 

THE  TRANSCENDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

Parallelisms  in  Practice 

But  if  all  these  beliefs  and  traditions  cannot  but  lend  support  to  the  con- 
servative views  of  the  better  part  of  mankind  on  this  subject,  their  exter- 
nal expression  in  ritual  and  in  social  and  moral  practice  is  perhaps  still 
more  portentous.  So  far  from  being  surprised  at  the  occasionally  close 
resemblance  between  some  of  these  practices  and  our  own  divine  ceremon- 
ials, it  would  be  difficult  to  see  how  they  could  be  very  different.  There 
are  only  a  certain  number  of  ways  in  which  water  can  be  applied  to  the 
person,  and  that  these  dippings  or  sprinklings  should  be  administered  by 
the  very  obvious  means  of  shells,  bamboos,  or  even  in  complete  "bap- 
tisteries", is  indeed  very  natural.  It  is  also  in  harmony  with  the  universal 
instincts  of  human  nature  that  in  the  offering  up  of  gifts  to  the  Creator 
some  external  posture  of  reverence  should  be  assumed, — the  fruits  or  the 
blossoms,  the  cakes  or  the  vintage,  are  commonly  "lifted  up",  and  the  use 
of  music  and  incense,  of  prayers  and  of  chants,  of  drums  and  of  rattles, 
are  dictated  by  the  universal  common  sense  humanity, — we  would  be  sur- 
prised indeed  if  they  were  absent.  This  applies  equally  to  those  secondary 
objcts  of  piety  or  religious  devotion,  which,  whether  as  salt,  oil,  prie- 
dieus  or  prayer-beads,  are  the  natural  accessories  of  any  religion  that  shall 
be  worthy  of  the  name.  "Out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth 
speaketh", — it  would  be  the  sheerest  miracle  if  these  instruments  of  devo- 
tion were  constantly  and  universally  lacking. 

And  when  we  come  to  the  preternatural  help  that  is  supposed  to  be  con- 
veyed in  these  rites,  we  have  seen  that  an  all-merciful  and  providential 
Power  may  be  readily  conceded  as  operating  upon  the  soul  of  the  benighted 
gentile.  For  it  is  indeed  inconceivable  that  a  benevolent  Creator  should 
have  permitted  such  an  enormous  section  of  humanity  to  embrace  them 
except  for  some  moral  and  providential  purpose;  we  would  be  setting 
rather  artificial  limits  to  the  divine  wisdom.  This  does  not  apply  simply  to 
the  Jewish  Passover,  of  positive  and  divine  institution,  but  concerns  such 
purely  instinctive  ceremonies  as  the  Persian  soma-sacrifice.  We  may  then 
both  candidly  and  joyfully  admit  that  such  actions  may  confer  an  initial 
impetus  to  a  higher  life  which,  already  symbolised  by  the  aspersion  of 
water,  joins  the  Creator  and  creature  into  a  still  closer  bond  of  mystical 
union.  On  the  other  hand,  we  must  beware  of  going  to  unwarranted  ex- 
tremes in  this  matter,  of  seeing  the  higher  sacraments  of  the  New  Law  in 
any  sense  "foreshadowed"  in  any  of  these  rites.  The  medicine-hut  and  the 
fire-house  have  absolutely  nothing  in  common  with  the  confessional,  while 
the  invocations  to  Mithras  are  about  as  far  removed  from  a  eucharistic  cult 
as  can  well  be  conceived;  they  have  their  natural  uses  and  they  stop  there. 
None  of  these  functions  postutate,  in  fact,  the  remotest  analogy  with  the 
Christian  sacramental  system  of  grace.* 


•Compare  L.  de  Grandmaison,  S.  J.  "The  Study  of  Religions",  being  Vol.  I.  of  the  Lec- 
tures of  the  History  of  Religions,  published  by  Herder,  (St.  Louis,  1910),  p.  26fl.  Also 
E.  R.  Hull,  S.  J.  "Is  Catholicism  of  Pagan  Origin?"  Catholic  Mind,  for  Sept.  22,  1918,  p.  449flf. 


590  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

THE  TRANSCENDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

PARALLELISMS  IN  THE  GENERAL  TONE  OP  MORAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  DECENCY 

Again,  it  is  entirely  unnecessary  to  the  defence  of  the  New  Dispensa- 
tion to  draw  an  exaggerated  picture  of  abominable  and  universal  corrup- 
tion in  all  tiie  pre-Chrislian  ages  of  man.  While  it  is  still  a  glaring  and 
undeniable  fact  that  the  atmosphere  of  the  Roman  Caesars,  and  indeed  of 
the  later  pagan  world  in  general,  was  polluted  from  head  to  foot,  we  mu.st 
always  allow  for  many  important  and  noble  exceptions,  and  though  these 
exceptions  are  seemingly  rare  during  the  age  of  the  historic  decadence, 
they  become  increasingly  numerous  when  we  ascend  into  the  pre-classic, 
pre-dynaslic  era  of  these  peoples.  We  have  collected  sufTicient  instances  to 
show,  that,  however  deplorable  its  later  manifestations,  the  moral  con- 
science of  nearly  all  our  modern  civilised  nations  was  originally  high,  that 
the  position  of  women  was  respected,  the  marriage-tie  regarded  as  sacred, 
and  the  general  tone  of  private  and  public  morality  at  least  theoretically 
decent.  And  this  also  should  occasion  as  little  surprise  as  the  compara- 
tively edifying  aspect  of  the  religious  worship,  when  we  consider  that  a 
purer  theology  is  bound  to  draw  a  purer  morality  in  its  trail,  and  that  an 
amelioration,  not  a  degeneration,  is  to  be  expected  as  we  mount  up  into 
the  past, — a  relic  perhaps  of  a  belter  and  purer  state  of  mankind. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  a  certain  general  regard  for  the  sanctity  of  human 
life  is  a  necessary  accompaniment  of  any  form  of  religious  belief  that  has 
not  been  tainted  at  its  very  source,  and  inasmuch  as  there  are  many  ves- 
tiges of  a  higher  and  more  unadulterated  cult  of  the  divine,  we  may  wel- 
come these  manifestations  as  an  additional  proof  that  purity  in  belief 
begets  purity  in  morals.  In  this  way  a  certain  external  analogy  may  be 
traced  between  the  "testimony  of  a  good  conscience"  as  we  understand  it 
and  that  instinctive  feeling  of  moral  approval  which  follows  any  naturally 
good  action  as  such.  But  what  is  of  particular  interest  to  us  in  the  present 
place  is  the  additional  discovery  that  these  ethical  feelings  for  the  fitness 
of  things  seem  to  become  more  pronounced  in  the  very  earliest  stratum  of 
human  development.  Passing  over  the  "dark  ages"  of  humanity, — when, 
as  we  have  had  occasion  to  note,  there  was  a  very  wide  defection  from  the 
primitive  ideal — ,  the  united  force  of  the  moral  data  for  the  earliest  period 
of  man  cannot  but  reverse  the  very  common  impressions  on  this  head. 
The  days  of  "traveler's  reports"  are  fortunately  over,  and  the  united  tes- 
timony of  men  of  science,  including  that  of  bishops,  missionaries,  mon- 
signori,  and  others,  have  compelled  us  to  recognise  that  the  traditional 
doctrine  of  an  age  of  comparative  innocence  has  after  all  some  foundation 
in  fact. 


EPILOG  597 

THE  TRANSCENDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

II.     THE  ELEMENTS  OF  DISTINCTIVE  DIFFERENCE 

So  far,  then,  il  would  seem  that  a  study  of  the  combined  folk-lore  of 
the  human  race  cannot  but  be  strongly  corroborative  of  the  main  doctrines 
of  the  Christian  faith  in  so  far  as  they  stretch  back  into  prehistoric  times 
and  presuppose  some  common  and  partly  supernatural  source  as  the  origi- 
nal basis  of  the  primitive  religion  of  mankind.  But  as  these  "vestiges"  are 
so  commonly  misinterpreted  by  many  of  our  contemporary  writers,  as 
there  is  frequently  not  the  smallest  attempt  to  distinguish  between  a  natural 
yearning  and  a  supernatural  illumination,  as  it  quite  frequently  happens 
that  the  entire  scheme  of  human  development  is  looked  upon  as  a  purely 
spontaneous  evolution  out  of  the  religious  consciousness  of  man  with 
Christianity  as  its  "apex",  it  is  of  supreme  importance  to  obtain  a  clear 
and  correct  orientation  in  this  matter,  and  to  realise  more  forcibly  per- 
haps than  ever  before,  that  by  no  earthly  means  can  the  revealed  content 
of  the  Christian  religion  be  derived  from  any  of  its  predecessors.  For  this 
purpose  I  cannot  do  better  than  refer  the  reader  to  a  series  of  articles  from 
the  pen  of  a  leading  Catholic  divine,  who,  as  he  is  profoundly  read  in  these 
subjects,  enjoys  the  additional  distinction  of  being  one  of  the  greatest 
metaphysicians  of  the  day.* 

The  Doctrine  op  Pure  Personality 

"An  idea  of  exceptional  character  and  consequence",  writes  this  author, 
"marks  off  the  Christian  doctrine  of  life  from  all  others  before  or  since. 
It  is  the  idea  of  personal  union  with  God  in  the  world  to  come.  Note  the 
words  well.  They  express  an  historical  fact,  a  transcendent  conception,  a 
sublime  idea,  in  the  presence  of  which  the  resemblances  to  Christianity 
found  in  other  religions  all  pale  into  insignificance".  Then  he  continues: 
"Primitive  peoples  conceived  God  very  personally,  so  much  so,  in  fact,  that 
cultured  races,  remembering  the  malignant  fling  of  Xenophanes,  that  lions 
had  as  much  right  to  consider  God  a  lion,  as  man  to  imagine  Him  a  per- 
son, grew  ashamed  of  the  mannish  notions  of  their  ancestors  and  went  to 
the  opposite  extreme  of  depersonalizing  the  Divine".  Here  at  once  we  have 
one  of  the  principle  points  for  which  we  have  been  contending,  the  fact, 
namely  that  the  idea  of  personality,  however  crude,  precedes  the  later 
speculations  on  the  interior  essence  of  God  by  immeasurable  intervals  of 
time.  Nay  more, — "religious  progress  consists  in  the  progressive  purifi- 
cation of  this  idea  in  the  human  understanding,  and  of  this  progress 
Christianity  is  the  living  witness  and  example". 


*  Very  Rev.  Edmund  T.  Shanahan,  S.  T.  D.  "The  originality  of  the  Christian  doctrine 
of  Life",  Catholic  World  for  July,  1916,  p.  464flf.  See  also  the  articles  by  the  same  writer, 
"What  is  Dogma?"  (ibid.  p.  300),  "Cutting  Truth  in  Two"  (ibid.  p.  775).  Compare  also 
P.  J.  Gannon,  S.  J.  "(Comparative  Religion",  Irish  Theological  Quarterly,  (Oct.  1916),  p.  369. 
D.  A.  Lord,  S.  J.  "Shaw's  Apologetics",  Catholic  Mind,  for  Dec.  8,  1916. 


598  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

THE  TRANSCENDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

The  Doctrine  of  Super-Juridical  Personality 

But  such  a  progress  should  not  be  understood  as  implying  a  mere  tran- 
sition from  lower  to  higher  forms  in  its  realisation.  "Yielding  neither  to 
primitive  ignorance  in  conceiving  God  as  mannish,  nor  to  cultured  pride 
in  making  the  Divine  impersonal,  Ghristianty  took  a  proportional  view 
that  avoided  these  extremes.  God  was  not  for  the  Christian  the  impersonal 
intelligent  World-Soul  imagined  by  the  4lite  of  Greece  and  Rome,  but  an 
independent  Being  subsisting  in  a  rational  nature  as  we  subsist  in  ours 
without  any  of  the  deficiencies  that  cling  to  human  selfhood  and  its  powers 
of  intelligence  and  will.  The  mannish  notions  of  personality  all  fade  away 
and  cease  to  trouble,  when  the  term  is  proportionally  understood.  The 
progress  which  the  religion  of  Christ  made  in  history  over  all  the  ancient 
religions  resulted  in  no  small  measure  from  its  purified  reassertion  of  per- 
sonality, both  human  and  Divine".  (Mark  the  expression,  "reassertion"). 
"What  the  atTirmation  of  human  personality  meant  to  society  at  large  may 
be  readily  conjectured  from  the  fact  that  in  the  Roman  Law,  it  was  only 
by  the  sulTerence  and  condescenscion  of  the  state, — by  a  fictio  juris,  in 
other  words — ,  that  an  individual  might  be  called  a  person.  The  idea  that 
he  is  an  independent  subject  of  right  did  not  exist  until  Christianity  pro- 
claimed it". 

The  Doctrine  op  Triple  Personality,  or  the  Divine  Trinity 

If  then  the  idea  of  absolute  moral  Subject,  hazy  at  the  best  of  times, 
was  so  phenomenally  bedimmed  during  the  time  of  the  historic  appear- 
ance of  the  Messiah,  it  is  needless  to  remind  ourselves  how  hopeless  it  is 
to  search  for  any  supposed  "tri-unities"  as  even  the  most  remote  source  for 
the  greatest  mystery  in  the  Godhead.  In  the  summaries  of  our  first  and 
fifth  chapters,  we  had  given  the  principal  reasons  why  such  a  derivation 
must  be  for  ever  ruled  out,  however  suggestive  of  a  past  revelation  on  this 
subject  the  so-called  triads  may  be  taken  to  be.  Such  a  revelation,  if  in- 
deed it  was  ever  made  in  full  and  explicit  form,  had  for  ages  been  for- 
gotten, and  the  Platonic  "threes"  of  the  philosophers  have  nothing  in  com- 
mon with  the  entirely  new  revelation  of  three  consubstantial  Persons.  It 
is  this  sublime  mystery  which  cuts  the  trinitarian  invocations  to  God 
clear  from  all  the  preceding  rites,  and  wliich  gives  the  one  transcending 
element  to  the  whole  of  the  Christian  ritual.  If  the  formula  is  new  and 
supernatural,  the  rites  must  be  so  also,  and  thus  the  various  prehistoric 
medicines  do  not  give  birth  to  the  Seven  Sacraments,  but  are  rather 
superseded  by  them.  The  fact  is,  their  entire  content  has  changed,  even  if 
forms  are  externally  similar.  No  washings  in  the  Jordan  could  of  their 
own  accord  give  the  penitent  the  faculty  of  seeing  God  face  to  face,  much 
less  of  sharing  the  life  of  the  Blessed  Trinity, — we  are  moving  in  a  super- 
natural plane. 


EPILOG  599 

THE  TRANSCENDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY 
The  Doctrine  op  Personal  Incarnation  and  Sacrifice 

And  when  we  came  to  the  great  central  fact  of  human  history,  it  is 
surely  high  time  to  realise,  that  the  much-talked-of  "incarnations"  of  deity 
are  but  clumsy  fabrications  of  an  aberrant  mind,  even  if  we  must  look 
upon  the  idea  itself  as  ultimately  traceable  to  a  superhuman  source.  In 
the  words  of  our  author,  "The  disdain  felt  for  primitive  religious  notions 
by  the  cultured  folk  of  Greece  and  Rome  accounts  for  the  odd  fact  that  the 
best  of  their  philosophers  never  probed  the  idea  of  personality,  never 
undertook  to  clear  it  up.  Even  those  who  spoke  of  God  as  person  had  no 
definite  notion  of  what  personality  is.  The  Supreme  Self-Conscious  Intel- 
ligence meant  to  them  self-consciousness  at  most.  The  relation  existing 
between  intelligence  or  self-consciousness  on  the  one  hand  and  personality 
on  the  other  was  never  explicitly  worked  out."  "Then  as  now,  the 
pride  of  men  prevented  them  from  seeing  that  a  primitive  religious  idea 
might  be  right  in  principle,  hoivever  much  wrong  and  crude  it  may  have 
been  in  the  interpretations  it  received.  So  far  was  this  disdain  of  the 
primitive  carried,  so  repugnant  had  the  idea  of  a  personal  First  Cause  be- 
come, that  intermediaries  of  all  sorts,— semi-divine  beings  or  de- 
miurges— ,  were  invented,  to  whom  the  unseemly  work  of  creating  and 
providing  was  entrusted,  while  the  Supreme  Intelligence  monopolized  its 
beatific  life,  without  a  thought  of  mortals".     (The  italics  are  ours.) 

It  would  be  difficult  to  propound  this  subject  in  more  clear  or  emphatic 
terms  than  are  here  expressed.  And  while  this  applies  primarily  to  the 
days  of  the  Graeco-Roman  decadence,  we  have  seen  that  even  Mithras  of 
old  was  at  most  an  "angel  of  light",  while  the  Memra  as  applied  to  the 
Messiah  was  hardly  more  than  a  figurative  "word".  The  same  of  the 
logos  of  Alexandria  and  the  asha  of  Indo-Persia.  They  are  one  and  all 
steeped  in  the  naturalism  of  times  to  which  they  belong,  and  though  un- 
doubtedly illuminative  and  to  some  extent  prophetic,  there  is  an  infinite 
gulf  which  separates  these  creatures  of  human  fancy  from  the  Savior  of 
the  world.  For  the  first  time  in  all  history,  the  human  is  assumed  by  the 
Divine,  it  is  not  merged  into  it. 

The  Doctrine  op  Personal  Participation  in  the  Divine  Life 

And  from  this  it  will  follow  that  the  communication  of  the  fruits  of  this 
sacrifice  must  by  the  same  logic  be  consigned  to  a  category  far  transcending 
that  of  any  ordinary  "giving"  of  the  divine.  The  strange  sensations 
acquired  in  the  "love-feast",  must  be  separated  once  and  for  all  from  that 
unique  fruition  of  the  Divine  Presence  which  is  in  the  exclusive  gift  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament.  While  a  mystical  union  with  one  or  many  divinities 
is  for  the  most  part  provable,  a  direct  personal  union  with  the  Author  and 
Giver  of  Life,  though  ever  desired,  is  ever  mysteriously  delayed,— the  Soma 
is  "Mazda-made",  it  is  never  Mazda  Himself! 


600  PREHISTORIC  RELIGION 

THE  TRANSCENDENCE  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

The  Analogies  Disappear  in  the  Overwhelming  Differences 

And  thus  the  natural  similarities  between  all  religions  are  drowned  in 
the  impassible  ocean  of  the  supernatural.  "The  transcendence  of  the 
Christian  idea  of  union  with  God",  continues  our  author,  "is  not  sur- 
prising. We  should  be  led  to  expect  as  much  from  the  exceptional 
character  of  all  the  distinctively  Christian  ideas.  No  man  can  point  out 
in  the  faith  Christ  taught  a  single  religious  conception  that  was  not  ele- 
vated and  transformed  by  its  contact  with  His  person.  Jewish  Messian- 
ism,  pagan  ideas  of  union  wih  the  Divine,  baptism,  rebirth,  penance,  or 
what  not  else,  received  from  His  lips  a  meaning  they  had  never  known 
before."  Again, — "A  new  religion,  basing  itself  on  the  distinct,  special, 
and  revealed  relation  of  man's  union  with  God  on  the  mutual  plane  of  per- 
sonality, raised  to  the  dignity  of  friendship,  would  naturally  repeat,  in  ex- 
pressing itself,  many  of  the  rites,  devotions,  and  practices  of  religions 
based  on  the  general  relation  of  creature  to  Creator.  The  expression  of 
supernatural  religion  would  thus  result  in  resemblances  to  the  natural 
religions  it  had  transcended,  transformed  and  overcome."  This  is  as  plain 
a  statement  as  can  well  be  made  of  the  mutual  proportions  of  identity  and 
difference  to  be  expected  in  the  two  systems. 

The  Apotheosis 

While  it  is  evident  that  a  complete  treatment  of  this  subject  would  ex- 
ceed the  limits  of  the  present  volume,  the  revealed  picture  of  the  divine 
life  that  is  promised,  should  be  our  final  criterion  in  estimating  the  im- 
passable chasm  that  separates  the  Old  from  the  New.  To  "be"  or  to  "live" 
with  the  Father  in  heaven  is  indeed  a  very  natural,  however  "mannish" 
desire  among  the  most  primitive  peoples  that  we  know  of.  It  may  even 
be  traced  in  obscure  outline  in  those  later  yearnings  for  the  divine  "friend- 
ship" which  seem  to  be  implied  in  some  of  the  rituals.  But  it  is  a  far 
cry  from  the  hope  to  its  realization.  No  pre-Christian  cult,  however  ex- 
alted, ever  possessed  that  supernatural  impetus  which  of  its  own  poiver 
could  effect  a  direct  vision  of  God  face  to  face,  the  seeing  of  the  Heavenly 
Father  in  His  own  incommunicable  Glory.  And  it  is  this  which  is  the  final 
and  transcending  feature  of  the  entire  dispensation  of  grace.  It  is  not 
simply  to  know  and  to  love  the  Creator,  but  to  be  the  personal  sharers  in 
His  Divine  Nature,  to  "see  Him  even  as  He  is".  In  the  words  of  the 
Apostle, — "He  was  i7i  the  world,  and  the  world  icas  made  by  Him,  and  the 
world  knew  Him  not.  He  came  unto  His  own,  aiid  His  oivn  received  Him 
not.    But  as  many  as  received  Him,  He  gave  them  poiver  to  become  the 

sons  of  God,  to  them  that  believe  in  His  name". "And  the  Word  was 

made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us,  and  we  beheld  His  glory,  even  as  the  only- 
begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth".     (John,  i,  10-14.) 


INDEX 


A.  primitive  allness,  all-water,  84,  87. 
Ab-root,  for  father-notion,  XII,  8,   19,  25. 

30,  31,  50,  53,  87  (,=A-a,  Sumerian  All- 
1-atlier),  y9  (=A-bu,  Semitic  All-Father), 
Comp.    163    (Sum.   ab-ba,   father-ocean), 
436    (Sum.    abu,    father    of    vegetation). 
Also  239,  360,  S38ff. 
Aba-angui,  Brazilian  deity,  S3,  57,  538. 
Aba-langi,  Father-in-Heaven,  30. 
Aba-lingo    (Balingo),   Borneo,  25,  26. 
Aba-yaka-la-langit,  East  Indies,  240. 
Abba-Father,  Hebrew   Invocation,  575. 
Abe-yehu-mutungu,  Central  Africa,  50. 
Abel,  as  primitive  "son,"   (ablu),  436,  441, 

480;  as  Messianic  hero,  ibid,  and  315. 
Abjuration  of  sin.  34,  39ff.  363-384fI. 
Ablutions,  ceremonial,  319ff.  388ff. 
Abortion,    rare    among    primitive    peoples, 
XXXVIII-XL.   Later  common,  353,  554ff. 
Abraham,  as  Hebrew-Babylonian,  101,  280, 

369,  566,  "father  of  light,  power." 
Absolution,  from  witchcraft,  322,  329,  337, 

342,  344,  346,  348,  350,  352,  354,  358,  359, 

363,   376ff.     Sacramental,  401-402. 
Absorption,  personal,  350flF.  471,  493flF. 
Abstention-idti,  see  under  Taboo. 
Abstraction,  power  of,  XXX-XXXIII. 
Abu,  Semitic  "father",  see  under  Ab. 
Abuda,  Ancient  One,  Aru  Islands,  31. 
Accadian,  primitive   Semitic,   163,  359ff. 
Acclimatisation.  VIII,  XLII,  231ff. 
Ad-Toot,  for  father,  man,  master,  XIII,  27, 

30,  84,  91,  101,  139,  140,  164,  167,  172,  213, 

214,  218,  241,  435ff. 
Adad,  Assyrian  god,  97-100.  361-362. 
Adam,   Adamu,   Adapa,    (Sumerian),    164, 

213,  435,   436,    (Semitic),   103,    172,   218, 

242,  441 ;  reducible  to  "father,"  "genera- 
tor". 
Adat,  moral  law.  239,  259,  465. 
Adja,  Adjam-Garh,  India,  see  under  Ad. 
Adja  and  Djaja.  primitive  pair.  139,201,241. 
Adonai,  (Cryptogram),  101,  407. 
Adonis-t:u\t,   see  under   Tammuz. 
Adullerv,   rare   in   early   times,   punishable 

with  death,  XXXV-XL,  4,  10,  18,  20,  28, 

34,  39,  41,  44,  46,  50,  56,  60,  324ff. 
Adumbrations,   103-104,   132,   279,   313,  317, 

370-371.  387flF.  593ff. 
Aer-Aether,   Phoenician   principle,    170. 
Acshma,   Persian    "Death-Fury",    176. 
Aetas.  of   the   Philippines,   VI,   XII,   XIX, 

XXI,  XXXV,  XXXIX,  21,  and  see  under 

Anito. 
Affection,  parental  and  filial,  XXXVIIff. 
AfUnity,  totemic,  XLIV,  64,  152,  158,  350, 

471. 
Africa,   VII,   XII,   XIX,   XXII,   XXXVI, 

and  see  under  Akkas,  Bantus,  Bushmen. 
African  Rite,  sacrificial,  343,  353. 
Ages  of  man,  III-V,  XLI-LXVIII. 
Agglut-nation.  in   language,  XI-XII. 
Agnosticism,  65-77.    Refutation  of,  121-132, 

583. 
Agrarian  Rites,  349,  351,  353,  356,  361,  3<56fr. 
Agriculture,     foreshadowed     in     primitive 

times,   315,    34S,   436,   441    (vocation   of 

Cain). 
Ahura-Mgsda,    Persian    "Life-Lord",    105, 

and  see  under  Persia. 


Ainos,  of  Japan,  an  ethnic  puzzle,  XX. 
Air-Spirit,   (Luftgeist),  30,  43,  84,  91,  140, 
336. 

Airyana-Vejah,  Persian  Paradise,  108,  219. 

^^-root,  for  power,  XII,  27,  29,  30,  50,  54, 
240. 

Aka-Buluh,  Bow-Bamboo,  Indonesia,  XIV. 

Akem-Manah,  Persian  "Hate".  107,  176. 

Akkas.  VII,  XII,  XIX,  XXII,  XXXII, 
XXXVI,  47,  145,  204,  263,  343,  46S,  SOiff. 

Al-root,  for  light,  heaven,  clouds,  XII,  27, 
30,  71,  84,  97,  240.  For  power,  destiny, 
lOlff. 

Alacalufs,  see  under  Fuegian  primitives. 

Alcheringa,  Australian  "Dream-Time",  71, 
155,  211. 

Allah,  Islamic  "God",  47,  101,  226.  Comp. 
Al,  Ilu,  El. 

Allegorism,  Prolog,  8.  Text,  249. 

Alluvium,  82,  232ff.    (interglacial). 

Alphabet,  beginnings  of  phonetic,  83-91ff. 

Altar,  primitive,  245,  331,  as  "table  of  the 
gods",  360,  as  sacred  stone,  370,  as  mercy- 
seat,  371. 

Altjira,  Australian  High-One,  71,  155,  211, 
268,  363. 

Am-Toot,  for  father-mother,  XII,  19,  25, 
27,  30.  Sumerian  A-ma.  Semitic  Am, 
Ummu,  Mummu,  85fl.  Hence  for  water, 
ocean,  ibid.  See  also  239,  363,  538,  and 
under  Ma. 

Ama,  Amei,  simple  forms,  ibidem. 

Amaka,  Great  Father,  Borneo,  25,  27,  30. 

Amazonian  primitives.  VIII.  XIX,  XXIII, 
XXXVI,  XL,  53,  147,  206,  264,  428,  469. 

Amazonian  Rite,  sacrificial,  345. 

Amba.  to  make,  Central  Africa,  50. 

Ameretatat.  Persian  "Immortality",  107. 

America,  as  a  separate  province,  IV.  XLVI, 
as  a  dependency  of  Asia,  XLIII-LV,  LIX- 
LXVII,  as  anthropologically  recent, 
XVI.     See  also  under  North  America. 

American  Aborigines,  IV,  VIII,  XII,  XIX, 
XX,  XXII.  XXVIfiF.  XXXVI,  XL, 
XLIII,  LIXflf. 

Amesha-spentas.  Persian  spirits,  107,  176. 

Ammon-Ra,  Egyptian  god,  91flF.  167. 

Amulets,  3,  9.  15.  24,  43,  44.  47.  49,  54,  57. 
64,  66.  69,  72,  76,  88.  95,  100.  113,  122, 
146,  204ff.  320.  326.  327.  332,  333(1.  412. 

Amurru,  land  of  the  West.  274. 

An-Toot,  for  wind,  air.  heaven,  XII,  21, 
30,  83,  85,  106,  112,  138,  149,  161,  182ff. 

Anaphora,  in   sacrifice.  414b. 

Anatomy,  see  under  Anthropology. 

Ancestor-worship,  not  the  origin  of  theism, 
XLIII,  LXVII.  3,  4,  18.  20.  22.  28,  30,  32, 
39,  42,  44.  46.  50,  57.  59.  90,  122,  525. 

Andaman  Islands,  VI,  XII.  XIX,  XXVI, 
XXXII,  XXXV,  XXXVIII,  13,  137,  199, 
257,  325,  423,  463.  504,  509,  512,  523,  531. 

Andamanese  Rile,  sacrificial,  325. 

Angels,  as  wind-spirits,  see  under  An, 
Compare  also  3,  9,  17,  23,  27flf.  (partly 
confused  with  malignant  agencies). 
Also  134ff.  ("in  creation),  165  (Babylon- 
ian), 174  (Hebrew),  176  (Persian),  216 
(AssjTian).  Notion  originally  pure,  522, 
541 ;  later  corrupted,  548.  Fairly  uni- 
versal. 585. 


I 


INDEX 


Angra-Mainyu,  Persian  Evil  Spirit,  107, 176. 
Animism,  not  primitive,  XLIIIff.  LVII, 
LXIII,  LXVIIIff.  Also  4,  6,  16,  20,  22, 
28,  32,  33,  39,  40-46.  SO,  57ff.  Strong  in 
recent  times,  88,  96ff.  Not  the  origin  of 
the  idea  of  God,  127,  536.  As  a  life- 
philosophy,  559-562.  As  "immanence  of 
life".  587. 

Anito.  Philippine  deity,  21,  138,  200,  331. 
446,  513,  and  see  under  Aetas. 

Ansar,  Babylonian  deity,  85,  161,  192,  435. 

Antarctic  Races.  VIII,  XIX.  XXVII. 

Antediluvian  "kings"  or  patriarchs,  43SflE. 

Anthropology,  physical,  XV-XXIV. 

Anthropomorphism,  primitive,  LXVIII,  6, 
12,  15,  19,  26,  29,  30,  36,  40,  and  passim. 
Responsible  for  "suffering"  and  "dying" 
gods,  317,  400,  otherwise  harmless,   541, 

Antu,  for  wind-spirit.  7.  25,  112,  333,  537. 
Anu,   Babylonian    Heaven-God,   83-90   and 

passim  under  Babylonia. 
Anutu,  for  World-Soul,  182. 
Anyambie,  African  "Maker",  48,  SO. 
^*-root,  for  fatherhood,  see  under  Ab. 
Apocalyptic    Signs,    185-186,    223.    283-290. 

Their  consummation   in  the   future  life, 

486. 
Apophis,    (Apap),    Egyptian    serpent,   215, 

275,  440. 
Apotheosis,  of  chiefs,  3,  37,  etc.    Cannot 

account    for    the   notion    of    God,    535fF. 

Supernatural  Apotheosis,  500,  600. 
Apoyan-Tachu,    Father-Sky,    N.    America, 

180. 
Appa-Amma.  father-mother,  Ceylon,  19. 
Apsu,    Babylonian    Father-Water,    85,    161, 

435.     Persian  equivalent,  Apsa,  106. 
Apu-Kayan,    Paradise,    Borneo,    139,    201, 

239. 
Apu-Lagan,   Cloudland,    Borneo,    139,   201, 

465. 
^r-root.   for  earth,  see  under  Aruru. 
Ara-Irik,  bird-spirits,  Borneo,   111,   178. 
Arabia,  as  Paradise-land,  232. 
Araltu,  Babylonian  Hades,  90,  104,  479. 
Aramaic,  vk^ord-forms,   (el  and  Hut),  97. 
Aramaiti,  Persian   "Energy",   107,   176. 
Ararat,  as  "highland  of  Armenia",  435,  443. 
Archangels,  see  under  Angels. 
Architecture,  rise  of,  V-VIII,  XLIII-LXI. 
Arctic  Races,  XVI,  LV,  LXII.  LXVIII. 
Aristocracy,  natural,   IX,   XLIII,  323,  329, 

337,  342flF.    Artificial,  XLVIII,  378,  382, 

(caste-system,   Hindoo.   Polynesian). 
Ark  of  the  Covenant,  371. 
Ark  of  Noah,  Prolog.  5.  8.    Text.  435.  443«F. 
Arrow-dance,  Ceylon,  328. 
Arrows,  see  under  Bow  and  Arrow. 
Art.  prehistoric,  XXX,   LVI,   119,   149-150, 

159-160,     182-183,     216,    435.     442,     and 
passim. 
Aru  Islands,  31,  141,  202,  260,  466. 
/4r«H/a-tribe,  see  under  Australia. 
Aruru,  as  Mother-Earth,  85,  164,  214,  436. 
Aryan    Race.    Prolog,    10.     Text,    105-106, 

108-110.    175,    219-220,    291-298,    373-380. 
445.  487. 
i^j-root.  for  fire,  thunder-fruit,  7,  149    for 

life-mystery,   182,   336. 
Asgard.  Germanic  Olympus,  220. 


Asha,   Persian   "Truth",   107,   176.    As  the 
Mazdaean    "logos",    but    not    a    unique 
"son",  291. 
Ashur,  Assyr.  "Lord",  97ff.  and  see  under 

Assyria. 
Asia,    as    the    cradle    of    mankind,    XVI, 

XXIII,  LIX-LXVII,  231-233,  457,  S03ff. 
Ask  and  Embla,  Old  Norse  Adam  and  Eve, 

177. 
Assatu,  for  Life-mystery,  182. 
Assyria.  89,  97-100,   169,  216.  277-278.  359- 

364,  435-440,  479-482,  557-570. 
Astrology,  unknown  in  early  times,  XLIII. 

6,  16,  20,  28,  31,  34,  40,  42.  46.  50,  S7ff. 

Prominent   in    later   ages,   XLVIIIff.   83, 

183,      273-274      (Tables      of      Destiny), 

Jewish,  285-290,  Persian.  294-295,  Eschat- 

ological.   482. 
.4 (-root,  see  under  Ad. 
Atanua,  Polynesian   "Dawn",   178,  300. 
Atea-Tane,   PoljTiesian    "Light",    ibidem. 
Atheism,  practically  unknown,  122fT.  594. 
Atiustakawa.   "Our    Father    in   all   places", 

N.   American   Pawnee,   116,   574. 
Atlantis,   lost   continent.  233. 
Atonement,  see  under  Sacrifice.  Expiation. 
Atum-Ra,    "Father-Sun",    Egypt,    91,    167, 

275,  366,  435,  440.  557,  561  flf. 
Augury,  see  under  Divination. 
Australia   and   Australian   Aborigines,   IV, 

VIII.     XIIflF.     Physique,     XVII,     XXII, 

XXX.    Morality,      XXXVI,      XL,      41. 

Culture,     ibid,     and     XLVI,     LI,     LVI. 

LXIXff.   Australian    Primitive  Zone.   37- 

46.    142-144,    203,    261-262,    341-342,    427, 

467.     Evidence      of      priority,      505-507. 

Totemic    Zone,     (Aruntas,    etc.),    71-74, 

155-156,  211,  268,  353-354,  475,  545-556. 
Australian  Rite,  primitive,  342,  later,  353. 
Austro-asiatic   culture.    LXVIII.    language. 

2.   62.   and  passim. 
Austronesian.  identical  with  Oceanic,  q.  v. 
Authenticity,  of  reports,  XXV,  509-510,  of 

traditions,  XXVIII,  511-514. 
.Authority,  paternal,  see  under  Patriarchate, 

maternal,       see       under       Matriarchate. 

Authority  in  divine  faith,  582. 
Avaetat,  Persian  "Dejection",  107,  176. 
Au-itclin-Tsitu,      Pueblo      "Mother-Earth". 

180. 
Awiten-Tehulnakwi,  "Womb  of  the  World", 

ibid. 
Awona-kawa,    see    under    Wonekau,    New 

Guinea. 
Awonawilona,   Pueblo   "High-Father",   115, 

180ff. 
Axe,  see  under  Implements. 
Ayer  and  Tanah,  as  "water"  and   "earth", 

5,  136,  198. 

Ba-root,  to  make,  cut,  divide,  XII,  8,  25- 
30  (Ba-lingo,  Pa-lingo).  37-41,  142, 
(Baiame).  Sumerian  ba.  bad.  bar.  83, 
163,  359,  360,  439.  Assyrian  banu,  85, 
99,  161-163,  169.  212-214.  etc.  Hebrew 
hara.  102,  as  chiseling(?)    172. 

Baal,  of  Canaan,  see  under  Bel. 

Babbar.  Sumerian  Sun-god,  213  (-^ibar- 
bar). 

Ba.  EgjTJtian  soul-double,  96,  483. 

Babboon.  sacred,   134,   146,   196,  20S,  221. 

Babel.  Tower  of,  439-440.  444,  448. 

Babylonia,  XLII,  XLIX,  LXVI,  gl-90, 
161-166,  213,  273,  359,  435,  479flF. 


man 


Babylonian  Rite,  359-364. 

Babylonian  Zodiac,  183-184ff. 

Bacchic  mysteries,  379,  395. 

Baiatne,   Australian    "Creator",    37-41,    142, 

203,  261,  341,  467fiF. 
Bakairi,   see   under   Amazonian   Primitives. 
Bakatans,  Orang  Ukit,  see  under  Borneo. 
Balance  of  Truth,  Egyptian,  483. 
Bali,  soul-mystery,   Borneo,  26,   139,  334. 
Balingo,   Thunder-god,    Borneo,   25,    139. 
SaUo-raft,  XLIII,  LVI,  79. 
Balut-Walut,  primitive  pair,  9,  135,  197. 
Bamboo,  Age  of,  V-VIII.     Mystical,  3,  9ff. 
Ban,  of  witchcraft,  see  under  Absolution. 
Banana,  as  tree  of  death,  5,  11.  196-198,  201, 

224.     Sacrificed,  23,  31fr. 
Banita-bongas,  India,   152,   189. 
Bantus,  67,  153,  210,  267,  351,  473,  and  see 

under  Africa. 
Baptism,    Christian     Sacrament    of,    com- 
pared with  prehistoric  ablutions,  388ff. 
Bark-canoe,  IV,  LXVIIfl. 
Baru,  divination,  88,  priest,  273,  363. 
Bat-tree.  Australian,  203,  225. 
Batara,  Dayak    "Lord",   Borneo,    111,    178, 

299. 
Batwas,  see  under  Negrillos,  Bushmen. 
Bau,  Babylonian  goddess,  83,  272. 
Soyo/i-ceremonies,  Borneo,  334ff. 
Beads,  see  under  Rosary. 
Beatific  Vision,  beyond  the  natural  powers 

of  man  to  attain,  499-500. 
Beatitude,  see  under  Life  Eternal. 
Beauty,  physical,  of  primitive  man,  XXIff. 
Beehive-hut,  LI,  LXI. 
Beelzebub,  Canaanitish  god,  407. 
Bf/ii'j/Mn-inscription,   trilingual,    106. 
Bel,  Babylonian  "Lord",  "Sumerian  En-lil, 

84-90,  162-166,  214,  271,  273,  360,  437fi. 
Benediction,  triple  Jewish,  104. 
Bethlehem,  Star  of,  2S1,  285-290. 
Bibliography,  general,  XXV-XXVII. 
Biology,    I,    XV-XXIV,    LXXI,    231,   456, 

503  flf. 
Birth-ceremonies,  319,  325,  et  per  cap. 
Blasphemy,    as    cause    of    the    deluge,    518. 

Universally  deprecated,  580. 
Blood-throwing,  3,  11,  27,  321,  335flF. 
Blood-brotherhood,  Borneo,  27,  335. 
Blood-revenge,  post-paradisaic,  441. 
Blowpipe,  V-VIII,  LVI,  11.    Patterns,  25. 
Boat,  evolution  of  the,  LVIflF. 
Bone-pointing,  320,  342,  354fr. 
Bongo,  see  under  Sin-Bonga. 
Boomerang-culture,  LI-LII,  LVI,  S3. 
Bora-Initiation,  Australia,  39,  341. 
Borneo,  VII,  XII-XIV,  XIX,  XXI,  XXIII, 

XXVII,  XXXV,  XXXIX,  25,   139,  201. 

As   a  part  of   the  lost  continent,  233fT. 

Also  259,  333,  425,  465. 
Bornean  Rite,  sacrificial,  334-336. 
Bororos,  Botokudos,  see  under  Amazons. 
Borsippa,  tower-inscription,  439. 
Bow  and  Arrow,  evolution  of,  LVIff. 
Bow-culture,  Melanesian,  L,  LVIIflr. 
Brahminism,     an     Aryan-Dravidian     com- 
pound,   109,    177,  220,   297,   377-37S,   445, 

488. 
Brazil,  see  under  Amazonian  Primitive*. 
Bruwa,  as  Indonesian  "breath",  spirit,  7,  27. 
Buddhism,  see  under  Brahminism,  also  413. 
Bull-boat,  North-American  craft,  XLIV. 


Bull-roarer,  as  a  religious  instrument,  LII, 
LVI,  largely  magical,  LXVIII,  43,  54, 
341,  427. 

Bullimah,  Australian  Paradise,  142,  467. 

Buiidjil,  Australian  god,  as  star,  42,  as 
creator,  143,  associated  with  the  Bat- 
tree,  203,  father  of  Binbeal,  262. 

Bundlc-canoc,  LI,  LVI,  79,  and  see  Balsa. 

Burial  Rites,  XLIII,  LVIflf.  324,  326,  330, 
332,  338,  340,  342,  344,  346,  348,  350,  352, 
354,  358,  364,  368,  372,  374,  et  per  cap. 
Also  403,  529ff. 

Buru-Bonga,  as  an  Indian  germ-god,  61, 
63,  152,  160,  interpreted  by  Malabar  rites, 
ibid. 

Buru-Mystery,  specimens  of  a,  61  flf,  and 
349,  351,  353fT. 

Bushmen,  as  South-African  negrillos,  VIII, 
XIX,  XXVI,  XXXVI,  51,  146,  205,  263, 
344,  428,  468. 

Bushman  Rite,  sacrificial,  344. 

Cabala,  Jewish  mystical  philosophy,  185,  223. 
See  also  under  Astrology,  and  285,  486ff. 

Cain,  as  "maker",  Sumerian  ka-du=z 
Assyr.  qana-ku,  to  "impress",  Assyr. 
kanu,  to  make  fast,  Sumer.  aka^Assyr. 
banu,  workman,  Hebrew  qayin,  smith, 
436,  441,  480,  and  see  under  Ka-Toot.  As 
institutor  of  first-fruit  sacrifice,  102,  315, 
370.    As  outlaw  (mark  of  Cain)  430,  457. 

California,  79,  and  see  under  North- 
America. 

Canaan,  Canaanites,  359,  371.  Curse  of, 
444. 

Cannibalism,  not  primitive,  XXXVII-XL, 
and  passim.  Belongs  to  late-glacial 
times,  LVII,  554. 

Canoes,  see  under  Bark-canoe,  Bull-boat, 
Bundle-canoe,  Dug-out,  Plank-boat. 

Carving,  bone  and  wood — ,  XLIV,  LL 
LXVII. 

Caste-system,  Hindoo,  109,  378.  Poly- 
nesian, 382. 

Cataclysms,  geological,  453-456. 

Catacombs,  findings  in  the,  185,  295,  415. 

Catastrophe,  diluvial,  453-456. 

Catholic  Church,  pioneer  of  archaeology, 
XXV. 

Catholic  Revelation,  how  far  supported  by 
archaeology,  Prolog,  4-14,  Epilog,  S75ff. 
and  in  dicursu. 

Catholicity,  of  divine  faith,  581. 

Caucasian  race,  XVI,  XX,  LVII,  81,  444ff. 

Cause,  idea  of  First,  127-131,  521,  538ff. 

Cave  and  windshelter,  as  earliest  "home", 
V-VIII,  LVI. 

Cave-ritual,  320fl.  et  per  cap.  Cave- fauna, 
455. 

Caverns,  palaeolithic,  XLVII,  61,  160. 

Celebes,  see  under  Toalas,  Toradjas. 

Censer,  as  coconut-shell,  322-324. 

Ceramics,  see  under  Pottery. 

Ceremonial,  see  under  Sacrifice. 

Certainty,  of  divine  faith,  127-132,  539,  578. 

Ceylon,  see  under  Veddas,  Sinhalese. 

Chains,  Jewish  sacred,  413ff. 

Chatdaea,  see  under  Babylonia. 

Chalice,  precursors  to,  361fF.  Christian, 
414b: 

Change,  as  falsely  applied  to  Divinity,  586. 

Chant,  primitive  five-tone,  XIV,  242. 

Chaos,  primitive,  161-164,  167-168,  171,  177flF. 


INDEX 


Charity,  of  primitives,  see  under  Philan- 
thropy. . 

Charms,  see  under  Magic,  Amulets. 

Chastity,  high  price  placed  upon,  XXXV- 
XL,  41.  .        „      ,„ 

Chiefs  as  natural  "headmen  ,  IX,  as 
hereditary,       XLIV,       as       pnest-kings. 

Children,  treatment  of,  XXXVII-XL,  and 
see   under   Birth-ceremonies,    Infanticide, 

Chitd-race's,  of  man,  XXIII-XXIV. 
Chimpanzee,  feared  by  the  Akkas,  50. 
ChiJ,   XXVIII,   XLIX,   LXVI,    109    177. 
220,  298,   277,  446,  and   see   under   Mon- 
golian races.  rr,  on 
Chinigchinich,  Californian  deity,  79-80. 
Christ,  divinity  of,   how   far   supported  by 
prehistoric    data,    Prolog,    1-14      As    the 
fumilment  of  prophecy,  185-186,  223,  279, 
290     As   the   hope   of    the   gentiles,   295, 
296.     As  the  One  Light  of  the  World, 
313.     As  the  One  all-sufficient   Sacrifice, 
400     414b.     As     opening    the     Holy     of 
Holies   to  all   mankind,   486.    Also   593- 
600,  Epilog.                            .„„r«„ 
Christian  idea  of  beatitude.  499.500. 
Christian  idea  of  sacrifice,  315-318,  394-400, 

414b,  415-418. 
Christianity,  transcendence  of,  593-600. 
Christology,  essential   points,  283-284. 
Chronology,  prehistoric,  LVI,  435fl. 
C/ii(rf/i,  institutional,  581-583. 
Circumcision,    XLV-XLIV,    LVI,   68,   252, 
349    351,  353,  3SS,  365.    As  sacred  seal, 
369,  390.  ,      „ 

Clans,  primitive,  IX,  LVI,  315,  457. 
C/ow-culture,    IX,    LIII,    LVII,    74,    352fl. 

Developed   from   clsn-groups,  458. 
Clay  architecture,  82,  361. 
Clergy,  see  under   Priesthood. 
Climate,  VIII,  XV-XVI,  XLII.  LVI,  232, 

455. 
Clothing,    V-VIII,    XLIII,    XLVIII.    LV, 

LVI,  LXII,  and  compare  242,  315tt. 
Clubs,  LVI,  LX.    Stone,  341,  356. 
Coconut-palm.   10,   20.     As    "tree   of   life  , 
198,  200,  201,  210.  210-216  (?),  224.  235. 
244. 
Coconut-sacrifice.  Ceylon,  327-328. 
Coffins,  see  under  Burial-rites. 
Collectivism,  in  culture,  XLltt.   mn. 
Colonial  Age.  435,  458. 
Color    of  primitives,  see  Anthropology. 
Comb,  magic,  3,  6,  9,  24,  320. 
Communion,  with  supernatural  beings    see 
under   Sacrifice  and   Sacramentals.   Com- 
munion "of  the  Body  of  Christ",  397,  407. 
414b,  418,  590,  599. 
Communism,  IX,  42.     Not  normal,  528. 
Community,  primitive.   IX-X,   XXXIV-XI, 

238,  319,  457,  525-529,  541-S44ff. 
Comparative     Criticism.     120-132,     187-194. 
223-240,    303-314,    387-418,    449-458,    491- 
500,  and  see  Summary,  passim. 
Comparative  Religion.  Prolog,  15.  XXV. 
Confession,    as    manifestation     of     virtue, 
chiefly  negative,  322,  363,  367,  372,  376. 
401-402.    SacramenUl.   402,    of    personal 
sin. 
Confirmation.  Sacrament  of,  392-393. 
Conjugal  fidelity,  see  under  Marriage. 
Conjuration,   of   spirits,   88.    165,   322,   327, 
330,  331.  333ff.  349.  3S9ff. 


Continuity,  of  culture,  III.  XLIJF..  of  All- 
Father  notion,  122fr.  559ff.,  of  divine 
faith,   Prolog,   12-13,   Text,   582fi. 

Contrition,  see  under  Sorrow. 

Convergence,  in  ethnology,  VIII,  XX,  XLI. 
LXXII,  121-126,  503-514. 

Conversion,  of  savages,  XXXII,  253,  577, 
581. 

Cooking,  see  under  Food. 

Corn,  Mother,  77,  93,  116,  212,  222,  228, 
as  Osiris,  sacrificed,  366,  as  "Mother"  in 
Pueblo   Corn-Dance,   383. 

Cosmogony,  see  under   Creation.  ~ 

Counting,  primitive  finger-,  XIII. 

Courtship,  see  under  Marriage. 

Couvadc,  56,  208,  333,  339,  345,  351,  353, 
390,  428,  525,  543,  550. 

Craniotomy,  XLIX,  124,  354,  552. 

Creation,  133-194.  As  universal  "making", 
521.  Requires  infinite  power,  522.  Ex- 
pressed by  Ba,  Ka,  Ak,  q.  v. 

Cremation,  not  primitive,  LVI,  324,  338ff. 
529.  Associated  with  metempsychosis, 
403,  404. 

Crime,  rare  among  primitives,  XXXVIII- 
XL. 

Cross.  Latin,  oldest  sjmbol  of  the  human 
race,  1,  7,  19,  25,  37,  47,  53,  129,  149. 
Developed  into  the  Swastika,  182flf. 
Bornean  bamboo  cross,  25,  335.  Bush- 
man triple  cross,  47,  244.  Christian  Sign 
of  the  Cross,  411.  Trinitarian  symbol. 
185,  186,  411. 

Crown,  as  bamboo  diadem,  25,  as  Melan- 
esian  "lano",  37,  as  totemic  head-gear. 
349,  351,  353,  355.  As  Babylonian  turban, 
361,  as  Egyptian  diadem,  365,  as  Hebrew 
and  Persian  emblem,  370-371,  375,  as 
Christian  mitre,  380,  as  Messianic  orna- 
ment, 486. 

Crucifixion,  as  a  form  of  sacrifice,  298,  399, 
as   the   punishment   of   malefactors,   ibid, 
as    climaxing    in    the   Cross    of    Calvary, 
414b. 
Crystals,    magic,    377,    342,    354.      Crystal- 
gazing,  412.     Crystal-throwing,  354. 
Culture,    as    a    criterion    of    age,    I-VIII, 
XXIV,  XXVIII.     As  a  scientific  system 
(Kulturkreis),  XLI-LXXII,  120-126,  592. 
and  passim. 
Cup.  bamboo,  as  drinking-vessel,  Vff.  320, 
334-335,  343.     Leaf-cup,  ibid.  430.     Coco- 
nut-cup, 328.     Horn-cup,  349ff.     Stone  or 
clay-cup,  361  ff.     Passover-cup.  370,  414b, 
Christian  Chalice,  414b. 
CK/>-sacrifice,  381,  383. 

Cvf/f-theory,  see  under  Kulturkreis,  XLI- 
LXXII. 
Cyclograms,  61ff.  159flF. 

Da-root,  for  blood,  life,  offspring,  Mai. 
dara,  XII.  30.  Sumerian  da.  dam,  dim, 
dumu.  87ff.  163-164,  213.  Assyr.  damu, 
162,  173,  Hebr.  dam,  173.  Compare 
damkina.   dingir.   dumu,  below. 

Dadi.  Assyrian  KO<i.=Adad,  97-100,  361. 

Damkina,  Assyrian  BodAtii,=Ishtar.  q.  ▼. 

Damnation  as  eternal  loss,  253,  312,  485, 
498. 

Dance,  arrow-.  328,  blood-,  344,  buflfalo-, 
357,  477.  corn-.  383,  sun-,  357. 

Dandanu.   Assyrian    "Almighty",   99. 


INDEX 


Daramulun,  Australian  thunder-god,  43,  74, 
144,  300,  341,  SlSff.  (etym.  one-legged. 
300). 

Darwinism,  Prolog,  4.     Text,  XVI,  459. 

Date-palm,  as  tree  of  life,  228,  244. 

Day  and  Night-theme,  in  creation,  171  ff. 
192. 

Daya,  Malayan  "man",  dayang,  Mai. 
''woman",  241. 

Dayaks,  see  under  Borneo. 

Dayong,  Bali-,  Heavenly  Medicine-Man, 
Borneo,  334. 

Death,  as  natural,  32,  as  the  result  of 
witchcraft,  197,  205,  206,  213flF.  as  the 
result  of  sin,  ibid,  and  218,  249,  251, 
523  fT. 

Death-ceremonies,  see   under   Burial-rites. 

Dedication,  as  "offering  up",  315,  as  Baby- 
lonian kadistu,  kadiltutu,  165fT. 

Deformation,  of  infants,  etc.,  not  primitive, 
124. 

Degeneration,     from     primitive     times,     I- 

XXIV  (physical),  XXIX-XXXIII  (men- 
tal), XXXI V-XL  (moral).  Compare 
125,  545fif.  and  passim. 

Deification,  see  under  Apotheosis. 

Deism,  not  primitive,  122-124,  239flf.  515flt. 

Delegation,  natural,  405,  divine,  407. 

Delights,  Palace  of  eternal,  27,  201,  465. 

Deluge,  Babylonian,  435ff.  Biblical,  443ff. 

Demiurge,  in  creation,  133flf.  187,  194,  521, 
599;  in  the  scheme  of  redemption,  254, 
312ff.  Distinct  from  Divine  Messiah, 
ibidem,  and  591. 

Democracy,  as  collateral  form  of  primitive 
government,  IX,  XLIII,  LVI.  As  weak 
form,  568. 

Demonism,  accompanies  every  form  of  pre- 
Christian  belief,  4,  10,  11,  21,  46,  87ff., 
but  is  more  prominent  later,  ibid,  and  23, 
49,  329,  359. 

Destiny,  Babylonian   tables   of,  273-274. 

Devil,  as  primitive  serpent,  see  Serpent. 

Dignity,  of  man,  Prolog,  1.  Text,  593. 

Diluvium,  diluvial  man,  XXIX-XXX,  232, 
430,  435. 

Dingir,  Sumerian  "deity",  perhaps  "life- 
power",  83-84ff.  As  digiru,  dimmeru,  101. 
See  tin-gir. 

Div-root,  Aryan,  to  shine,  105,  110.   Hence: 

Divine,  Divinity,  see  under  God. 

Divination,  from  bird-flights,  28,  88,  335, 
from  entrails,  88,  100,  362,  from  the  evil 
eye,  88,  from  the  magic  crystal,  412,  from 
the  stars,  273-274  (Babylonian),  285-290 
(Jewish),  294-295  (Persian).  Belongs  to 
animistic  religion,  XLVIII-XLIX,  561, 
587.     Condemned  in  the  Torah,  102. 

Division,  Age  of,  435ff.    Comp.  315. 

Divorce,  rare  in  early  times,  XXXIV-VI, 
124,  408,  528.     Not  so  later,  409,  554flF. 

Djadja,  for  "woman",  27,  30,  139,  201,  239. 

Doctor,  see  under  Medicine,  Priesthood. 

Dogmatic  propositions,  on  the  knowledge 
God,  natural  and  supernatural,  Prolog, 
1-2. 

Dogmatic  theology,  as  the  ultimate  norm 
of   supernatural  truth,   576flf. 

Dominion,  Babylonian  palu,  165flF. 

Double,  philosophy  of  the,  Egyptian,  95-96. 

Dragon,  as  cosmic  power,  Indian,  61,  161flF. 
African,  67,  153,  Australian,  71,  North- 
American,   75,   in   general,    159.     Baby- 


lonian, 85,  161,  183,  271ff.,  Egyptian,  215, 
275,  Persian,  176,  219,  Chinese,  LXVI. 
As  personal  tempter,  see  under  Serpent. 

Dreams,  faith  in,  originally  weak,  4,  15, 
22ff.  Later  stronger,  53,  77,  80,  116.  Not 
the  source  of  theism,  127,  536.  Con- 
demned in  the  Old  Law,  102. 

Dress,  evolution  of,  XLIII-LVIIfT. 

Druj,  Persian  "Falsehood",   107,   176. 

Dualism,  Andamanese,  13,  Tasmanian,  45, 
Fuegian,  59,  Persian,  107,  175.  Phoenic- 
ian, 170.    See  also  517ff.  558ff. 

Dug-out,  solid  canoe,  VI,  XLIViT.  LVII. 

Dumu-zi,  Sumerian  "Son  of  Life",  213, 
278,  480,  and  see  under  Tammuz. 

Dush-Kshathra,  Persian  "Anarchy",  107, 
176. 

Dwelling,  evolution  of  the,  XLIII-LVIflf. 

E-A,  Sum.  "House  of  Water",  Babyl. 
ocean-god,  84-88ff.  and  see  under  Baby- 
lonia,=ri:;ii-^i. 

E-kur,  Sum.  mountain-house,  86,  358,  360, 
479. 

E-ur-imin-an-ki,  house  of  seven  founda- 
tions of  heaven  and  earth,  439. 

Eabani,  god-begotten,  85,  164,  214. 

Eagtc.  world-,  197,  250,  war-,  356, 
-hawk,  LIV. 

Ear-boring,  319,  334,  345,  349,  355. 

Earth-goddess,  see  under  Aruru,  Ishtar, 
Isis. 

East,  aborigines  of  the  far,  V-XXIVflF. 

East-Indian  Primitives,  ibid,  and  frontis- 
piece. 

Eclipse,  as  evil  portent,  271. 

Edda,  Scandinavian,   110,  177,  446. 

Edrn,  garden  of,  as  "garden  of  pleasure", 
217,  as  "garden  in  the  east",  ibid,  and 
231flF.  as  celestial  paradise,  486. 

Egg,  world-,  61,  65,  71,  92.  Ill,  119,  151, 
159,  167,  170,  172,  177,  181.  Consump- 
tion of,   349. 

Egypt,  91-96,  167-168,  215,  275,  276,  365- 
368,  431,  435,  440,  456,  483-484,  557fif. 

Egyptian  Rite,  sacrificial,  365-368. 

El.  Eloah,  Elohim,  divine  names,  101-104, 
575,   and   see   under   Hebrew-Palestinian. 

Elamitic,  inscriptions,  106. 

Elcusis,  Eleusinian   Rites,  395,  488,  500. 

Elevation,  of  the  sacred  species,  414b. 

Emanation,  see  under  Pantheism. 

Embalming,  XLIVff.  LVII,  358,  368,  372, 
404. 

Embryo    world-,    see    under    Egg,    world-, 

Embryological,  traits,  of  primitives,  XVIIff. 

Emu-totem,  see  under  Australia. 

En-ki,  Sum.  "Lord  of  the  Deep",  84flt.= 
E-a. 

En-lil,  Sum.  "Lord  of  the  Air"=Sem.  Bel, 
84-90,  162-166,  214,  271,  273,  360,  437fif. 

En-martu,  lord  of  the  counsel,  165. 

En-mc-dur-an-ki,  antediluvian  king,  high- 
priest  of  heaven  and  earth,  435,  436. 

En-me-sar,  lord  of  the  decree,   165. 

En-pazag,  lord  of  the  sceptre,  165. 

En-ti,  lord  of  life,  89.     See  under  zi. 

En-zu,  lord  of  wisdom,  84,   165,  213. 

Enchanted  forest,  enchanted  fruits,  201, 
239. 

End  of  the  world,  see  Life  Eternal. 

Endogamy,  primitive,  408,  later,  409. 

Ennead.  Egyptian.  91,  167.  275,  365,  435. 
440. 


INDEX 


Enoch,    biblical,    translated    patriarch,    104, 
paralleled  by  En-me-dur-an-ki,  435,  436, 
441. 
Eoliths,  the  problem  of,  V-VIII,  507flf. 
Epicycle,    as    compound    evolution-symbol, 
158. 

Eridu,  "city  of  happiness",  Sum.  nun-ki, 
Babylonian  paradise,  86,  163-164,  212- 
214,  436,  482. 

£.f/t.>no-culture,  XXXI,  LV,  LXII. 

Esthetic  culture,  see  under  Art,  Music,  etc. 

Eternity,  idea  of,  516,  see  Life  Eternal. 

Ethics,  ideas  of,  see  under  Morality. 

Ethnology,  of  primitives,  see  Introduction. 

Eucharist,  Holy,  not  derived  from  sadaka, 
394,  nor  from  totem-cult,  394,  nor  from 
Babylonian  sukum,  395,  nor  from  Egyp- 
tion,  Eleusynian,  or  Mithraic  mysteries, 
395-396,  nor  from  Jewish  funeral-feasts, 
397,  but  directly  from  the  Redeemer  and 
proximately  from  the  Passover-rite,  397. 
As  sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  414b.  As 
"Breaking  of  Bread"  in  the  Catacombs, 
415.  As  participation  in  the  Divine  Life, 
599-600, 

Euphrates,  as   paradise-river,   217,   231-232. 

Eurasia,  LV.  LVII,  LXVIII,  81,  232,  456, 
503. 

Europe,  as  a  dependency  of  Asia,  see 
Eurasia;  as  a  dependency  of  Africa,  III, 
XLVII,  231,  456,  503;  not  the  original 
home  of  man,  XV,  232,  503. 

Eve,  "mother  of  life."  Hebr.  Chawah,  218, 
241. 

Evolution,  theory  of,  cannot  account  for 
primitive  man,  XV-XXIV,  XXIX-XL, 
LIX,  LXXI-II,  122flF.  237ff.  531-544. 
Must  be  taken  in  a  very  limited  sense,  see 
under  Creation,  133ff. 

Exogamy,  primitive,  408,  later,  409. 

Exorcism,  Expiation,  see  under  Sacrifice 
and  Sacramentals,  318,  322,  401  ff. 

Extinction,  of  diluvial  man,  449-456. 

Eye-symbol,  LIV,  39,  159,  215,  275,  365,  483. 

Faith,  divine,  Prolog,  8-14,  Epilog,  575-600. 
Falcon,  as  sacred  bird,  see  under  Hawk. 
Fall,  of  man,  see  under  Paradise,   195ff. 
Family,  primitive,  IX-X,  XXXIV-XL  and 

passim. 
Fasting,  LVI,  320,  325,  329,  m,  339,  341, 

345ff,  370-372   (Jewish),  in  general,  525, 

550,  S66fT. 
Fatalism,  see  under  Divination. 
Fathcr-molher-son,  as  primitive  triad,  XIII, 

132,  304,  308,  309,  310,  313-314,  524. 
Father-notion,  as  basis  of  theistic  idea,  122, 

239,  313,  530,  538,  576fl. 
Fa//ifr-right,  see  under  Patriarchate. 
Fear,  not  the  origin  of  the  idea  of  God, 

538 
Feather-ornament.   XLIII,    LVI,   356,    382- 

383  ff. 
Fecundation,   magic,   64fF.    114,    lS2flF.    178- 

182,  fecundation-ritual,  349,  351.  353.  356, 

366,  383. 
Fecundity,   Di\nne,    574,   as   itmer   mystery, 

575. 
Females,  tte  under  Marriage,  Womanhood. 
Fertilisation,  see  under  Fecundation. 
Fetich,      feiichism,      gee      under      Magic, 

Amulets. 
Fiddle,  bamboo,  VI,  XIV.  LIII,  LXII. 


Figurine,  carved,  LVII,  25,  40,  82,  335,  382, 
515. 

Fiji-Islands,  (Samoa),  see  under  Poly- 
nesia. 

Filing,  the  teeth,  319,  331.  Comp.  Tooth- 
puUmg. 

Finger-counting,  XIII-XIV. 

Fire-making,  V-VIII,  XXIX,  XLIIIff. 
LVI. 

Fire-worship,  Babylonian,  359.  Egyptian, 
365,  Persian,  373-374,  North-American. 
383-384. 

Fish,  symbolism  of  the,  184-186. 

Flood,  traditions  of  the,  421-458. 

Flower-magic,  320,  334,  349,  351,  353,  383. 

Flule,  bone  or  bamboo,  LVI,  349,  353,  355. 

Foetus,  foetal  forms,  XVII-XX,  XXIII- 
XXIV. 

Font,  359,  369,  371,  377,  379,  385,  388flf. 

Food,  V-VIII,  XV,  LVI,  123,  243.  For- 
bidden, see  under  Paradise,  Fasting, 
Taboo. 

Footwear,  evolution  of,  LXII. 

Forgiveness,  of   sins,  see  Absolution. 

Form  and  Content,  in  religion,  Prolog,  12- 
13,  Text,  387fli.     In  language,  XI-XII. 

Fossil,  remains  of  man,  11,  AV,  XVH-XIX. 

Fraternity,  see  under  Philanthropy. 

Fruit,  sacred,  see  under  Paradise.  Offer- 
ing of  first-fruits,  see  Sacrifice,  320ff. 

Fuegian  Primitives,  Will,  XIX,  XXVII, 
XXXVI,  58-59,  148,  208,  264.  347-348,  428, 
470. 

Fusion,  of  cultures  as  fusion  of  ideas,  XLI, 
LXIIl-LXX,  LXXII,  12,  16,  20,  22,  40. 
43,  48,  Slflf.  536,  540,  and  passim. 

Future  life,  see  under  Life  Eeternal. 

Gabriel,  "Strength  of  God",  166,  174. 
Gallu,  as  storm-demon,  mighty  one,  89. 
Garden  of  Eden,  see  under  Eden. 
Geb,  Egyptian  "Earth",  91,  167,  275. 
Gehenna,  Hebrew  Hell,  485. 
Generation,    in    nature,    demands    efficient 

and  final  causes,  127-128. 
Genesis,  of  the  world,  etc.,  see  Creation. 
Genetic      power,      identified      with      deity, 

XLIV-LVI,  61ff.  83fiE.  125,  151,  161,  S4Sff. 
Genetic   relation,   of    man    to   nature,    ibid. 

and  compare  471-478ff. 
Geography,  prehistoric,  217,  232flF. 
Geology,  XV,  XIX,  LVI,  173,  231-234,  453- 

456. 
Germanic  religion,  110,  177,  220,  446. 
Germ-god,  notion  of,  61flf.  125,  151fT. 
Ghost-dance,  XLIV,  LIV,  LVII,  76. 
Ghost-finder,  India,  64,  350. 
Ghost-god,  LIV,  LVII,  90,  96,  110,  113.  120. 

560.     Not  the  origin  of  theism,  126-127. 

536. 
Giants,  prehistoric,  as  Nephilim,  443. 
Gilgamcsh,   post-diluvian   Nimrod,  86,    164, 

214,    435-439,    481-482.      Gilgamesh-Epic. 

ibid. 
Glacial-epoch,  glacial  man,  II,  XV,  XVIII, 

XLIIIff.  LVIff.  61-80,  etc  232,  453-456. 
Gnosticism,  291-294,  395,  44Sff. 
God,    known    by    natural    reason,    Prolog, 

Iff.     Text,    127,    538,    S76ff.      Successive 

manifestations   of    the   idea,    1-132.     Not 

derived    from    animism,    536,    nor    from 

tofemisra,  537,  nor  from  primitive  magic, 


INDEX 


537,  but  from  father-notion  as  first  cause, 

538.  As  transcendence,  584,  as  imma- 
nence, 586-587,  as  symbolically  manifested, 
588  fl. 

Gods,  plurality  of,  see  Polytheism. 

Goodness,  of  God,  as  transcendental  at- 
tribute, 517-518,  as  intrinsic  concept,  518, 
as  reflected  in  nature,  129-130,  in  the 
morality  of  believers,  518,  580. 

Government,  primitive,  IX-X,  528,  later, 
XLIVfi.  LVIff.  552,  556.  Graduated 
scheme  of  development,  LVI,  457-458. 

Graphic  symbolism,  149-150,  159-160,  182- 
186.     See  also  1-84,  and  passim. 

Grave,  see  under  Burial-rites. 

Greeks,  see  under  Aryan  Race. 

Guarayo,  Amazonian  tribe,  57. 

Guardian,  see  under  Angels,  Toteraism. 

Guayakuru,  Amazonian  tribe,  57. 

Gudea,  patesi  of  Lagash,  83,  360-361,  364. 

Gun,  air — ,  see  under  Blowpipe. 

Gymnastic  Rites,  334,  339,  341,  343,  347, 
349,  351,  353,  355,  and  see  under  Dance. 

Ha-Toot,  for  breath,  life,  existence,  240, 
241.  Sum.  ha,  (fish-symbol),  he,  hi, 
hegal,  fertility,  overflow,  213,  360,  Assyr. 
ha-dad^a-dad,  storm-god,  wind-spirit, 
100,  362,  Egyptian  heper,  91,  Persian  ha- 
oma,  105,  219,  Hebr.  haiah,  chaiah,  hawah, 
chawah,  217-218,  and  see  under  Ka,  Ta. 

Hades,  underworld,  461-470,  479-490ff. 

Hall  of  truth,  Egyptian,  483ff. 

Hammer,  stone,  VII,  LVI,  506-507. 

Hammurabi,  king  of  Babylon,  161,  183. 

Hand-silhouettes,  XLVII   (palaeolithic). 

Haoma,  Persian  life-plant,  105,  219,  374. 

Happiness,  of  primitive  man,  XXXVIII- 
XL,  237-245,  436,  441,  445,  457ff. 
Eternal,  459ff. 

Harp,   primitive,    320ff;    developed,    361ff. 

Hasisatra,  see  under  Utnapishtim,  Ziud. 

Hatching-theme,   see   under   World-Egg. 

Haurvatat,  Persian  "Health",  107,  176. 

Hawai,  northern  limit  of  ocean-tongue,  XI. 

Hawk,  Borneo,  27,  28,  Australia,  43,  Egypt, 
94. 

Headgear,  LVI-LVII,  and  see  Crown. 

Health,  XXI-XXII,  238,  271,  319,  337fiF. 

Heart,  Egyptian  symbol,  91,  483. 

Heaven,  see  under  Life  Eternal. 

Hebrew-Palestinian,  beliefs  and  practices, 
101-104,  171-174,  217-218,  279-290,  296, 
369-372,  387ff.  441-444,  485-486,  575ff. 

Hebrew-Palestinian  Rite,  sacrificial,  370. 

Hecatomb,  Greek  sacrifice,  110,  380. 

Helios,  Greek  sun-god,  375,  396. 

Hell,  see  under  Life   Eternal,  passim. 

Hellenistic  religions,  375,  379,  388flt. 

Heptagon,   Sibittu-sign,   Babylonia,   183. 

Hero-worship,  see  under  Ancestor-worship. 

Hesperides,  220,  228,  232,  Egyptian,  483. 

Hexahcmeron,  Hebrew,  171-173. 

Hierarchy,  celestial,  85,  165-166,  174,  176, 
183-186,  sacerdotal,  363,  368,  372,  376flF. 
583. 

Hieroglyphics,  primitive,  149-150,  totemic, 
159-160,  recent,  182-186,  and  see  l-83fiE. 
passim. 

Hindoo,  Hindooism,  see  under  Brahminism. 

Hindoo  Rites,  sacrificial,  377-378. 

History  of  man,  see  under  Prehistory. 

Holiness,  of  God,  see  under  Goodness. 

Holocaust,  see  under  Sacrifice,  315flF. 


Homicide,  XXXVIII-XL,  79,  324,  335,  349, 

367,  377,  380,  382,  386.    Also  441-442,  457, 

539 
Honesty.  XXXVII-XL,  10,  26,  39ff.  539. 
Horn,  buffalo-,  349,  351,  356-357. 
Horse,  sacrifice  of  the,  380. 
Hospitality,     XXXVIII-XL.     Comp.     363, 

378ff. 
Host,  sacred,  see  under  Eucharist. 
Hottentots,  XXXVI,  and  compare  67ff. 
House.       evolution       of       the,       V-VIII, 

XLI-LVIff. 
Human   sacrifice,   349,   358,   367,   371,    377, 

380-5. 
Humanity,     practice     of,     XXXVIII-XL. 

Comp.  519. 
Huts,  primitive,  V-VIII,  LVIff. 
Hydrosphere,  173,  183,  222. 
Hyperboreans,  see  Arctic  Races. 
Hypnotism,  245-248,  412.     Not  the  medium 

of  divine  communications,  ibid,  and  536. 

/-root,  for  personality,  Mai.  i-ko.  XII,  Aus- 
trones.  i-lai,  i-laki,  i-langi,  (^=ya-langi) , 
29,  Sum.  i-a,  (ya),  to  be,  Assyr.  t,  i-a, 
pronominal  suffix,  87,  99,  100.  As 
Hebrew-Babylonian,  1-a.  {J a,  Jau),  see 
under  Jahwe,  Ilu;   101. 

Ice  Age,  II,  IV,  XV,  XIX,  XXIX-XXXI, 
XLVII,  LVI-LVII,  61,  123,  232ff.  435- 
436,  442,  450-456. 

Ideographs,  see  under  Hieroglyphics. 

Idolatry,  see  under   Nature-worship. 

Idu,  Sum.  see,  know,  87,  Ass.  idu.  99,  Heb. 
yadah,  217,  (applied  to  the  tree  of 
knowledge). 

Igi,  Sum.  eye,  see  hence  Anunaki  and 
Igigi,  Assyrian  "heavenly  spirits",  100. 

Iguanchi,  Brazilian  thunder-god,  53,  60. 

II,  ila.  Sum.  high,  see  under  Al-root,  and 
compare  En-lil  {il-li-la?),  high  god,  83ff. 

Hi,  Indian  paradise-root,  151,  209. 

Ilu,  Assyrian  "Divinity",  97,  99-101,  et  per 
tot.  opus.  Not  certainly  identified  with 
El,  but  collateral  form,  101.  Both  go 
back  to  Al-root,  q.  v. 

Images,  rarely  used  in  primitive  worship, 
320-358,  515.    Later  common,  359-366ff. 

Immaculate  Conception,  to  what  extent 
foreshadowed  in  the  past,  304-311,  314, 
to  what  extent  revealed,  279-282,  309ff. 
See  also  524,  594  (general  statement). 

Immersion,  see  under  Ablutions. 

Immolation,  see  under  Sacrifice, — of  God, 
confined  to  the  One  Redeemer,  317,  387ff. 

Immortality,  see  under  Paradise,  Life 
Eternal.    Also  529.  553,  567.  ,';94,  599-fiOO. 

Implements,  primitive,  III-VIII,  XLIII- 
LVIff.    Also  LIX-LXI,  123.  506-507. 

Incas,  see  under  Pachacamac,  Peru. 

Incantation,  349,  353,  359-363ff.  482ff. 

Incarnation,  foreshadowed,  304-311,  313, 
prophesied,  279-290,  309fT.  As  all-trans- 
cending process.  314,  599-600. 

India.  III-IV,  VI,  XII,  XIV,  XLV,  LVI, 
LXVI,  61-66,  151-152,  209,  as  paradise- 
land,  232.  Also  265,  349-350,  429-432,  471- 
472.  See  under  Persia,  Brahminism, 
Hindoo-Rites. 

Indo-Germanic,  see  under  Aryan  Race. 

Indo-Kolarian.     (Munda-Kol),    see    under 

India,  61-66,  151,  209,  265,  349-350. 
Indo-Kolarian  Rite.  349-350. 

Indo-Oceanic,  life-forms,  XVI-XXIV,  231ff. 

Infanticide,  etc.,  see  Birth,  Marriage. 


INDEX 


Infinite,   idea   of,   not   the   first   notion   of 

God,  122,  516,  522,  538,  597flF. 
Initiation-rites,  see  under  Sacrifice. 
Inspiration,  of  scripture,  Prolog,  4-8,  14. 
Intelligence,  see  under  Mentality. 
Invention,  III-VIII,  XIV,  XXIX,  XLIIIff. 
Iranian,  see  under  Persia. 
Ishtar,  Assyrian   goddess,  97-100,   165,   183, 

272,  277-278,  307,  310,  314,  363.     Ishtar's 

descent  into  hell,  278,  479. 
Isis,  Eg>-ptian  goddess,  91-94,  167,  275,  366, 

440. 
Isles  of  the  Blessed,  214,  231,  439,  482. 

Ja,  (ya),  for  "one",  personal  "I",  affirma- 
tive particle,  XIII,  25,  29  (ya-langi), 
Malakkan  ya,  (ye),  320,  Sinhalese  ya-ka, 
327-329,  Australian  yambo,  536.  Comp. 
I-a,  Ja,  Jau,  alleged  Babylonian  god,  101. 

Jahwe,  Jehovah.  Hebrew  "I  AM",  101-104, 
and  see  under  /,  la,  Ja,  Ya,  existence- 
roots. 

Jakuns,  Orang-Benua,  see  under  Malakka. 

yaio-skull.  Pithecanthropus,  XV,  XVII, 
XIX. 

Jerusalem,  destruction   of,  282. 

Jewa-Jewa,  mediator,  Malakka,   12. 

Jewelry,  as  religious  decoration,  363-364, 
370-371,  412-414    (prayer-chains). 

Jews,  see  under   Hebrew-Palestinian. 

Jhowen,  Fuegian  deity,  59. 

John,  St.,  the  hidden  wisdom  of,  185-186, 
223,  284,  292,  486,  579,  600. 

Judaism,  rejected  by  the  Messiah,  yields 
to  pan-Aryan  religion,  295-296. 

Judgment,  see  under  Life  Eternal. 

Juggernaut-Car.  of  Orissa,  564. 

Jungle-fruit,  as  taboo,  196-208,  209fr.  Can- 
not be  explained  on  natural  lines,  244. 

Jupiter,  planet  of  destiny  (Shogmigar- 
Dumpauddu),  273-274.  Conjoined  with 
major  planets,  289-290,  also  251.  A» 
cosmic  body,  162,  184,  as  week-day 
planet,  167,  as  connected  with  stage- 
tower,  439. 

Justice,  see  Government,  Priesthood. 

Juvenile  traits,  in  early  man,  XVII-XXIV. 

fLfl-root,   to   make,   cut,   divide;   hence    for 

power,   intensity,   30,   240.    (inversion   of 

Ak,  q.  v.).    Sum.  ka  (ak),  163,  213,  360. 

Assyr.  kanu.  fortify,  99,  274fl.  Hebr.  qin, 

force,  436. 
Ka,  Egjptian  "double",  95-96,  215,  368,  483. 
Kaang.  Bushman   "Lord",  47,  51,   146,  205, 

263,    344,    468,    534,    {=ka-ang,    master 

above.) 
Kadillutu,  Babylonian  "Dedication",  165. 
Kamilaroi,  see  under  Australia. 
Kamushini,      Amazonian       light-god       (as 

heavenly   spider),   54,   147,  206,  264,  345, 

469.  5,34. 
Kande-Yaka.  Great  Spirit.  Ceylon,  19,  138, 

200,  257-258,  327-330,  464,  513ff. 
Kari,     Malakkan     thunder-god,     1-S,     134, 

196,  255,  320.  421.  461,  512  (=kai.  kail), 

531    (supreme). 
Karu,    Amazonian    god,    57,    {-^zKarakara, 

ibid.) 
Karubu.    Assyrian     "cherubim",     166.     174, 

216-217;  in  the  Isles  of  the  Blessed,  482. 
Kayans,  see  under  Borneo,  and  compare: 
Kayu-hawah,  tree  of  life,  240,  244,  and 
Kayu-kubu,  tree  of  death,  ibidem,  and  see 

under  Apu-kayan    (fatherland  of  trees). 


Kayurukre.  Amazonian  god,  54,  57. 

Keri-Kames,  Amazonian  twins,  see  Kamu- 
shini. 

Ki.  Sum.  land,  underworld,  83-84.  See  En- 
ki. 

King,  see  under  Government,  Priesthood. 

Kinship,  see  under  Birth,  Marriage. 

Kisar,  Babylonian  deiiy,  85,  161,  1^2,  435. 

Kish,  early  kings  of,  83,  360. 

Kitchi-Manitoo,  Chippewa  Great  Spirit, 
116. 

Knife,  bamboo-,  shell-,  flint-,  V-VIII. 

Knowledge,  of  primitives,  XXIX-XXXIII, 
575ff. 

Kolarian  aborigines,  see  under  India. 

Kon.  Peruvian  deity,  see  under  Pach- 
acamac. 

Kopishtaya,   Pueblo   Cloud-demiurge,   382. 

Kor-loi-melloi.  see  under  Blood-throwing. 

Ku.  kubu.  as  death,  244,  246. 

Khu.  Egyptian  light-soul,  96,  484. 

Kuduru-stones,  Babylonian,  183. 

Kulturkreis,  XLI-LXXII,  121-126,  503,  591. 

Kurnai,  Australia,  XL,  45.  203,  262.  341, 
427.  S07fr. 

La,   long.    (ling,   lung),   for   heaven,    light, 

clouds,  (inversion  of  al),  XII,  26,  29.  30, 

50,   67,   240.     Sum.    lah,   HI.  84;    perhaps 

lah-mu,  la-ha-mu,  day,  dawn,  85,  161,  163, 

167,  435ff. 
Lama,  Lamaism,  297,  413,  488,  497. 
Lamassu.  Assyrian  "guardians",  166,  174. 
Lamb,  sacrifice  of  the,  362.     Mystical,  370, 

400,     414b,     prefigures     the     Redeemer, 

ibidem. 
Lamp,    sea-shell-,    361,    clay-,    or    pottery-, 

365flf. 
Lance,  bamboo,  V-VIII,  LVI,  stone,  XLIII. 

LVIflf. 
Language,   as    an    index    of    age,    XI-XII. 

Naturally   and   spontaneously   originated, 

240. 
Lanugo,  as  foetal  trait,  XVIII. 
Lavacrum,  laver,  etc.,  see  under  Ablutions. 
Law,     social     and     moral,     of     primitives, 

XXXIVff. 
Lemuria,  lost  continent   of,   XVI,   232-233, 

457. 
Levites,     see     under     Hebrew-Palestinian 

rite. 
Li.  HI,  lilu.  Sum.  air,  84,  87,  90,  and  passim. 
Libertw  of  thought,  in   religion,  576,  583. 
Life,  philosophy  of,  126flt.  389,  418,  561,  587. 
Life  Eternal.  459-500,  599-600. 
Light,  sjTnbols,    1,   7.    19fF.   God   as   eternal 

"Light",  129-131,  585ff.  Christ,  the  Light 

of  the  World.  295,  313,  600. 
Logos.     Alexandrian,     291-292,     Johannine, 

293,  600. 
Love,  of  God,  see  under  Goodness. 
Lu-gal,  great-man.  Sum.  king,  83-84,  360ff. 
Luxury,    primitive,     see     under     Paradise, 

23  Iff. 
Lvinq,    rare    in    early   times,    XXXVIIIff. 

'517. 

Ma.  (inversion  of  Am),  for  motherhood, 
XII,  19,  25.  30,  240,  319.  As  particle  of 
motion,  XII,  power.  19,  61,  personality, 
30,  67  (z^mu),  Sum.  ma.  me.  mu. 
mumtnu,  I,  name,  ship,  mother-ocean,  85, 
161,  435.  Sem.  mu,  mamu,  Hebr.  mai, 
mayim,  water,  161,  172,  and  see  under 
Am.  Mu,  Mulungu. 


INDEX 


Macassars,  of  Celebes,  29,  140,  202. 
Mace,  as  royal  ensign,  363ff. 
Macrocosm  and  Microcosm,  182ff.  273ff. 
Mafulus,  of  New  Guinea,  VII.  35,  142,  202, 

260. 
Magi.    107-108,    295-296,    and    see    under 

Magic.    LII,    LVI,    LXVIIIflf.      Not    the 
foundation   of   theism,   LXXII,   6,  9,   12, 
16,  20,  22,  28,  49,  88,  122,  531-540. 
Mahabarata.  see  under  India. 
Maklu,  burning  of  witches,  359. 
Malakka,    aborigines    of,    V,    XII,    XIII, 
XIX,   XXI,   XXVI,   XXXV,   XXXVIII, 
1-12,    134-136,    196-198,   255-256,    319-324, 
421,  421,  461ff.  504,  509,  512ff.  531,  536. 
Malakkan  Rite,  sacrificial,  320-321. 
M alias,   of    Southern   India,   LXV.  66. 

Man,  primitive,  Prolog,  4-5,  Introduction, 
passim,  and  throughout  the  text :  see 
under  special  headings  and  chapters. 
Dignity  of  man,  Prolog,  1-14,  Text,  593. 
Origin  of  man,  ibid,  and  XV-XXIV,  193- 
194,  231-243flF.  503,  522ff.  Destiny  of 
man,  see  under  Redemption,  Life  Eternal. 

Mana,  Melanesion  psychic  power,  LVII, 
LXIII,  113-114,  560-561. 

Manah,  Persian  "spirit",  107,   176. 

Manes,  Manism,  Latin   spiritism,  110. 

Manitoo,  Chippewa  Great  Spirit,  116-118; 
manitoo,  as  totem,   117,   120. 

Manna,  heavenly,  370-371. 

Manu,  Babylonian  "evil  eye",  88,  and  for 
Manism   in  general,  see  under  Animism. 

Mara,  marang,  good,  great,  61,  66,  71. 

Marang  Burn,  Great  Spirit,  India,  61-66. 

Marduk,  Bel-,  see  under  Babylonia. 

Marraboona,  Tasmanian  "High  One",  45, 
144,  262,  S15ff, 

Marriage,  primitive,  XXXV-XL,  124,  241, 
323-348,  408,  528.  591.  totemic.  XLIV- 
XLVI  125,  350-358,  409,  552-556,  recent, 
XLVIII-XLIX,  126,  364-386.  409,  567, 
general  scheme,  LVI-LVII.  Sacramental, 
407-410. 

Mars,  planet  of  war  (Zalbat,  Lubat),  274, 
star  of  Amurru,  ibid;  at  the  great  con- 
junction, 251,  289-290.  cosmic  body,  184, 
week-day  planet,  165,  184,  connected 
with  stage-tower,  439. 

Mary,  Mother  of  Christ,  prophesied,  279- 
282,  adumbrated,  304,  309ff.,  314,  594. 
Compare  also  186. 

Mask,  Mask-culture,  LIII-LIV,  LVIIflF. 

Mass,  Holy,  see  under   Eucharist. 

Mathematics,  XIII,  XLIV,  XLVIII-XLIX. 

Matriarchate.  IX-X,  LIII,  LVI-LVII,  409, 
568. 

Maturity-rites,  see  under  Sacrifice. 

Meander,  as  developed  swastika,   182. 

Medicine,  primitive,  as  magico-religious, 
XLIIIff.  401-407,  528,  552,  566,  and  see 
Birth-ceremonies,  Expiation,  Priesthood. 

Medicines,  prehistoric,  their  supposed  analo- 
gies with  the  Seven  Sacraments,  318, 
387-418. 

Mediator,  see  under  Logos,  Demiurge. 

Melanesia,  VII,  IX,  XI-XIV.  XXXIX, 
LII-LIV,  LVIIfT.  LXIII,  36,  113,  142, 
202,  260,  300,  339-340,  426,  466,  489,  560. 

Mclanesian  Languages.  XI-XII,  240ff. 

Melanesian  Rite,  ceremonial,  339-340. 

Mttanic  races,  XV-XXIV,  et  per  capita. 


Melchisedech  a  type  of  the  Messiah,  Prolog, 
5.  Text,  318,  370,  414b,  (Eternal  High- 
Priest).  An  historic,  though  mysterious 
personality,  370. 

Mentality,  of  primitives,  XXIX-XXXIII. 

Mercury,  as  minor  planet,  (Guud),  273,  as 
cosmic  body,  184,  as  week-day  planet, 
165,  184,  connected  with  stage-tower,  439. 

Mercy,  of  God,  304,  519.    See  Philanthropy. 

Merit,  of  faith,  579ff. 

Mesmerism,  see   under   Hypnotism. 

Messiah,  prophesied,  279-290,  adumbrated, 
304-314,  symbolised,  185-186,  223,  sacri- 
ficed, 317,  387,  400,  414b.  glorified,  486. 

Metamorphism,   see   under   Evolution. 

Metaphysics,  borderland  of  science  and, 
130. 

Metempsychosis,  471-478,  488,  493,  496-498. 

Methuselah,  antediluvian  patriarch,  435, 
437.     Longevity-problem,    442,   451. 

Mexican-Actcc  Rite,  sacrificial.  385-386. 

Mexico,  119,  126,  181,  222,  301-302  (mys- 
tery of  Quetzalcoatl),  385  (fire-temple), 
448  (flood  and  tower-story). 

Michael,  "Likeness  of  God,"  174. 

Microcosm  and  Macrocosm,  183-186,  273fF. 

Migrations,  of  man,  429-432,  457-458. 

Millennium,  486-487,  571ff. 

Minister,  Ministry,  see  under   Priesthood. 

Miracles,  as  distinct  from  marvels,  578. 

Missions,  Christian,  XXXII,  38,  56,  226, 
253,  413,  512-514,  581-583. 

Mithras,  Persian  light-god,  105-108,  176, 
220,  291,  293-294,  313,  375,  388,  393,  396, 
418.  Mysteries  of  Mithras,  375,  388,  393, 
396. 

Mitre,  Christian,  380,  and  see  under  Crown. 

Moccasins,  origin  of,  LV,  LXII. 

Moduma,  Negrillo  sacred  tree,  50,  204,  343. 

Moloch,  Phoenician   sun-god,   371. 

Monads,  Monism.  151-160,  177,  189-190, 
471,  549. 

Monarchy,  primitive,  see  under  Patri- 
archate. 

Mongolian  races,  XXfT.  and  see  under 
China. 

Mongoloids,  proto— ,  XVI-XVII,  XX,  82. 

Monogamy,  primitive,  Prolog,  4.  Introd. 
XXXV-XXXVI.  Text,  124,  241,  408, 
528,  539. 

Monotheism,  primitive,  Prol.  4.  Introd. 
XLIII,  LVI.  Text,  121-124,  193,  239, 
304,  394,  515-544. 

Moon-worship,  LII  (spider-moon),  LIV 
(ghost-moon).  Also  16,  27,  31,  36,  54, 
114.  Moon  as  celestial  body,  162,  165, 
173,  179,  184,  273,  300;  as  connected  with 
stage-tower,  439.  Moon  as  Babylonian 
divinity,  (Sin.  Nannar),  162flf.,  as  week- 
day luminary,  165,  184.     Comp.  478. 

Morality,  of  primitives,  XXXIV-XL,  124, 
237flf.  Compare  also  Summary,  525-544, 
Epilog,  596. 

Morning  Star,  as  sky-wakanda,  151,  157, 
270;  as  symbol  of  Christ,  186,  270. 

Mortuary  Customs,  etc.,  see  under  Burial. 

Mosaic  Law,  see  under  Hebrew-Palestin- 
ian. 

Mother-right,  see  under  Matriarchate. 

Mountain-motif,  231fT.  358,  360,  366,  482flF. 

Murder,  see  under  Crime,  Morality. 

Mu-lungu,  Heavenly  One,  Africa,  SO,  67-70, 
153-154,  210,  267,  351,  often  confused  with 
totem. 


10 


INDEX 


Hu-um-mu,  Mummu,  primitive   chaos,   85, 

92  (nunu).  161,  163,  167,  172,  184ff.    See 

under  Ma. 
Mu-unlu,     (Muntu'unlu),     Highest     One, 

Celebes,  29-30. 
Mu-ziru,     African     spirit,     taboo,     47,     68 

(muziro) . 
Mummies,    Mummification,    XLIVff.    LVI, 

368. 
Mundari,  Munda-Kol.  see  under  India. 
Mungan-ngaua,   Australian    "Our    Father", 

44,  144,  203,  262,  427,  514,  526,  527,  533. 
Music    and    Musical    Instruments,     XIII- 

XIV,  LVI.     See  also  plates  on  sacrificial 

worship  passim. 
Mutilation,      LIV,      124ff.      5S0-5S4      (of 

Mysticism,  Oriental,  182-184,  222,  273fr. 
497fF.  Christian,  185-186,  223,  279-296, 
400,  414b,  486.  See  also  under  Divine 
Faith,  577,  579. 

A'^a,  Ml,  nu,  particle  of  negation,  Mai. 
neng,  XII,  240,  Sum.  na,  nu,  163-164;  of 
diminution,  Mai.  anak,  child,  XII;  of 
femininity,  Mai.  nana,  woman,  XII,  Sum. 
nana,  ni-na,  nin-ni,  lady,  83 ;  as  na,  high, 
inversion  of  An,  q.  v. 

Nam — ,  sign  of  abstraction,  163,  360. 

Names,  Divine,  101-104,  575,  580. 

Nana,  Assyrian  goddess, ^/.f/i/ar,  q.  v. 

Nannar,  Sum.  moon-god,  (^zzSin),  165,  479. 

Napi,  Blackfoot  "immortal  one",   118. 

Narcotics,  use  of,  LVI-LVII. 

Natos,  Blackfoot  "holy",  118. 

Naturalism,  an  insufficient  norm  of  truth, 
Prolog,  1-14.  Text,  132,  194,  244-250, 
251-254,  309-314,  387-418,  499-500,  544, 
575-592,  597-600. 

Nature  worship,  see  under  Pantheism, 
Totemism,  Animism. 

Navigation,  evolution  of,  V-VI,  XLIII- 
LV,   LVI-LVII    (general  scheme),  435ff. 

Neanderthal-man,  XV-XIX,  XXX-XXXI, 
61  ff. 

Nebo,  Bel — ,  Assyrian  "Lord  of  the  scep- 
tre". Sum.  en-pazag,  spirit  of  dominion, 
{palu),  164-165,  184,  222,  Temple,  439. 

Nebukadnezar  II.  tower-inscription,  439. 

Necklace,  as  religious  emblem,  largely 
magical  in  nature.  320ff.  412ff. 

Necromancy,  see  under  Spiritism. 

Necropolis,  358ff.  479ff. 

Negritos,  Negrillos,  XVII-XXIV,  XXXI- 
XLff. 

Negros,  see  under  Bantu,  Africa. 

Neolithic  Age,  IV,  XLVIII,  LVIIff,  81  ff. 
inaugurated  by  Caucasian  race,  456. 

Nephilim,  prehistoric  "giants",  443. 

Nephtys,  Egyptian  goddess,  91,167,276,435. 

Nergal,  Bel — ,  Assyrian  "Lord  of  the  uni- 
versal decree".  Sum.  en-mc-sar,  spirit  of 
veneration,  puluchtu,  165-166.  Lord  of 
the  underworld,  ibid,  and  184,  222.  Im- 
prisoner  of  the   wicked,  479. 

Ncslorian,  missions  in  the  East,  413. 

Neter,  Egyptian  "divinity",  91,  167.  etc. 

Nezv  Guinea.  VII,  XIX,  XXII,  XXVII, 
XXXIX,  31-35,  141,  202,  260,  504,  510, 
S13flF. 

Nibiru,  as  north  pole,  162.  (=Jupiter). 

Nigeria,  LII-LIII,  48,  232. 

Nihilism,  in  religion,  Prolog,  6-7. 

ATi'tu-series,  Babylonian,  362. 


Nile,  as  paradise-river,  217,  231-232. 

Nimeku,  Babylonian  "Wisdom",  165-166. 

Nimrod,  post-diluvian  "hunter"  {:^=Gil- 
gamesh),  435,  437,  444,  his  journey  to  the 
Isles  of  the  Blessed,  481-482. 

Nina,  Ninni,  ■z=.Ishtar,  Sum.  "lady",  83, 
120. 

N in-lil-anna ,  lady  of  heavenly  light,  165. 

Ninib,  Assyrian  "Lord  of  the  Counsel", 
Sum.  en-martu,  spirit  of  counsel,  milku, 
165-166,  184,  in  stage-tower,  437,  439. 

Nine,  Holy,  see  under  Ennead. 

Nippur,  "Rome"  of  Babylonia,  83,  87,  88, 
163-164.    Temple  of  Bel  at.  358,  360,  361. 

Nirwana,  Buddhist  "sleep",  297,  377,  488. 

Nisu,  Assyr.  "life"   (^ri,  ti),  89. 

Noah,  deluge-hero,  Prolog,  5.  Text,  435, 
442  (Comp.  Ziud,  Utnapishtim,  Hasis- 
atra). 

Nod,  land  of  "wandering",  246. 

Nomadic   life,  IV-VIIIff.   123,  435,  457. 

Normal  and  subnormal  forms,  XVII- 
XXIV. 

North  America,  IV,  XLIIIff.  LVI-LVII, 
LIXfF.  75-80,  115-118,  157-158,  180-181, 
212,  222,  269-270,  301-302,  355-358,  383- 
386,  433-434,  447-448,  477-478,  490.  Also 
545ff.  S57fT. 

North-American  Rite,  sacrificial,  355-358, 
383-386. 

Nose-quill,  LVI,  54,  319,  345,  354. 

A^M,  negative  particle,  (Sum.),  163-164. 

Numeration,  primitive,   XIII-XIV. 

Nun,  Nunu,  Egyptian  "Deep",  92,   167-168. 

Nunki,  Sumerian  paradise,  see  Eridu. 

Nurrundere,  Australian   god,   42,   143. 

Nusku,  Babylonian  fire-god,  359. 

Nut,  Egyptian  "Sky",  91,  167,  275,  435. 

Oanncj,  Greek  transcription  ol  E-A,A-E,=z 

Enki,  Babylonian  ocean-god,  436. 

Oath,  religious,  see  under   Conjuration. 

Oblation,  see  under  Sacrifice. 

Obscurity,  of  divine   faith,   577,  579. 

Occultism,  see  under  Magic,  Spiritism. 

Ocean,  as  primitive  all,  161-164,  167-168, 
171-173,  178,  180,  213ff.  231ff.  421,  449ff. 

Oceanic  races  and  religions,  see  Introduc- 
tion, XVIff.  and  under  each  chapter. 

Odin,  Germanic  god,   (IVotan),  177. 

Oil,  Ointment,  393,  403ff.  and  see  under 
Initiation,  Priesthood,  Burial-rites. 

Olympus,  Greek  mountain  of  the  gods.  220. 

Omahas,  North-.-Xmerican,  75-80,  157-158, 
212,  269-270,  355-358,  433-434,  477-478, 
545flf. 

Omniscience,  Omnipotence  and  Omnipres- 
ence, of  God,  516,  520,  522,  530,  584fF. 

On,  equivalent  of  Heliopolis,  Egypt,  91,366. 

Onas,  see  under  Fuegian   Primitives. 

Onomatopaea,  XII,  240  (in  primitive  lan- 
guage). 

Ophiolatry.  61-66,  67,  71,  75fF.  151-160.  227, 
267-268,  305,  349flF.  384.  432ff.  472ff.  549ff. 

Ordeals,  see  under  Initiation. 

Order,  Holy.   Sacrament  of.  405-407. 

Orion,  constellation  of,   185. 

Ormazd,  Ormuzd,  see  under  Ahura-Mazda. 

Orphic  mysteries,  395. 

Orthodoxy,  Prolog.  4-14.    Epilog.  575-600. 

Osiris,  AU-seeing-One.  Egyptian  Light-god, 
91-96.  167,  215,  Osiris-legend,  275-276, 
Osiris-Unnefer  as  Corn-god,  366-367, 
Osiris-Tammut-Chest,      440,      Osiris- 


It^f^J/.I 


nsi 


■6^ari<f^,  ^i,  W^riH^kn'^  488,'  OsiAis^'khUi  ■ 
484.     Mysteries   of   Osiris,  365-367,  M-, 

^&,  SM.  ■'-'''  .lodrn/y;   ^ijf)ii;iIoi   ;;b   .VTiiiuiD'/ 

ment,  Austronesian-Amazonian  pa,  pa^, 
■fd'Cayt'^/  fathferii'XIIV'-g,   29,    30,    43,  IS^'^ 
Sum.   /■a,  pa-zag,   sceptre,    165,   pap'AnK'^ 
-wia'/i,    ■'rriessenger,'     166.       Assyr. '    /><r?t«; ' ' 
domin.ion,  165-166.    See  also  240,  31^,  i^i- 
inVefSkirt-df  ^4/),  4.-V.  ■  "•        ^   .  ;  ''' 

Pachacamac.    Peruvian    "World-Sou!'*,- "jl^, 
181.  302,  SSe,   (highest  of  pre-ColtiriiMah ',' 

fecHfe)..l'J-'      - ■'■    .  -■  '  '•   ''.  '■'      '■'■-\"^-'' 

Pao/al"Syfo-PaIe8tiniant'f6r  "bbdj^,  4l'4fe  , 
PoW^jf,  I^do-lKbJarJan'fpt:  priest,  elder,  JSO".'" 
Pma--6i^'raeyahir{-s(:p  iifiAtt  P*i'5ia.     ''',' 
P#fyi(,-'ai^'-body-decortiti6i;-Xtin^.    L'W- 
LVII,  61ff.  319,  3#,''35T,  ,353,  3S5/'m., 

pa?#/'%,'''ipi'feMst^'f}-c,''^3tx/.;'|^|\^w. 

160fT.  .,r    ,-,  ,       ,    ■'■'■''    ',;   ■  , 

Po/aiTi?  bf'Efefpatiycirglitl^ofnto.  46^.?u,V'\ 
Pajfafg/^f/V'fiifi'/''"'  '^^  ."P,'^^''  Glacia,!  Jllaii;.\'^ 
PtiianRa,  magic,  sacjrificial  tablet,  2^6.    \\\'^ 
Palingcnejfis,^^e  uhder  -Metempsychofrs'.,'^  ..i 
Paiw , of JOtif  fropiCs^s  tree  of  life,  197, 


3l3;'2t6flf.  22L2f28.  24f .  Sacrifice  of,; 
325,  328,  351.     As  ejsorpsing  j 


ejsOrpsing  jnstrunjfnf, 

Palu,  Babyloniao   "Dpminion",   16S-166.„a-,v\ 
PatHlieisiv,  XU'Vff.,  61i   8?ft,  1 52-160.., 1?A'7\ 
M,  '■m.„20Sn...  3:^(1.  «8.  471-473,  ,$4$- 
556,  573fF.    Opposed  by  alJ-ttranscendsrlc?, 
,S84i6«Q..,-,   .^,?i-''i^   ,[.,:,.  w'/       .-o,.«-.v\ 
Paradise.  195-250,  279,^  461-500;  523.  563.li 
P(WWf,  P<wlrt'6ij>>i,  •  fcee  under  Persia.    ,  .7  '.\ 
Pasvfe,  ,^a*flteil/  /(Mh*,";370.:397,  400,  414b:.:.  1 
Passion,     of     CHfist,;  predicted,    !  297^282, 
adttHibiifedJ  370i  400,  414bjf!folfined/  399i,  - 
;4i«j/.'K   ,;.=^"--    -_    -:^    -,':--.i;    .\...iuv\ 

Pajjowr/'is -Vrtod^l  of'  Lih  Supper,  39?, 
414b..<J.'--I  =  '-       ^  .      ■'    '-.'■■: 

Pii-yri'Jfi  A'i'yart' for  fithet-i  Persian  />aWfft/' 
Sanscr.  pffuh'^c:  iOS-106.    '(vOmp;  Iritfo- 
-KblariSil  ■  paf,  -349-350,    Sumerikh    frnf^'S*''^ 

84,  ib^K.r'Y';';-'  ^   '  ■  '  :"'^''., 

Po/<'rHOj(r'r,  citinted  on  beads,  414.         '■""'' 

Patriarchate,.  pi'Sihitive.     IX-X,     XXXTV,' 

^VI,- 423,^  323; '326,  329,  337,  342,  344if.'^ 

405,  435,  457,  528'.      '""■""  ^--    vior.d,,. 

Patriarchs,    antediluvian,.  435-444,    Jewish., 

Pa^iV!tf>>iiVi)'|tfseci  ;"fc)!-""b'il)lliaV  '.'nafi'ons", 

f^o,;^4,  ,f"  ■-:  ■,;"^';"-;/  "  "v  '  ,;;;■ 

P^^rfJ",c<,  'Sapr,arhent,|0|f,, distinguished  fr_^ni 
f).re|i!^pri(^;,^xpiatio^ls.,  401-402.  ,  j'^^.^' 

^iWH'^IMf^-f'-  ■P^'t'.va,, MftL,  father,  master, 
^t., iM-M^,  '  W,  ^256,  322-,'123.   sf ^ 

•P6M''P'fl'  ,^4t.."iedicine-njan,  323,  2i4:W.- 

Fen-va-lonq.  Tiali;  Spirit-Master-Abqye, 
Borneo,  ?S28r,ip$.,  259,.  33.4-335,  ^32.. /.i, 

^^rf^.n'r-  i^p-.ryS^M?cIf?^'».  Egypt,  ,91,;,?,l5;,, 

Pema,,Mrip8irMrm.-219..  291.296^  m- 
-^j'6,t4i?i,><45,  457i„55?ff.  599,;  .Iwpor^sac.e 
of  the  Persian  question,  295-296,    i^iirl) 

P«r«(»(.Affle!'..291-395..;,., ■,!,(. ,  .i:  .v',;*--^^uV. 

Penjion^^iV^ji.'saciiiflciailJ  373-376'.i:  ,~If.  ',!'. 

P-^smidHiW  -Jded''o'f.':anteri(Mr't6  spefcttfa- 
-f>v*'ngtit)n6,  Saj-^SaO,-  531-544,  •  5P!0,''573, 
■'57'S,.'^S97flF!*-ybsttired:in  later  tiiftes,'  54S- 
•S$6;'-'-''the^  "tjartralty'^  revived,!  '  559^6714, 
finally  restored  and  purified,  597-60()f'^ 


P<'»'6;:'53',"Sl,-Tt9;''181,"222,-302,:-385,  557i?v'^ 
PeHsiAtimip  a^  iat?  jihaioJbphy,-  B9?-,1 377;  ^48*. 
PMUs»i'--P-hhnid-Hl^^rhhipl-'88]m[-im,  iu, 
■l24,.r'7$,-«f3,'418J'S64'.>  '   =1-^1'  -'1:  'i..  tud 
P/jWd^/i.?,  *yf  ^B^K*  27S^'27*,-'3eS-3eS,  4S»fi 
Phcnix,  Egyptian  fire-bird,  K1-36S.  .1 IZXJ 
P)ll)^illirJt'y:'ptiMimt<j  X!X'K.VII*Kii,i-526i-(H 
Philippines,  see  under  Aelas,  Anito.      .8PS 
P/i^  ;%atfrtij,165,'i29l-25f2,.a99.i.i   .■\■^■.^\u■,^ 
P/Mfejoij!>Vfy;t6-f  t^l(g.k)4i,'Pro)logj  IVl/tZT^xt, 
121-T30,"f'lte-'-194,il '249-250;  .251-254^    309^ 
314,    315-318,    387-418,    419-420,    457-i458, 
fSSNteO,'j495-l06,  > 5I5ffM :  Epilog,  575-60()t,-,'l 
PHowtiM  Xli-Xll,  '30,-240,  538,  ;      r,;  i,„k 
P/iA/(ri^;<^^t','Tls  sj-riibol  of  divinity,  -385. rot 
Physique,  o?''^irriitfit.iv<jS,   XV^XXIV.    ■.  .  :,)-iT 
Pil^ab>yuiHHs^TUVA-I,  .m-8d,-  337v:43S.  -:\u->/\- 
Pi7Wir',-'-J%nMnia«i ' «hutid'dr-gotii  - 58, .'fitt-Ce 
Pimaukcl  Pfe^iin.  first  tniA,  .148,  .£08.,\Or 
P;yfl-^(V,-''l»J<iPth- American,  356.7  McVA-yrt^ 
Pfi*'h,  tlfti^ol spirttfe,  108.'"!""i    -^orbiH 
PlaHe'fi:}'^  t/rtder  '  Asftr-ology.  ■'■  •    'ir'VM.x, 
P/a>!!>/)/it'r^M',ilji  151;  'l&Jff.     Also   195ft-\»^ 
PtMk-bm  XLIIl,  Llil,:  hViM/UX.  126,»H 
Piy^t-tabhh,  seti-utider!  Sacrifice,!  pass,  .l-y.i 
Plantain,   as   paradise-fruit,   LVI,  224ffi\ci 
Pniadks, . '.Jig.!.  Eefven'   starsv i,i«iertiifi;ed  bWMb'l 
seven  'vir^ihs,-., 41;    4s-  ereeted;  fejfij  tfcg 
Alnrightj',  ;34i    .141,    ISrf'-lSS;!  .asisqe,iaiifl4«\ 
%»ith     redemption,     274tr.a9     the-.'iut.Wftn 
abodes  of  man,  482,  486,  490.        U-^n-ii'd 
P6Minii,.magioi  320;,322,  .328Sj,*3f .  .pttUn^ 
ishairtesuvith   death,. /354\i; yet  ^^s^y,'X^^^<\ 
rftonlfy-  tpbrpcticedi:  ibid,iiand>a5?yZ-Ii7Z' 
PblarisM'^1igJiti^^i-3\..   ■::  ,vi.^    .     >,,    .>.„,dl 
Polyandry,  abnormal,  72.  74,  3541  >409,1  S^. 
Po^^awy, -not  tbo/ptiimitiv.e:  jtpte  oi.m^iX 
Prolog,  4.  Text,  XXXV-XL,  124,  241;,  40?, 
S38(li5ftli    iCafjM),.)ni  with  t(?tem7ci4it,,a(id.i 
polytheism,  64-79,  125,  409,  ^53,  567.  ;vf 
Polynesia.  XLIX,   LV,   LXI,  81.   114,   179, 

2^1,  3O0f^'381"383'<i'ituaI)i/'489;  562,'.566fL!0 
PMihelm-,  4*''th6'.oOtg.rdWlh  oi  iitihiisfifc 

plur*lsn%,!Kll.'VaiI-L,  557-574,  .>\  ;.  , ,  ,hQ 
Pefitif'dir  Miri»nMiiiRotaiatt,/3$0.  ■,,'r,\i,i\-,»rC) 
P<i/fiaiafe^ji(3)!i.Puehlo  1  ('wisest:  I  m&fi"*o48fl, 

222,  as'-'.%tav,ibr-gx)d4.;304-,if*tf;i;;l     oir.vr/mO 
Potcnc\K\P'oientlaltl  135,,13il;.  I&3rl60,  .ISftrO 
1I94,/54S4S48,  573,:  578,  584,  586.  ;     :   .u.ug 
Pottery,  primitive,  VI,  advanced,  XLVIK. 
Prayer,  see  under  God,' RedemptionjiSae^irQ 
fife  and.' Suniraary,  passim..  ■  -in'uuQ 

Pri^r-BfB)aj.'4iite-0hrist}jin,'  412^414;,   .-jiol 
Pre-existence.  of  the  Messiah,  279-296,  ,318, 
591-600;    of    human    souls,    based    upon 
f»lsa.phiW^oph>';:64ff;  152ff.471,-fif.-  .   .    -•,,• 
Pr«fcf<W^,Tof. 'mam,. '419-460.  .     :   -■  .     :>'  .■ 
P»y^$»;!B(i)(?/.  primitivei  ;323;   ^26^  3^,  .812, 
.337;>  340,-3«12ff.!.' later,! •350i:i352ffs:  recent. 
-363;  368'fi;'  in.>geHffinaI,i'405-i4©r,''S28)i,553, 
M6;   tof  .jMelchisedech,  .370T/efl  Ghri?*, 
414b; -hetessaryi.ioLjalil  religion,i  583.  .'<{[ 
Pri»titimA,    the   'tplestioni .  dfs     IiXiXllVffi'A 
C&iv«if^nc'ei !  61  •  fe vidk^nbe,   r22>^24.. .  237fflP. 
Priority     of     individuafi'^eSfif  .503-508. 
.S«nr{jfising'iBnLformities!.'..509»-53Qffi    ,\,  .i-u'A 
PMefiims^.'-'r^igiaus/  330i'.a34;>.343;\  352^51 

383.  ..Ml  ,1101 

PnrflMMJj',  .sefriunder;  filaspHeMy,  irid''\58aU>5V 
Professions   primitive,  based  upon  sex,  iWit 
otherUHse-^aiMl,'>;KLffl.,i'>239-240iu.928i'A 
(!)^iginl''df '-JSeparaite    ip*oie'ss'iort8> i.  435ft'A 
457fr.  .fiU.lZ 


12 


INDEX 


Progress,  law  of,  not  uniform  but  spas- 
modic, 125-126;  includes  degeneration, 
125,  419-421  ff.  436-437flf.  443,  545-556,  574, 
but  on  the  whole  continuous,  457-458,  574, 
ana  expressed  by  Kulturkreis,  XLI- 
LXXII,  121-131. 

Prometheus,  Greek  fire-winner,  177,  220, 
298. 

Properly,  law  of,  by  right  of  nature,  IX- 
X,  XXXVII-XL,  10,  12,  13fT.  34,  39ff.  528, 
539,  568,  (based  on  the  prohibition  of 
theft). 

Prophecies,  Messianic,  279-282;  apocalyptic 
and  apocryphal,  283-290.  Comp.  186,  223, 
for  Messianic  signs,   (Jewish-Christian). 

Providence,  of  God,  518-520,  530. 

Psalms,  Sumerian,  87,  Assyr.-Babylonian, 
99-100.  Hebrew-Palestinian,  101,  Persian, 
107,  291,  487,  Messianic,  280-281. 

Psychology,  of  primitives,  XXIX-XXXIV. 
Higher  psychology,  130.  Rational  and 
experimental  psychology,  460,  495-498. 

Puberty-rites,  see  under  Initiation. 

Pueblos,  XLVIII,  115,  180,  222,  301,  383- 
384,  (sacrifice  and  ritual),  447,  490, 
S57ff. 

Puluga,  Andamanese  thunder-god,  13-18, 
30,  and  see  under  Andaman  Islands. 

Punans.   (:=Bakatans),  see  under  Borneo. 

Punishment,  eternal,  see  under  Life 
Eternal. 

Purity,  of  belief  in  relation  to  morals,  580. 

Pygmies,  as  primitives  or  degenerates? 
XVII-XX,  as  stunted  or  atrophied  off- 
shoots of  a  primitive  stock,  ibid,  and 
XXI-XXIV. 

Pyramids,  Pyramid-Texts,  see  under 
Egypt. 

Pythagoras,  and  his  theory  of  numbers, 
185. 

Quat-Marawa.  Melanesian  demigod,  36. 
113,  142,  202,  260,  300,  339-340,  426,  5l5ff. 

Queen-of-Hcaven  notion,  310-311,  314. 

Quetcalcoatl  Mayan  demiurge,  119,  181,  as 
a  possible  historical  personality,  301-302. 

Quiescence,  Buddhist  theory  of,  488. 

Quiescent  attributes,  in  God.  515-519. 

Quinary-system,  or  five-tone  scale,  XIII- 
XIV. 

Quiz'cr-inscriptions,  African,  47. 

Quixotic  character,  of  traditional  folk- 
lore, 36,  56-60,  113,  142,  202,  260ff.  491- 
492,  524. 

Ra — ,  for  kingship,  dominion,  Mai.  ra,  ra- 
wah,  ra-ja.  great,  powerful,  priest-king, 
240,  iZi.  Sum.  ra,  possession,  83,  87,  360. 
Egypt,  ra,  sun-god,  91-93.  Assyr.  rabu, 
great,  99-100;  Polynes.  ra,  rangi,  sun- 
spirit.  Pawnee  ra-wa,  great  spirit,  116- 
118,  and  compare  in  greater  detail. 

Ra,  Atum-,  Ilorus-,  Amnion-,  Eg>-ptian 
"Father-Sun",  91-93,  167-168,  215,  275, 
365-268,  440,  557ff. 

Ra-wa,    Pawnee    great    one,    spirit,    ghost, 

Rab,  Rabisu,  Rabu,  Assyr.  great  one,  99- 
100,  166. 

Rab,  Rabbi,  Hebr.  great,  master,  teacher, 
566. 

Rabbinical  literature,   185-186,  283-290. 

Races  and  Religions,  how  related,  XLI- 
XLIIflf. 


Rain-making,  roin-magic,  328,  349,  351,  353, 

383. 
Rainbow,  as  religious  sj-mbol,  42,  140,  202, 

connected  with  the  deluge,  444,  with  the 

Messiah,  486. 
Rangi,   Polynesian   sun-god,    114,    179,   381, 

557ff. 
Rape,   punishable   with   death,   XXXV-XL, 

41,  44ff. 
Rationalism.  Prolog,  l-2ff.     Epilog,  589ff. 

116-117. 
Re,  Eg>-ptian  "sun,"  see  under  Ra. 
Realism,  in   theology,   Prolog,   4-10.     Text 

230,  249-250,  451-458.     Epilog,  575-600. 
Reason  and  Faith,  their  inter-relation,  Prol. 

1-14.      Text,     127-132,    247-250,    313-314, 

400,    414b,    415-418,    499-500.      Epilog    on 

Divine  Faith,  575-600. 
Redeemer,    double    sacrifice   of    the,    414b; 

second  advent  of  the,  486,  and  see  under 

Christ,   Messiah. 
Redemption,  general  scheme,  251-314. 
Reflexion,  universal  reflex,  495. 
Regeneration,  by  water,  388ff.  supernatural, 

only  in  Baptism.  391,  417. 
Reincarnation.  471-478,  493,  496-498. 
Relics,  relic-worship,  common  to  humanity, 

326ff.    See  under  Burial-rites. 
Religion,  natural  and  supernatural,  Prolog, 

1-14.     Epilog,  575-600. 
Remission,  of  sins,  see  under  Absolution. 
Reparation,  see  under  Expiation. 
Resurrection,  as   a   distant  hope,   463,   480, 

484.  486.  487,  492,  494;  as  a   future  cer- 
tainty, 486,  498. 
Retribution,  temporal,   419-458;   eternal,    in 

the  future  life.  459-500. 
Revelation  and  Reason,  Prolog.  1-14.    Text, 

132.   248,   309-314,   387-418,   449-458,   495- 

500,  544.     Epilog,  575-600. 
Rice,  wild,  as  taboo,  27,  61,  201.  209,  349. 
Ritual,   315-418,   525-529,   550-553,   563-567; 

necessary  to  all  religion,  589,  595. 
Rivers,  the  four,  of  Paradise.  231-232. 
Roman,  religion,  110,  117,  220,  298,  379-380, 

446,  488.  and  see  under  Mithras. 
Rosary,     Holy,     not     derived     from     pre- 
Christian  beads  or  necklets,  412-414. 
Roundhouse,  or  wigwam,  LVII,  357. 
Royalty,  see  under  Kingship. 
Ruach,  Hebrew  breath,  spirit,  102.  172,  for 

subtlety,  spirituality,  561. 

Sa,  Sha,  Shang.  for  heart,  fire,  passion, 
emotion,  (nature-sound),  240fF.  Sumer. 
sa.  sag,  heart,  command,  97.  163.  213,  359, 
360,  sib-sag,  shepherd,  87,  360,  Assyr. 
sha,  possessor.  99-100.  perhaps  sha-mu, 
shom-shi,  for  heaven,  fire,  sun-god,  Heb. 
shamayim,  99-100,  161.  172.  Comp.  Indo- 
kolar.  sin,  sing.  Assyr.  sin,  shamash,  for 
sun.  moon,  Chinese  shang,  great,  109,  and 
see  under  ash,  ish,  ush. 

Sabbath,  as  seventh  day.  165,  186. 

Sacraments,  as  distinguished  from  medi- 
cines, confer  supernatural  power,  318, 
387ff.  417-418;  directly  instituted  by 
Christ.  388-418. 

Sacrifice,  as  oblation,  315,  as  immolation, 
315-317,  as  exemplified  in  successive  pe- 
riods of  humanity,  319-386,  as  finding  its 
all-sufficient  consummation  in  the  Sacri- 
fice of  the  Cross,  317,  400,  414b,  417,  599. 
The  double  Sacrifice  of  the  Redeemer, 
414b. 


INDEX 


13 


Sacrifice  and  Sacramentals,  in  general,  315- 
418,  588-590. 

Sacrilege,  as  cause  of  the  deluge,  427,  428flf. 
438ff.  542,  as  universally  deprecated,  580. 

Sadaka,  as  primitive  Cain-Abel  sacrifice, 
315,  370;  as  practiced  by  primitive  peo- 
ples, 320,  325,  328-329,  331,  334-335,  339, 
343-344,  345,  347,  349flf,  361  ff.  Not  the 
foundation  of  eucharistic  cult,  394. 

Sag,  Sumer.  heart,  word,  command 
(=dug),  87,  163,  213,  359-360. 

Sail-boat,  recent  origin  of,  LV,  LVII. 

Sakai,  (=^Senoi),  see  under  Malakka. 

Salutation,  Angelic,  314,  414. 

Salvation,  conditions  of,  251-254,  311-312; 
instruments  of  salvation,  315-418;  attain- 
ment of  salvation,  491-500,  575-600. 

Samtu-stones,  as  heavenly  gems,  482. 

Sanctification,  means  of,  415-418. 

Sanctity,  of  Divine  Faith,  580. 

Sandal-boots,  origin  of,  LXII. 

Sanskrit,  see  under  India,  Persia,  Indo- 
Aryan. 

Sargon  the  Great,  King  of  Akkad,  185,  273. 

Satan,  as  evil  principle,  134fT.  as  world- 
serpent,  162fF.  as  wicked  spirit,  174,  176, 
as  personal  tempter,  213-221,  225flf.  245, 
subdued  by  the  demiurge,  271,  275,  291, 
vanquished  by  the  Messiah,  279,  485-486. 

Saturn,  planet  of  justice  (Shamshi,  Sha- 
gush),  273-27 A,  as  week-day  god,  Bel- 
Nergal,  En-me-sar,  spirit  of  veneration, 
puluchtu,  165,  184,  at  the  great  conjunc- 
tion, 251,  289-290,  at  foundation  of  stage- 
tower,  439. 

Savior-god,  see  under  Redemption.  Savior 
of  the  World,  ibid,  and  414b,  486. 

Scale,  five-tone-,  in  music,  XIII-XIV. 

Scandinavian  mythology,  110,  177,  220,  302, 
446. 

Scapegoat,  sacrificial,  371-372. 

Scarification,  LVI-LVII ;  origin  of,  349, 
430,  457. 

Sceptre,  363,  368,  372,  of  Gilgamesh,  435. 

Scholastic  sources,  Prolog,  1-2  Text,  127, 
242,  251-254,  311,  315-316,  388-410. 

Science  and  Metaphysics,  meeting-point, 
130,  and  compare,  495-498,  575-600. 

Scripture,  inspiration  of,  Prolog,  1-18. 
Text,  101-104,  171-174,  194,  217-218,  230- 
250,  279-282,  313-314,  370-371,  400,  414b, 
441-444,  451-456,  485-486,  500,  575-600. 

Sculpture,  primitive,  V,  XLIII,  advanced, 
XLIV-XLVIff.  LVI-LVII  (general 
scheme). 

Sea,  origin  of  the,  163-164,  213,  231  ff,  422fTt. 

Sea-Dayaks,  Ibans,  see  under  Borneo,  and 
233. 

Sea-Gypsies,  Orang-Laut,  XVII,  and  under 
Malakka. 

Seal,  of  Circumcision,  369,  of  Confirmation, 
392. 

Semang,  Orang-Utang,  see  under  Malakka. 

Semitic,  races,  religions,  and  languages,  see 
under  Babylonia,  Assyria,  Palestine, 
Phoenicia. 

Semnopithecus,  sacred  ape,  134,  225. 

Seftessence,  of  the  divine,  85,  107,  165,  174, 
176,  in  Cabalistic  and  Jewish-Christian 
lore,   185fr. 

Seraphim,  of  Isaiah,  104,  174,  371. 

Serpent,  as  personal  tempter,  see  under 
Paradise,  195-250,  conquered  by  the  de- 
miurge, see  under  Redemption,  271,  275, 


291,  309fT.  vanquished  by  the  Messiah, 
186,  223,  279,  485-486. 

Set,  Egyptian  "Deep,"  91,  93,  167,  275-276, 
435,  440. 

Seth,  antediluvian  patriarch,  435,  441,  443. 

Scti  I.,  tomb-inscription,  Egypt,  275. 

Seven,  as  mystic  number,  186, 

Seven  Spirits  of  God,  paralleled  but  not 
identified  with  pagan  spirits,  165,  174,  176. 

Sex-worship,  see  under  Phallism. 

Shalamu,  shalmu  shulmu.  Sum.  silim, 
peaceful,  applied  to  divinity,  271,  273-274, 
comp.  280. 

Shamanism.  10,  12,  22,  62ff.  88,  lOSflF.  329, 
350fT. 

Shamash,  Assyrian  god  of  divination,  iden- 
tified with  the  sun,  88,  98,  spirit  of 
wisdom,  nimcku,  165,  {en-:u),  184,  222, 
273  (shamshi),  as  lord  of  the  judgment, 
360-361,  439,  481. 

Shamu,  Shamayim,  Sem.  for  heavens,  99- 
100,  161. 

Shell-culture,  V-VIII.  Shell-necklace,  320flf. 

Sheol,  Hebrew  underworld,  485. 

Shepherd,  The  Good,  415  (early  Christian 
art). 

Shield,  development  of  the,  LVI-LVII. 

Shintoism,  Japanese  "way  of  the  gods,"  110. 

Ship  of  the  gods,  Babylonian,  440. 

Shiptu,  Babylonian  "Conjuration,"  165-166. 

Shu,  Egyptian  "Air,"  91,  167,  275,  435,  436, 
440. 

Sia,  sacrifice  to  Kopishtaya,  382. 

Sibittu,  Babylonian  "Seven,"  165-166. 

Sibylline  oracles,  298. 

Sick,  care  of,  see  under  Philanthropy. 

Silhouettes,  as  hand-prints,  XLVII. 

Simplicity,  of  God,  515,  of  faith,  577. 

Sin,  as  moral  rebellion  against  a  personal 
deity,  196,  199,  201ff.  218f?.  249;  as  rebel- 
lion against  nature-powers,  disguised  as 
"gods,"  209.  213ff;  overcome  by  the 
demiurge,  255-271  fT;  destroyed  by  the 
Messiah,  279,  414b;  as  allied  with  sick- 
ness, 401 ;  as  absolved  in  Penance,  402 ;  as 
cause  of  the  deluge,  438;  as  punished  in 
the  future  life,  459ff;  as  a  universal  con- 
sciousness, 583. 

Sin,  Assyr.  moon-god,  father  of  divination, 
En-Zu,  Bel-Nannar,  of  astral  wisdom, 
barutu,  165-166,  week-day  luminary,  165, 
184,  in  stage-tower,  439.    Comp.  479. 

Sin-Bonga,  Indo-Kolarian  light-god,  Aus- 
trones.  sina-bona,  Mundari  sun-god,  61- 
66,  151-152,  209,  265-266,  349-350,  429-432, 
471-472,  545flf. 

Singing,  primitive  five-tone,  XIV. 

Sinhalese  Rite,  sacrificial.  327-329. 

Skeleton-,  or  Skull-cult,  LIV,  LVII,  LIX. 

Skin-tent,  skin-raiment,  LXIII-LXIVfl. 

Sky-father,  Sky-being,  122-124,  538,  57Sflf. 

Sky-wakanda,  151,  157-160,  181. 

Slavery ,-arikx\oiNn  in  early  times,  XXXVIIff. 

Smoke-offering,  320,  328,  335,  356ff. 

Snake-dance,  snake  charming,  349ff.  384. 

Snow-shoes,  origin  of,  LV,  LXII. 

Sociology,  of  primitives,  IX-X,  XXXIV- 
XL. 

Son  of  God,  as  unique  title,  313-314,  398. 

Sorcery,  see  under  Magic,  Spiritism. 

Sorrow,  for  sin,  mixed  up  with  temporal 
interests,  401,  supernatural  only  in  Jew- 
ish-Christian dispensation  or  under  ex- 
ceptional light,  401-402. 

Soteriology,  see  under  Redemption. 


INDEX 


ToK,^,  SJjJjierian  ,  fate,,    divinittg^iwf,  ,:^w3„ 


'k 


587  -n'Kr, 

'ijcN^Kiifncwt,  88-9a;'a5-9si''io8;' rioi^'iM- 

rpndemned  in  Ihe  Torah^'IOr'  ',,-.''^ --f'^'V 
Sun-wpj-^ut>y.,XLiy{i.     LVII,  ,61ff.    (^Sff^ 

■  ■  "■   if?  "■'■ 


4: 
r 

Te 
439. 

r, 


s:^^'%. 


bay,  '<  Jjjitlw 


temples, 
Teotl, 
Teraphi 
174. 

^r-  A??'  ,(ae.9Pen  quesiion).         .nsxiA 

rSlZMc,^  ^e^MdefffeyfWaife?,  rite  ■  '»\a^ 

#^m#'#^,R^3it*lH;d'^a1|- 


Supcriialiiral.  .the,  as  .exceediiig  the   liTrfirs.-,  i,to,rf¥i^C/^*i.f 'fiSSh/"'i^);'?(i,!?fi^  m-t?^- 

7C7   111^     vice      CA/i      c  1  if'  -f„.^*lJU'^  M?„*':A.;ii.,J.'-  ihp'nlnnv       ac      tmp     nnrm      rTF      Qu.^f  fnn'fiiral 


5^)? 


^...'lli^'-HisMctivt;- 


S7S-6oif''^'^: 

-ffftsT  i£  :PH   rtXIL  .tllO'..  .fcf  .del  .7)i3b 

-^ft  lE>i-j/i:ii;  K„ii;  ^■ij"?,t    .'lil  •niiJi/'i   or!} 

Tablets,  Age  of,  83-100,  et  E?r  C;aprt*iioij^ 

rotvpB.iferSt-fruifc.ifasi  ^hutsntionn  19^30,, aSV. 

.oifibujiwrilatiural  oriR.tn,!2tH/24^<,\a^'ift^£aSt- 

.iDfe-onknlj  1  Jl  Vi.  1 ,3  Jl9a  7323). .  P^j  1 3.3i\n^ai59, 

341,  846,..3f»?/-849■,^^^S3^■)ia&-^3jS)a>  525:626, 

-560--  .boy. Idyll  iij;i7Eto>I-.,l)i:l  .!n-!i(,>\-»iV 
r-dS><„bas-itAusitridneBj/  (owbudfa^niwidiBttttjd 
.5iWV^ltr4fe'of Mife>>7;?aS.  .WO,  .^6; I2Vss#. 
(,i/)u,  (Ilebr.  /o/)),  .yood,  sam)<t  173,-888. 
Talmud,  as-'.4iipi>lew^ntafy  «)«f(ie"fo.r  .'J«w*'' 
ish-Chri^t4n4K-icJlliote.l'85,i32<'»,  286i'^l^.> 

Tamtu.  Asswr/qcc^[  s^,,I^„.?7^.,,^^^.,       y 

7<J»«iKA«sy.r/..^tecb,,,WRrA(t'a»>«u.^ft.\<*5?rV. 
raim/.,  Mai.  earth,  5,  7,  11,  136,  198,  |», 

24fc>'-.  .Hf.-(,i;.  .-jIju  -juiMni;  .e  ,!><>;-)  u,  »oV. 

Tanah   *u«»^i«iy'^l*liEWisinfenilandJ'„7/<,->-iJb?- 

U'Wil"'-''    'l)iv/    i|t)    l)-j/,iifi    ,rii<    lol    ,'jT<>-vtoV. 

"3Gb,  ^3W1!"    "^    ri.M)E.-iijii^rb    nuiU'niiJ-liil 
Tapiros,  of  .New  ,Gu#ejl;"vr!!HjiM«^;iS. 


"'-"-"  .^ysticl^ri;?!^^^,^^ 


.«^& ,.,. 

Theosophy,  as  false 
496-498,  556,  ^fe5^  .IfibflnoEf  .i^.u^u-^?- 

cism.  ^S'^JO^'' 

538.       ini^-yi'..  .(•,[■,.-'{■  ,11 


273,  36Wi;i.^rali'«4'.trj,i4iv«H^'.ti$y,  P^U  ,0^1 

Tmutit.  B«b«l*nian,  wwWn^^^PHPt,  S5,,^i?K'('. 

-6ligJly.«Wutir_'i*<W|i(i»,-;|if5-im<}iti!ef,;[l6}7|fi0, 

T;»nj4baJfic.v..00iI JrtWUU-  ,»aCY*II,^t.fLgJ- 

.L)ViI,/t4^5fil[IJX    .7    ,-j7!)imri'j    .-.ui^fonV. 
r««-li!r,fiJ»isiiya,  ya^dehVof  liftl  ^ICf/-"/  l.J  Z 
Tiraiua,  Paivncc   "Spirit-Father",  .JifijoISi, 
*iZ,l-4aiOI;f.fcQrriiiarleii'-Wfli,-Dthar.  lecBUt  ffe?. 
!viBities,>6B7-568<fji  •-■    .-nn.!!   ...  ^.vi.U-nVd 
Titans,  in  Greek  mvthulogv,  446,  448.     .f,tS 
rtfji'MQfavo-tfbKnesSaft  IfotiE-^Oeat i^piiJ^'iZ 
To-aiidi    7,   To-cntah,  11,   136,  M»&l£iaM- 
6w>S/#,TrW^i<eaV'^*-7;«i,'ji4ii»»TO»ss[Ii  ispiKftZ 
Borneo,  27.  515.  SQE 

■JX<X»,'>XiCl.IIfcEX04.XVl4-'  29j »btO-;n2fli.Z 
■260i,'504,'53&";'  /       i.:,...! //U;;!      i-abnu 
Torfflj,  of  Southern  India,  XLV,  AfcinsoriH 
Toltccs.^d^  .<i«iHcpiiMi»ico,'  AateoiiHoitm'iZ 
7"^»fi),2sye.\lWdia^. QuiiiaI-.rittB.io  .  rm-.tiiHiZ 
Tomix<aHdi-&hatial  Alndamancbedpair,ij7„3Sr, 
199,  225.  .Tlc81   ,3iol 

Toof/i-/;//)!.!;,' W<>*vf.  irfHI,,;;!  ,3iM>,l  3S1 , .  341\'*t;^Z 
tJ^;"(iftWatjW)'*lt*(;)J'-i>'-T^tl    'ii    .lici'\f)Z 

TSi^mm,  rK'i)S«JfV4tLi>lU|J  1^V4I,*1«H, 


misEXi 


u 


noHflD  aa*  .tbaptertandoSj&fiBQ  57.3(1566; 
for  a  comparatvie  estimat«ii-iioiJBi)ifil 
Toto-sacrifice,  Melanesia,  339. 

?)Mrf.dW"Mto^\£Ed9*Ka-Efeilofef3T575j.vr)5:. 
Transcendebi^.  .(fcfccGhiaritiataity,  SSfodQfto-j 

7raHiil*a;(flaga^S».,a»'„0O4t0'?-'\8  .Hil-tui 
fftde'^iriiifr, .seBOibdeaaflKnadise.  .lu-in-A-Ai'S. 

connection  \^ah  .TsTnitysd^,  ««Soi41^i;*P8. 
£f('Mil?3cgiwHH5i*p01rffi6ti&n,i4^mui  .bm'i 
Trinity,  Holy,  not  <toivgi(.frs\9»i\^^i^{}p,,-l332, 

f,1-t?;^rf^M«'ali'aff  d?<ty/"^i.  T'  '^'^"^ 

317-318,  4^,f-  4»4t^9441n*t4,ol48fea  Epilog, 

593fff^*'  ,l?-i  Sii  .KoiilA  riJuoS  'lo  ,7,>i\mS. 
tsbnu  332  ,£3ii3mA  rfJioK  io  ,^■ul»S 
/5W'o<ft§?;rt8!:svKfist6fiEe.0etig6lJ  f3»W&4)n, 

East-Indian    u-bu,    u-pu,    u-mu,     COW/". 

am),  30,   Sumer.  u-mu-un,  uru,  87,   163, 

360,  u-bar,  437,  Assyr.  um-mu,  um-manu, 

mummu,  161,  274,  363,  438. 
Ubar-tutu,  servant  of  God,  435,  437. 
Vbi-Ubi,  Australian  underworld,  467. 
Ud,  Sum.  time,  see  under  ut. 
Ulu  Ayer.  river-men,  Borneo,  336. 
Unas,  pyramid-texts,  Egypt,  215. 
Unction,  prehistoric,  319,  324,  325,  326,  337, 

341  ff.  3S0ff.  359.  392,  403.   Sacrament  of 

Extreme  Unction,  403ff. 
Underworld,  see  under  Life  Eternal. 
Unku-lunkulu,  Zulu  deity,  67. 
Upu-langi,  Ceramese  heaven-god,  30. 
Ur,   uru,   Sum.   foot,    foundation,   city,   87, 

163.    Ur-Engur,   83,    Ur-nina,   163,    Uru- 

mush,  360. 
Uriin  and  Thummim,  370-371,  407. 
Urn,  funeral-,  see  under  Burial-rites. 
Ut,    Sum.    sun,    father-time,   99,    =:barbar. 

213,  =shamshi,  274,  =«d,  360.  Hence— 
Ut-napishtim,      father-of-life,      Babylonian 

deluge-hero   (Sum.  Zi-ud),  437. 
Utukku,  Mesopotamian  demons,  89,  166. 

Vaticination,  see  under  Divination. 

Vault,  Burial-,  388,  364,  368,  372,  376ff. 

Veda,  Vedic  Religion,  see  under  Persia. 

Veddas,  of  Ceylon,  Vlfl.  XHfF.  XIX- 
XXIVff.  XXXVIII,  19,  138,  200,  257-258, 
327-330,  424,  464,  504,  513. 

Veil,  sacrificial,  365,  370-371,  374.  Veil  of 
the  temple,  371. 

Venus,  star  of  motherhood,  planet  of  love 
{Dilbat),  274.  Conjoined  with  major 
planets,  289-290,  251.  As  week-day  planet 
(Ishtar-Venus)  "Dedication",  165,  184, 
connected  with  stage-tower,  439. 

Vestal  Virgins,  380,  409,  567. 

Vestments,  see  under  Clothing ;  sacred  vest- 


f!is>^ 


s£  n)«iiis„s»e  .undar  Sfeftr}iim-i^80fai44%j9ilR) 

under Tlffi£e5th©i9d»ij»b9*ir%  J-nni?.  ai  yf 
Viols,  violins,  violas,  XIV,  XLIII,  LI,  LIII, 
jj^^Hi;p5,j^4,|im4im«fl,f,^ryi^fg§J,.   ^_^ 
fe«WA'(irf.oWy)dj,o^4h^<sev|qii^4l,3     ,^l_,3 

dispensation,  m^oW;U.\)   .u,V 
^^r'isl^  '^^^"^^^  ""^^'^ 

Km£A^]^9&fia  ^^rifjiid^e,  toft^jifoi    ''- 
AlV,  illustrated  in  early  char 


illustrated  in  early  chaiij^iii^',  2jC 

iir  ir-^^2  ,Jniq2  .kjof  neJj£i)=uA  ^o'^sjuiJ 
ai?i94fySBik^>rfsOrj#f^'tj(^^c^>5f^r^,,;OJ 
Walt,  Wan,  Wan,  Australian  invocatifiH<)7Z, 

Wa^atwa,  Wambutit,  etc.,  iBicL  and  gHA, 
L'/'^waidaH     .Ao^.wWA.    .-jujs^q).— jXuujoii'i 


oFanda,   Nortli 


^fu^nera^1?--°S2^3"'.?i'--^^-^-*^ 
Walichu,  6f  the  (Dnas,  "uegian  deij 


rrg-e-^see'  un^gj^|gifj^l- 
I 


War,     rare     among    primitive     pieopTe> 


XXXVIII-XL,   10,    18,  20,  22,  26fJ.   124, 

539;  grows  with  the  age  of  the  race,  79, 

554,  568. 
Warramunga  tribe,  Australia,  71,  353. 
Weapons,     primitive,     V-VIII,     advanced, 

XLIII-LVII  (general  scheme),  LIX-LX, 

320fr. 
Weaving,  XLVIII,  LVII,  (main  schedule). 
Wedding,  see  under  Marriage-rites. 
Whistle,   bone   or   bamboo,    XLIV,    LVII, 

349ff. 
Wigwam,  skin  tent,  XLIII,  LVII,  357. 
Wind-spirits,  see  under  Angels,  Air-spirit. 
Wisdom,  divine,  how   far  recognised,  518- 

520,  S30ff. 
Witchcraft,  see  under  Magic,  Spiritism. 
Wotan,  (Odin),  Germanic  god,  177. 
Wollunqua,  Australian  wonder-beast,  (Wu- 

lunku),  61,  71,  159,  211,  268,  353,  and  see 

under  Serpent. 
Women,  in  primitive  society,   XXXV-XL, 

124,  239-242,  408-409,  528,   in   later  ages, 

64ff.  125flf.  409-410,  552-554,  567-568,  and 

see  under  Marriage. 
Wonekau,  heaven-god.  New  Guinea,  33-34, 

141,  202,  260,  S21flF;  probably  composed  of 

Awona-kawa,  34. 
World,  origin  of  the,  see  under  Creation, 

133ff. 
Worship,  primitive,  315-348,  later,  349-358, 

recent,  359-418,  requires  external  forms, 

415,  589. 
Writing,   beginnings    of,    1,   7,    19,   25,   Z7, 

47,  53iT.  syllabic  and  alphabetic,  83-91fI. 

Comp.   149,   159,   182-184,   for  systematic 

development  of  principal  ideographs  and 

selected  phonograms. 

Xenophanes,  on  the  "humanised"  god,  597, 
Xisuthros,  Greek  deluge-hero,  435,  437, 


16 


INDEX 


Xylophone,   prehistoric    piano,    82,    126,    as 
lyre  struck  with  hammers,  361  ff. 

Ya,  number  "one",  particle  of  affirmation, 
existence,  XIII,  25,  29,  320,  pronominal 
"I",  ibid,  and  580.  Compare  under  /, 
(/-o),  Jo,  (Jau),  above. 

Yaccy-ma,  Fuegian  evil  spirit,  big  black 
man,  59. 

Yahgans,  see  under  Fuegian  primitives,  and 
58flf. 

Yaka,  spirit,  Ceylon,  see  under  Kande- 
Yaka,  19ff. 

Ya-langi,  Toradja  "I-am-in-Heaven",  Cele- 
bes, 29. 

Yams,  wild,  as  primitive  offerings,  315,  457. 

Yambo,  Australian  soul,  spirit,  536. 

Yosna,  of  the  Avesta,  see  under  Persia, 
107ff. 

Yazad,  as  soul  or  interior  essence,  Persia, 
176. 

Yehowah,^=zJahwe,  Jehovah,  Hebrew  "I 
AM",  101-102,  and  see  under  Hebrew- 
Palestinian  beliefs  and  practices.  Also 
575,  580,  Epilog. 

Yerri-Yupon,  Alacalufan  "Good  Spirit", 
Tierra  del  Fuego,  58-59.  Relative  esti- 
mate, 534. 

Yima  (Yama),  Persian  "Adam",  108,  219- 
220,  445. 

Youth,  of  mankind,  in  harmony  with  youth- 


ful types,  but  otherwise  normal,  XVII- 
XXIV.     Education  of   youth,   see  under 
Initiation-rites. 

Zalbat,   (Lubat,  Apin),  planet  Mars,  273flE. 
Zend,  Zend-Avesta,  see  under  Persia. 
Zeus,  Greek  Sky-Father,— /M/>iJ?r,  105,  110, 

connected  with  the  flood,  446. 
Zigzag  patterns,  LVI,  l-7flF.  149-150. 
Zi,   Mesopotamian   "life",    Sum.  zi,  Assyr. 

nishu,  87-90,  120,  213,  278,  359,  561. 
Zikkurat,  as   mountain-house.   Sum.   e-kur, 

86,  as  model  of  temple-tower,  358,  360,  as 

traditional  stage-tower,  439. 
Ziud,  Sumerian  "Noah",  "father  of  life",:r: 

Ut-napishtim,  435,  437. 
Zodiac,  Babylonian,  183-184,  222,  Converted 

mystical  zodiac,  185-186,  223. 
Zoolatry,   see   under   Totemism,   Animism, 

Metempsychosis,  Life  Eternal. 
Zoroaster,  the  prophet  of  Iran,  see  under 

Persia,  107,  175,  219,  291,  373-376,  as  re- 
storer, 445,  as  visionary,  219,  487. 
Zu,    Mesopotamian    "wisdom",    Sum.    su, 

Assyr.  nimeku,  barutu,  84,  165-166. 
Zukat,  Babylonian  sceptre,  435. 
Zulus,  of  South  Africa,  67,  153,  474. 
Zunis,     of     North     America,     see    under 

Pueblos,  115,  180,  222,  301,  383-384,  447, 

490. 


APPENDIX 


A  PROVISIONAL  HIEROGLYPHIC  TABLE 

showing  the  origin  of  the  primitive  sign-language,   its  relation  to  the 

cursive  and  cyclographic  patterns,  and  its  phonetic  transcriptions 

in  the  Neolithic  dolmens  and  the  Babylonian  syllabaries. 


Main  Sources  : 


W.  Hoffman,  The  Beginnings  of  Writing  (New  York,  1891).  Th.  Danzel,  Die  Anfange 
der  Schrift  (Leipzig,  1910).  C.  O.  Blagden,  A  Comparative  Vocabulary  of  Aboriginal 
Dialects,  apud  Skeat,  Pagan  Races  of  the  Malay  Peninsula  (London,  1906),  Vol.  XL,  pp. 
379flf.  S.  C.  Roy,  The  Mundas  and  Their  Country  (Calcutta,  1912),  passim.  Fr.  Delitzsch, 
Die  Entstehung  des  altesten  Schriftsystems  (Leipzig,  1904).  S.  Langdon,  A  Sumerian 
Grammar  (Paris,  1911).  G.  A.  Barton,  The  Origin  and  Development  of  Babylonian  Writ- 
ing  (Leipzig-Baltimore,  1913). 

Note: — This  table  can  only  be  considered  as  tentative  and  should  be  looked  upon  as  a 
mere  frame-work  for  further  and  more  comprehensive  study.  The  exact  meaning  of  many 
of  the  pictographs  is  still  very  obscure. 


THE  TWELVE  PRIMITIVE  SICNS 

(TABOO-  LANGUAGE!') 


THE   TWELVE     CJYCLOGRAMS 

WITH   DESCRIPTIVE     S.VMBOLS 


KOOT-  NOTIONS 

A     ONE  ■ 

YA  I 

I  YA  AM 


lcitmotif: 
EXISTETOCE 


TWERNmr 


t 


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(CONVERTIBLE)      ft 

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<n 


a 


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TOTEM- 
SKJNS 

YA-C^T 

FIRE-FIAME 


fc07 


599 


AVE  R         YA  (YAM)  VAl  (JAfy-VA  R 


637 
674 


il'"     f' 


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tti  Ai  t^"  0"'^' 


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DA  MAN 

TA  BLOOD 

a  ?16,654,fc73,536,(R  VO  STF^ONC 


ADJA-BJADJA  DANC      DJANq      DO  DAPA    TA   TANAH 


FOOT      J3U00D    -TRET-E^KTH 


T^yi  FE     HAND 


VITALITY 


S  S46.gll.g-»fe.fe.fS.(;p.Vl')  BLESS. 


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IBEM. 
FORM 


THE    TRr-SYULABlC    BABYIjONIAN     HIERCX^LYPHS 

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THE  FIGURES  REFER  TO  BARTON'S  IDEOGRAPHIC  LIST 


Date 

Due 

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( 

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PRINTED 

IN  U.  S.  A. 

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Prehistoric  rthgion;  a  study  in 

PniKnon  Thralotiul  Stmiiury-SpMf  bbrarv 


1    1012  00009  3825 


